THE HANDSTAND

The fact that the Israeli Government comprises a group of military men who have by and large been up to their ears in violence and murder on behalf of past governments is fairly awe inspiring.

The label "Zionists" adheres to this Government rather than their racial category, "Jewish".

Meanwhile some brave souls are investigating Orthodox Jewish religious pressure on that Government that opens up another mare's nest: The Kabbala. The Kabbala being a movement shared between those who believe in a physical presence in the Holy Land and those who are devoted to "spiritual" pursuits,(the latter believed generally to be magic,)"whether in search of salvation; the practical aspect of Kabbala or of the secrets of creation and of divine revelation....It appears that the Kabbalistic tradition developed out of certain Jewish practices in Egypt and Palestine at the eve of the Christian era."G.Scholem/A.Safran,Medieval Civilisation,Octopus 1980. In reference to "Egypt" there it should be noted that the Jews at the time of Moses lived in the sacred city of Heliopolis, City of the Sun.

The Kabbalist movement originated on the eve of Christianity, ie. at the time of Jesus' birth: There are factors in the Christian stories of Jesus that co-ordinate his mission with that of the Kabbalists. The Holocaust story of Herod and the murder of male infants - (a holocaust has to precede the appearance of the messiah) and finally Mark's gospel, that alone reveals that the betrayal in the Gethsemane was an extention of such aspirations and here are the clues:

32 And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit you here, while I shall pray.
33 And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy;
34 And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here and watch.
35 And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him.
36 And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will but what thou wilt.
.........................
....41 And he cometh the third time and saith unto them, Sleep on now and take your rest; it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.
42 Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand.
43 And immediately while he yet spake cometh Judas...........
....45 And as soon as he was come, he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master, and kissed him.
46 And they laid their hands on him and took him
...50 And they all forsook him and fled.
51 And there followed him a certain young man, having a linen cloth cast about his naked body, and the young men laid hold on him:
52 And he left the linen cloth and fled from them naked.
Saint Mark's Gospel, King James Bible.

Of interest to us at the moment is the attribution of the painting The Betrayal of Christ in the National Gallery in Dublin.

Given to the Gallery some years back by Sir Denis Mahon and at the time presumed an original Caravaggio, it is the last artistic representation of the Betrayal that refers to St. Mark's verses. Jesus and another can be seen back to back and one of the soldiers is pulling aside the linen cloth from these two. The other with raised arms is calling out... (to those who fled?)

This painting (at present declared to be a copy of the original that has been found in Rome) thus persuades those who search, that the betrayal was originally created as an act of the Kabbala. Caravaggio lived for some time with priests of the Catholic faith and was therefore in a position to know and be curious about this story. However that was the end of it - the story was banned from the Catholic canon and we all know the mysterious taboo that existed for many centuries on printing the New Testament and making it available to the populace. A taboo that was broken by the Protestants in England among others, who wanted people to learn to read; and in Spain by the indefatigble George Borrow.(The Bible in Spain)

The fact that others are interested in the idea of Kabbala, as the origin of a religious act of magic, is revealed by a journalist, Bruce Johnston; though mistakenly attributing Jesus' clasped hands in this painting,(because of the over long left arm) he writes: "Caravaggio shows the two (Judas and Jesus) clasping hands indicating a partnership in the creation of a saviour through betrayal." Independent 17th Feb.2004.

Neither the Nazi holocaust, nor that in the USSR in Ukraine, produced a Messiah for the Jews; the former produced a massive financial system of reparation that has not necessarily always been available to the true victims, but evidently clearly available to the "traders in the Temple." Nevertheless we are able to admit, if the truth is in the above, two aspects of Kabbalistic thought were successful: the magic act of Judas was successful "spiritually", and all Christians should this long time have seen themselves as related to the Jewish religion in this way. But ofcourse, for the Jews there is no after-life; and the Kabbala is a form of spiritual prayer that enables you get what you want in answer to your power of suggestion. An exercise of which is shown in the film Fanny and Alexander.

Sir Denis Mahon told me that the colours of the cloth wrapping the young man in green together to Christ, red and green, as painted by Caravaggio, are those of Saint Mark(whose gospel is quoted above); and I would also observe that the more prominent blue and red on Christ and Judas, are the colours of the ribands that symbolised Heliopolis, The City of the Sun in Egypt from whence the Jews were brought into Palestine by Moses. At the opening exhibition (of this painting being hung for the first time in the National Gallery,) Sir Denis hastened to show me how one small canvas had been included among those exhibited, as complementary to the narrative above, showing the man "running away naked".

In reference to the Bible and the possibility that Christianity is really an extention of the Jewish religion, unfortunately there were aspects of Jesus' mission that Jews could not aspire to - and that was abstention from all violence and militant destruction. Christians also have not abstained from violence and militant destruction.
Last year thousands on the streets tried to show the Israelis, the English and the American Government that they should cease religious militarism. But the money-lenders, both Christian and Jewish, benefitting from munition sales, seem unable to avail of the warning of a possible Apocalypse, promised and promoted by the ruthless as an atomic war. A Dutch Jew gave specific threats of this kind just before the present war in Iraq that are echoed in a recent interview with Benny Morris the Jewish historian. A third World War would bring ruin on Israeli lives and everyone's tenure on this watered and fragrant world in Palestine and beyond.