This evening begins the fast day of Tisha b’Av, which commemorates the destruction of the First and Second Temples. The Romans razed the latter, and the city of Jerusalem with it, in their successful effort to repress the revolt in Judea that began in 66 CE. Thus Israeli archaeologists’ recent discovery of coin from the time of the uprising is especially timely. Melanie Lidman writes:

The coin was engraved with the words “Holy Jerusalem,” using ancient Hebrew script rather than the vernacular Greek of the time, in a defiant nod to their Jewish identity and the decision to mint the coins autonomously, explained Yaniv David Levy, a numismatic scholar with the Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA).

“For almost 200 years, people made the pilgrimage by foot and used silver coins for paying a tax called the ‘half-shekel tax,’” [described in the book of Exodus], said Levy. “And apparently these coins were used for tax in the Temple and also the internal economy during the revolt.”

The decision to mint coins autonomously during the rebellion was a political statement and an expression of national identity, the IAA said. At the time, the authority to mint coins was held only by the Roman emperor, and almost always featured the image of the ruling emperor and animals.

The coins minted by the Jewish rebels bear a depiction of three pomegranates. The other side of the coin features a chalice, similar to what could have been used by the priests in the Holy Temple, the words “half-shekel,” and the letter aleph, denoting the first year of the revolt against the Romans. Prior to the revolt and the decision to mint their own coins, early Jews paid the half-shekel tax using coins minted in Tyre, in Lebanon, using fine silver, Levy said.

For some time, opponents of U.S support for Israel have been urging the White House to end the war in Gaza, or simply calling for a ceasefire. Douglas Feith and Lewis Libby consider what such a result would actually entail:

Ending the war immediately would allow Hamas to survive and retain military and governing power. Leaving it in the area containing the Sinai-Gaza smuggling routes would ensure that Hamas can rearm. This is why Hamas leaders now plead for a ceasefire. A ceasefire will provide some relief for Gazans today, but a prolonged ceasefire will preserve Hamas’s bloody oppression of Gaza and make future wars with Israel inevitable.

For most Gazans, even when there is no hot war, Hamas’s dictatorship is a nightmarish tyranny. Hamas rule features the torture and murder of regime opponents, official corruption, extremist indoctrination of children, and misery for the population in general. Hamas diverts foreign aid and other resources from proper uses; instead of improving life for the mass of the people, it uses the funds to fight against Palestinians and Israelis.

Moreover, a Hamas-affiliated website warned Gazans last month against cooperating with Israel in securing and delivering the truckloads of aid flowing into the Strip. It promised to deal with those who do with “an iron fist.” In other words, if Hamas remains in power, it will begin torturing, imprisoning, or murdering those it deems collaborators the moment the war ends. Thereafter, Hamas will begin planning its next attack on Israel:

Hamas’s goals are to overshadow the Palestinian Authority, win control of the West Bank, and establish Hamas leadership over the Palestinian revolution. Hamas’s ultimate aim is to spark a regional war to obliterate Israel and, as Hamas leaders steadfastly maintain, fulfill a Quranic vision of killing all Jews.

Hamas planned for corpses of Palestinian babies and mothers to serve as the mainspring of its October 7 war plan. Hamas calculated it could survive a war against a superior Israeli force and energize enemies of Israel around the world. The key to both aims was arranging for grievous Palestinian civilian losses. . . . That element of Hamas’s war plan is working impressively.