…There were two men in one city, one rich and one poor. The rich man had very many flocks and cattle. And the poor man had nothing, only one little lamb that he had bought, and he kept her alive and she grew up with him and his children together…And a guest came to the rich man…and he took the poor man’s lamb and served it to the man who had come to him. (II Samuel 12:1–4)

The small, frightened lamb, the tears of her owner and of the children she grew up with, are imaginary. The story is a parable told to King David by the prophet Natan, to open the king’s eyes to his cruelty in taking Uriah’s beloved wife, Batsheva, and arranging for her husband’s death in war. David listened, understood, and sincerely repented.

The Bible reminds us multiple times of a king’s power to take whatever he wants, especially when it comes to women.

Pharaoh’s officials saw her, and they praised her to Pharaoh, and the woman was taken into the house of Pharaoh. (Bereishit 12:15)

And Avimelech, king of Gerar, sent, and he took Sarah. (Bereishit 20:2)

When the word of the king and his law were heard, and when many girls were gathered to the capital Shushan, Esther was taken into the king’s palace… (Esther, 2:8)

And it seems that King David as well, looking down from his palace roof, glancing into the windows of the homes below, chose to exercise that royal prerogative:

…And [David] was walking on the roof of the palace, and he saw a woman bathing from on the roof, and the woman was very beautiful. And David sent and enquired about the woman, and he said, “Is this not Batsheva, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite.” And David sent messengers and took her, and she came to him and he lay with her… (II Samuel 11:2–4)

King David lived in Jerusalem, in the area we call Ir David, the City of David, a steep hillside just east of the Temple Mount. Today, it is the Palestinian neighborhood of Silwan.

Last week, following a long legal battle, fifteen Palestinian families were evicted from the Batan al-Hawa neighborhood within Silwan, many from homes they had purchased more than fifty years ago. Questions of home ownership and land ownership under Israeli law are exceedingly complex and well beyond my expertise. In this case, both sides had valid arguments, but it was ultimately determined that the land belonged to a 19th century charitable trust that had been taken over by the Ateret Kohanim organization with the express goal of repopulating David’s City with Jews.

In practice, what happened is that families – grandparents, parents, and children – were thrown out of the homes they have lived in their entire lives. These families are not well-off. They were able to live in dignity in Jerusalem only because they did not need to budget for rent or a mortgage, and they are now staying with relatives while they try to figure out what to do next.

As residents of East Jerusalem, they are permanent residents of Israel but do not hold Israeli citizenship.

In a democracy, the citizens rule. Collectively, we have the responsibility and power of a king. As citizens of Israel, are we using that power to grab what we desire, cruelly appropriating humble homes that meant everything to the families that lived in them? In attempting to perpetuate King David’s legacy at the site of his ancient city, have we seized the proverbial poor man’s lamb?

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)