When author and renowned scientist Haim Barr called Israel’s National Religious Right “a cancerous breed,” religious political commentator Amit Segal hit back by calling anyone who reads Barr’s books “a good Christian who turns the other cheek.” 

How is it that in the fast lane of hit-and-run Israeli politics, one the most effective ways of criticizing your opponent is to call him a “Christian”? Or even worse, “a good Christian”? Why do Israelis love to hate each other using the teachings of Yeshua (Jesus)?

Yeshua’s idea to “turn the other cheek” is particularly offensive in Israel. It is taken to mean an unwillingness to fight back, stand up to evil or defend our country. 

In a  post-Holocaust, “never again” world, “turn the other cheek” is a spineless evil given the need for the modern State of Israel to defend herself constantly against a sea of Islamic radicals plotting daily to extinguish the Jewish state with terror, wars and a nuclear Iran.