President Trump’s idea to move the current residents out of Gaza so that it can be rebuilt is bold, but it is nothing new.
Starting in the 9th century B.C., the Assyrian kings Ashurnasirpal and his son Shalmaneser III began a campaign to conquer and rule much of the Middle East stretching from today’s Turkey, Iraq, and Iran all the way along the Gaza coast to Egypt. They were so successful mainly because they had a new technology – the wheeled siege machine, featuring a battering ram. Once they won each war along the way, they had a policy of deporting the peoples they conquered to some other part of their empire. This made it harder for the new subjects to organize a revolt.
It is due to this policy that the Israelites were moved to Babylonia. When they were later allowed to leave, many chose not to, because the Assyrians’ policy had also dictated that families be left intact, so many Jews had settled into life abroad, intermarried, and prospered. These were the Samaritans. They were Jews of “impure” blood.
Like all before and after, the Assyrian empire eventually fizzled out. Trying to govern in that area has always been like building a house on shifting sands. But let’s hope Trump’s ideas get some traction and Gaza – and the Israelis – can finally find some peace and prosperity.
(A tip of the hat to Jean-Pierre Isbouts’ Great Courses lectures in “The History and Archaelogy of the Bible” for the historical information.)
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john.arra@wayoutcharlottepike.com
