We don't spike the football

(JNS) — There have been several moments of celebration for Zionists over the past 150 years. 

The first Zionist Congress held in Basel, Switzerland in 1897 showed Zionists that their movement had fire in it. The Balfour Declaration signed in England in 1917 was one of the first public declarations of the right of the Jewish people to their own homeland. The United Nations’ Partition Plan vote in 1947 gave international validation to the establishment of a Jewish state. On May 14, 1948, Israel declared its independence. On June 10, 1967, the Six-Day War left Israel four times as large and stronger than its enemies, along with control of its entire capital of Jerusalem. 

On each of these occasions and others, Zionists around the world have celebrated Israel’s achievements.

Over the past month, Israel has eliminated several of its top enemies, sending strong messages to its remaining enemies, its allies and its own citizens. 

These eliminations weren’t solely military achievements but also demonstrations of Israel’s power. Israel’s enemies now understand that even with all the precautions these leading terrorists took to protect the secrecy of their location, Israeli intelligence services were able to locate them and security forces were able to kill them. 

Israel’s allies understand that, as much as they might try to restrain Israel from actions they consider provocations or escalations, Israel is going to stick to its promise to eliminate anyone involved in the Oct. 7 attack or poses a threat to Israel. 

Israel also sent a message to its own citizens that while Oct. 7 shook the nations’ confidence in Israel’s military and its prowess, they can be confident that Israel is still the power in the region.

Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif, along with Hezbollah’s Fuad Shukr, were eliminated in these daring operations. There are other top officials in Iran’s military and its proxies’ leadership that are suspected of having been eliminated as well. 

These leading terrorists were responsible for thousands of innocent people’s deaths and the culture of violence and murder that subsumes a large part of the Palestinian community. Their elimination has made Israel and arguably the world a safer place. Israel’s ability to reach across the globe and neutralize these threats reflects its success in the Gaza war and the achievement of its goal of weakening its enemy’s ability to harm it.

It was reported that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered his ministers to remain quiet about the killings. That didn’t stop some from offering their opinions. Heritage Minister Amihai Eliyahu posted that killing Haniyah “is the right way to clean the world from this filth.” Israeli social media reacted differently, with posts, memes and videos praising the deaths and Israeli military strength. More than just relief at the elimination of a threat, many Israeli posts reflected a celebratory attitude towards the operations that killed Israel’s enemies.

The happiness many Israelis felt at the elimination of the terrorist leaders caused many to quote King Solomon, the author of Proverbs, who wrote, “If your enemy falls, do not rejoice. If he trips, let your heart not celebrate.” 

A well-known teaching of our Sages in a Midrash echoed King Solomon’s warning and explained that we don’t recite the joyous Hallel prayer on the last day of Passover because that was the day the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea and God declared that when God’s creations drown it isn’t a time to rejoice. Yet at the time the Egyptians drowned the Jews did rejoice, reciting a praise that Jews repeat in their daily morning prayers today.

The Talmud relates that during the Purim story, when King Ahasuerus ordered Haman to escort Mordechai around on the king’s royal horse, Mordechai, who had been fasting and was weak, needed help mounting the horse. Mordechai demanded Haman get down on all fours so he could use his body as a stepping stool. As Mordechai stepped on Haman, the Talmud taught, Mordechai kicked him. Haman objected and reminded Mordechai that is prohibited to rejoice at your enemy’s downfall. Mordechai replied that this teaching referred to a Jew’s downfall, but there’s nothing wrong with rejoicing at a non-Jewish enemy’s downfall.

It seems that Jewish scholarly works send conflicting messages about the proper reaction to the death of an enemy. When considering the different factors at play, we can understand the consistent message taught throughout Jewish tradition: When an enemy of the Jewish people is eliminated, Jews experience salvation and witness justice being carried out against those that harmed the Jewish people. But there is also a failure of human potential, as Israel’s enemies chose to violently attack the Jews instead of making peace and partnering with them. Jews can celebrate their salvation and the carrying out of justice but shouldn’t rejoice at the failure of humanity represented by the death of one of God’s creations.

Zionists were never interested in their enemies’ downfall. They sought peace with their Arab neighbors and residents inside and outside the Land of Israel. When Zionists celebrated, they rejoiced over their victories and achievements, not the downfall of their enemies. 

The phrase “We don’t need to spike the football” is borrowed from American football and is used as caution against an arrogant celebration over an opponent’s downfall. 

The phrase was famously used by President Barack Obama to explain why he wasn’t going to release pictures of Osama bin Laden’s body. Before Obama used it, King Solomon wrote the lesson in Proverbs and it exists as an everlasting lesson for Jews and Zionists today. 

Israel will eliminate its enemies but its Zionist philosophy encourages humility over showboating. We don’t need to spike the football.