Trump’s Gaza Plan and the Lesson Learned by the Maccabees

Posted by Navah on Feb 9, 2025

The historical events surrounding the festival of Chanukkah are described in two historical works called Maccabees I and Maccabees II. Both books tell the story of the liberation from the Greek rule of the Seleucid king Antiochus IV Epiphanes over the land of Judea and of the purification of the second Temple from the abominations the Greeks committed in the Temple. Vastly outnumbered, the Jews placed their trust in the Elohim of their fathers, and He gave them a miraculous victory against all odds.

The accession of Antiochus Epiphanes, the villain of the Maccabees story

According to the historical evidence in the books of the Maccabees, the rise of Antiochus IV Epiphanes to power stretches over the period from the division of the empire of Alexander the Great among his four generals after his premature death. The commencement of the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes over the Syrian part of Alexander’s empire is here paralleled to the Greek kings who ruled over Egypt. 

Under Seleucid Greek rule over Judea, the Temple in Jerusalem became a site of pagan worship until the Hasmoneans revolt. Historian Flavius Josephus (1st century CE) recorded the Jewish revolt against the Seleucid Greeks, with a particular focus on the role of one prominent family, the Hasmoneans (the Maccabees), in the uprising. The Maccabees were fighters from the priestly family of Levi who successfully waged war against the Seleucids and after the war they rededicated the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 164 BCE. The Hasmonean victory over the Greeks restored Jewish self-rule and religious practice after years of brutal oppression and extermination. Under the Seleucid Greek rule, the Temple in Jerusalem became a site of pagan worship until the Hasmoneans restored it. But the Hasmonean victory was hard won and bloody. The main goal of the Seleucids was to either assimilate the Jews through banning the observance of Sabbath, the appointed festivals, and circumcision, or total annihilation of the Jewish race in case of disobedience. Mattathias of the Hasmonean family led a rebellion against the Seleucid Greek rulers of Judea and their campaign of Hellenization and subjugation. After the wars against the Greeks, the Maccabees established the Hasmonean dynasty, which ruled Judea from 167 BCE to 37 BCE. Thus, the Maccabees being priests occupied the position of high priest and the kingship as well. This will be addressed later in this work. The Maccabean victory is now commemorated annually in the ninth month at the festival of Chanukkah and recorded duly in two books that carry their name: the books of Maccabees (the Hammers). The family of Hasmoneans became known as the “Maccabees” (מכבי). This word might be related to the Hebrew word for “hammer” מַקֶּבֶת maccevet, or it may be an acronym for the Jewish battle cry, “Mi Kamocha B’elim Elohim” (“Who is like You among the elohim), hence, “hammers”. The books of Maccabees are now considered by the Rabbinic authority as belonging to the Apocrypha. The festival of Chanukkah is also found in the Apostolic Writings in 1st century CE.

Note: The Apocrypha and Pseudepigrapha are known in Hebrew as Sefarim Chitsonim, literally, the scrolls outside the Bible. We now return to the text.

The Book of Maccabees I

The Book of Maccabees I portrays the severe persecution in graphic scenes faced by the Jewish people under Antiochus IV of the Seleucid empire, highlighting their resilience and determination to maintain their faith in the Eternal amidst brutality. This apocryphal text recounts the historical events leading to the Maccabean revolt and victory emphasizing the rededication of the Temple at the end. It is written in Hebrew by a Jewish author who may have been an eyewitness to the actual events. Most unfortunately, Maccabees I has no official religious status in Judaism due to reasons we will address in this study. Instead, another apocryphal work is recognized by the Rabbinate known as Megillat Antiochus, which covers only the events in Maccabees I. Megillat Antiochus which is often studied and read in some Sephardic synagogues commemorating the historical events on Chanukkah in place of Maccabees I. Megillat Antiochus (“The Scroll of Antiochus”) is an apocryphal work recounting the military victories of the Maccabees over the Syrian Greeks in the 2nd century BCE. It is composed in Aramaic sometime between the 1st and 5th centuries CE. Later, it was translated into Hebrew and Arabic in the 10th-century. And these are the events according to the Book of Maccabees I.

There was no king like Antiochus, king of Greece, since the days of Alexander the Great. Antiochus was a great and mighty monarch, who firmly ruled over his dominion, to whom all kings obeyed. In the twenty and third year of his reign which was the two hundred and thirteenth year of the erection of the Second Temple, he devised a plan against Jerusalem to destroy the covenant between the Jews and their Deity, to abolish the Sabbaths, festivals, and circumcision. And King Antiochus sent his viceroy Nicanor, with a huge army against Judea. And Nicanor slayed many, and he set up an altar in the Sanctuary, in the Temple of the Elohim of the Jews, and sacrificed a swine, and brought its blood into the Sanctuary.

And when Yochanan, the son of Matityahu, the High-Priest heard of this evil, he was filled with anger to avenge the desecration of the Temple. He made a short sword and hid it under his garment. And he came to Jerusalem and requested a meeting with Nicanor. Nicanor granted the meeting. When Yochanan came before the general, he said, “My lord, now I have come before you. Whatsoever you desire that will I do”. When Nicanor heard it, he was very pleased and said to Yochanan, “If you will do my desire, arise and take a swine and slaughter it on the altar. And you will be given royal dress, and will ride on the king’s horse, for you will be as one beloved of the king”. But Yochanan answered, “My lord, I fear the children of Israel, lest they hear of my deed and stone me with stones. Let therefore everyone go from before you, lest they inform them”. And Nicanor ordered everyone from his presence. And Yochanan poured forth his prayer, “My God and God of My fathers Avraham, Yitschak, and Ya’akov, deliver me not into the hands of this heathen, for if he slays me, he will repair to the Temple of Dagon his god, and say, ‘My god has delivered him in my hands.’” At that moment, he stepped forward and plunged the sword into Nicanor’s heart. And Yochanan went forth on that day to fight the enemy and slew seven thousand.

But when Antiochus heard that his viceroy Nicanor was slain, he became very angry and sent Bagris, another viceroy of his, with all his armies against Jerusalem. And when Bagris came, he slew many. And he issued a severe decree banning, the Sabbath, the festivals, and circumcision. And the five sons of Matityahu, Yochanan and his four brothers, went up against the Greeks and slew many of them: Yehudah, the eldest, Shim’on, the second, Yonathan, the fourth eldest, and El’azar, the youngest brother. They drove them to the far islands of the sea, by the faith in the Elohim of Heaven. Bagris boarded a ship and with him were those who escaped and fled to Antiochus.

And Antiochus summoned many troops from all the provinces of his kingdom with many elephants, garbed with shields and harness. And Bagris went up against Jerusalem a second time, sieged it and breached its wall. When the sons of Matityahu heard this, they arose and came to Mitzpah Gil’ad, where Israel had won a great victory in the day of Shmuel, the prophet. And they decreed a fast day, sat on ashes and prayed to the Elohim of Heaven for mercy. And the five sons of Matityahu went forth that day and slew many among them. But Yehudah fell in the battle. When the brothers saw that Yehudah was slain, they retreated and returned to their father, because they were disheartened, for Yehudah was equal to all of them in might. And their father Matityahu went forth that day with his sons and fought the enemy. And the God of Heaven delivered all the enemy into their hands, and they slew many, so that none remained. El’azar, the youngest son of Matityahu fell in the battle killing the elephants. And the children of Israel rejoiced that they destroyed their enemy.

After the Maccabean victory they needed to build a new altar to replace the defiled one. They also needed to re-light the Menorah to burn continually, as commanded in the Torah. So, after these things, the Hasmoneans came into the Sanctuary, restored the gates, repaired the breaches, and cleansed the Tempe of all its impurity for eight days. And the Jews ordained that these eight days be ever celebrated as days of joy and feasting. That day saw the end of the Kingdom of Greece. And the Hasmoneans and their sons after them ruled over Israel from that day. Until the destruction of the Second Temple there would be two hundred and six years. Thus, Chanukah, the festival of lights, was established, as days of feasting and joy, for eight days beginning with the 25th of the ninth month, in the Rabbinic calendar, the month of Kislev.

The Book of Maccabees II

The Book of Maccabees II is an ancient work that recounts the story of the Hasmonean revolt and its aftermath, and the rededication of the Second Temple with elements reminiscent of Sukkot, connecting the festival of Chanukkah to this earlier biblical festival. It emphasizes the plea for heavenly protection and forgiveness, highlighting the significance of Chanukkah and the miraculous intervention of God in saving the Jewish people. The events in the second part of Maccabees relate are in general similar to those in Maccabees I, but unlike the first part Maccabees II provides a theological interpretation of the events in Maccabees I. It incorporates much supernatural intervention and emphasizes Jewish martyrdom. In this part of Maccabees, Elohim’s interventions direct the course of events. The book also highlights the importance of unity among the Jewish people emphasizing the connection between Jews in Jerusalem and Egypt.

The Book of Maccabees II is composed in Hellenistic Egypt, c.153 – c.133 BCE. This book too is considered as Apocrypha by Judaism. It focuses on accounts of Hellenization, persecution of Jews under King Antiochus, and battles of Judah Maccabee. Unlike Maccabees I, it was composed in Greek. For the reason being written in Greek, the work has no official status in Judaism and is often rejected as Maccabees I is.

Lesson learned

In Genesis 32, we find the efforts the patriarch Ya’akov made to appease his brother Esav, who came to meet him with four hundred warriors. Although the Elohim of his fathers, Avraham and Yitschak, had given him all assurances previously, he did not rely on his righteousness alone to save him from Esav but took every careful precaution to minimize the risk to his family. Just as he prayed, offered bribes, and prepared to meet the danger, his descendants employed these means of insuring their survival.

Ya’akov’s efforts to appease his enemy seem to have been repeated during the latter days of the second Jewish commonwealth, when the Romans were invited by the Jews to make an alliance with them. Rome did not invade the land of Israel, Rome was invited to come. As history proved itself, Rome’s presence in the land was the beginning of the collapse of the Jewish commonwealth and of the second Temple in 70 C.E., followed by total loss of Jewish independence and destruction in 130 C.E. That was the end of the Jewish presence in the land and the beginning of the Roman exile that lasted until 1948 C.E.

Note: Islam conquered the City of Jerusalem in 638. The State of Israel was established in 1948 with which the Roman exile officially ended. The Yom Kippur War broke out in 1973: 1335 years from the conquest of Jerusalem (638 + 1335 = 1973). For more insight into it, read The Reckoning of 1335 Days in Daniel. We now return to the text.

But before the end of the Jewish commonwealth there was a civil war between the descendants of the first Maccabees: The Hasmonean brothers Hyrcanus II and Aristobulus II battled over the throne of Judea. Aristobulus (67–63 B.C.E.) took the throne, but the civil war continued until the arrival of the Roman general Pompey in Damascus, Syria, whose support both brothers requested. In the course of the events, Pompey took the side of Hyrcanus, whom Rome made high priest, but not king, as the Romans did not allow from that moment on the continuation of the Hasmonean dynasty. This interference of Rome in the internal affairs of the Jews continued until the setting of Antipater, an Idumean convert, as a “king” of Judea. Antipater was the father of the future king of Judea, Herod the Great. Thus, the Hasmonean State of Judea essentially came to its end with the subjugation by the Romans in 63 B.C.E.

So, the lesson learned is this: the Jews invited the Romans to solve their internal conflict, which otherwise should have been resolved by themselves. The Romans came and never left. The Jews lost their independence and ultimately lost their independence. What is the lesson, hopefully, we will never have to learn?

Trump’s Gaza plan

When we speak today of Gaza, this is the same Gaza of the ancient Philistines which David subdued and took all its towns and made Gaza part of the kingdom of Israel. David also smote Moav, and its inhabitants became servants to him, and expanded his kingdom all the way to the river Euphrates (1Ch 18:1-3). The people called today “Palestinians” have nothing common with the ancient Philistines whom David conquered. But who were the Philistines?

In the ancient world, the names of the countries were also like the names of the people. Mitsrayim, son of Cham, son of Noach, gave his name to the land he occupied: Mitsrayim (Egypt), the land of his habitation, and all his children lived in Egypt. And so also the land of the Philistines was called Philistia, and so it is written [in Exo 15:14], “the inhabitants of Philistia”. The Philistines were close relatives to Mitsrayim, as we know from Gen 10:13-14, “and Mitsrayim begat Ludim….from whom the Philistines are descended”. Today’s “Palestinians” are Arabs, descendants of Ishmael, son of Avraham, son of Shem, son of Noach. The term “Palestina” was invented by the Romans after the subjugation of the last revolt against Rome in 130 C.E. In order to eliminate any trace of Jewish presence and memory, Rome renamed Judea to Palestina after the worst enemies of Israel: the Philistines. The Arab conquered the land and settled in. When the British empire took the mandate over the land after WWI, it returned this name into use as “Palestine”. After WWII the Jews began to return to the land as prophesied in the Scripture. The Roman exile officially ended in May 1948 C.E. Later, the Soviet Union named the Arabs who lived there to “Palestinians” for political and ideological reasons for the humiliating defeat of the Soviet fighters by Israel in the Arab-Israeli wars. This brief review of the ancient history should suffice to preclude the issue of “Palestinians”.

The President of the U.S. of America (POTUS), Donald J. Trump, in the joint press conference with Prime Minister of Israel Binyamin Netanyahu, seemingly threw out of nowhere some words that came to be known as “Trump’s Gaza Plan”. According to the “Gaza plan”, the “Palestinians” are to be relocated to Arab countries, which POTUS named explicitly, namely, Egypt and Jordan, and the U.S. takes over the Gaza Strip for the purpose of rebuilding it to become what Trump called the “Riviera” of the Middle East. Riviera is the coastal area between La Spezia in Italy and Cannes in France that contains some of Europe’s most popular and expensive resorts. President Trump also remarked that no troops would be needed on the ground [for now]. Those who attended the press conference and those who were watching it live on the news could not miss noticing the astonishment on the prime minister’s face when he turned to his entourage.

In order to understand what POTUS actually did, we need to first understand who the person Donald Trump is. Trump is a pure kind “alpha male” in a combination with some traits of the “sigma male” type. As such he is a tough negotiator, pragmatic, logical, and unpredictable. No one knows he plays his chess game. The presence of “sigma male” explains his unpredictability in his actions. When President Donald Trump first announced his peace plan for Gaza, many of his enemies (domestic and foreign) were caught in surprise. This plan fueled even more hatred towards him, not surprisingly. Trump’s enemies were not pro-Palestinians, they were and are anti-Trump. Meanwhile, almost all in Israel embraced Trump’s “Gaza plan” as perhaps the best solution for the Palestinian conflict. Almost all. We in TORM are those who have some reservations. What indeed happened at the joint conference?

President Donald Trump bluffed; and he bluffed well. In this case and in many others, like with Panama, Mexico, and Canada, he deceives the opponents by a bold bet on an inferior hand with the result that the opponents saw themselves compelled to withdraw the winning hand they have already raised. Smart move! What and how did he do it?

In the case of Gaza, Trump knew, even long before he was elected for POTUS, that the whole situation in the Middle East, and more particularly with the war of Israel against the terrorist group Hamas, was in a stagnation mode. And this threat did not come only from Gaza but from Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, the Palestinian Authority in Judea and Samaria, the Syrian regime, the Shiite Iraqi militias—all tentacles of the same octopod, Iran. Biden wanted to leave some legacy after him, and for this he desperately wanted to achieve some form of peace by reducing the military delivery to Israel over her campaign in Gaza, Lebanon, and in Yemen. This is what Prime Minister Menachem Begin’s response was to the same Joe Biden’s threat in 1982 to cut off military aid for Israel over her campaign in Lebanon. PM Begin said, “Don’t threaten us with cutting off aid to give up our principles. I’m not a Jew with trembling knees. I am a proud Jew with 3,700 years of civilized history. Nobody came to our aid when we were dying in the gas chambers and ovens. Nobody came to our aid when we were striving to create our country. We paid for it. We fought for it. We died for it. We will stand by our principles. We will defend them. And, when necessary, we will die for them again, with or without your aid”.

The Biden administration with all its decision to slow down Israel’s military advance in Gaza and to lengthen in an unforeseeable future her victory over the terrorism led the whole situation to stagnation. And we need to add to it the international pressure from anti-Israel countries such as most members of the E.U., South Africa, Russia, and China. According to the U.N. General Assembly and the U.N. Secretary General, Israel is the only country in the world that is not allowed to defend herself from aggression and win a war. As soon as Israel launched the defensive war against Hamas, Hezbollah, and Yemen, and started winning it, those evil players all if a sudden raised their voices for human rights, humanitarian crisis, “peaceful” Gazan civilians, etc.

President Donald Trump knew all that. And what did he do? He threw a rock into the stagnant water and disturbed it. He disturbed the current world order the way he best does. He is the best disruptor. Trump disrupted the orderly process of the woke activists in America and the globalists in the World Economic Forum (WEF) even before he was sworn in. Holding Putin on notice on the sideline with rhetorics to end the war in Ukraine, POTUS Donald Trump focused on Hamas which brought Putin the terrorist act on a plate on his birthday, the 7th  of October. Whether the relocation of the peaceful Gazans to third countries and taking control over Gaza to rebuild it is realistic or not was not the point. President Trump reset the Middle East with his remarks at the joint conference and thus buried the so-called “two-state solution”. And now even if someone still wants to revive the two-state solution (which he favored in his first term), Trump will say, “I have a better plan”.

The most famous Jewish saying “Never again!” was coined by Rabbi Meir Kahane (1932-1990). In November 1990, Rabbi Meir Kahane the controversial leader of the Jewish Defense League and Kach Party in Israel was murdered in a Manhattan hotel by a terrorist. Once he said in an interview with Mark Golub from L’Chayim, “Once upon a time a Jew was a Jew of faith. We believed in the burning bush, and now we believe in George Bush”.

So, the better plan may come with a price for Israel to pay. What is the lesson, hopefully, we will never have to learn? This is the lesson the Maccabees learned the hard way! They invited the Romans to help them; the Romans came and never left. If American boots came in Israel, they may never leave [until Mashiach comes]. It is not that Donald Trump has bad thoughts; for now, he is supportive of Israel [for now]. But if America takes control over Gazah and the American troops whom POTUS will send in Israel remain in the land, as the Romans did, a new “Pharaoh [of America] who did not know Yoseph” may come after Trump. And this is the lesson the children of Israel learned in Egypt: the new Pharaoh did not know what Yoseph had done for Egypt and turned against his brothers. Two lessons for Israel’s leaders must keep in consideration when they cheer Trump’s Gaza plan. It is better for Israel to finish the job on her own now. This is what Israel does best! Will Israel’s leaders place their trust in the Elohim of the fathers, so that He will give a miraculous victory against all odds?

Knowledge known to only a few will die out. If you feel blessed by these teachings of Time of Reckoning Ministry, help spread the word! 

May we merit seeing the coming of our Mashiach speedily in our days! 

Navah 

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