The Zionist occupation states repeatedly rely on religious and Biblical symbols and names to justify their policies and military aggression. Their use of this name demonstrates a continuous "Israeli" trend to link contemporary wars to ancient Biblical conflicts, unlike what their Arab and Muslim opponents do.
By establishing a connection between the past and the present through Biblical statements, they aim to create a continuous narrative of hostility towards their neighbors, considering them an extension of the ancient enemies of the Children of Israel, according to their claims.
The Spear of Bashan
Similar to the way it has assigned Biblical and Talmudic names to its crimes against Arab and Muslim peoples, the Zionist occupation has named its criminal operations targeting the destruction of Syria's military capabilities "The Spear of Bashan."
This name was not chosen randomly; it reflects a clear link to Biblical symbolism, geography, and military history, and is a continuation of several Biblical names the occupation has used for its war in Gaza. The goal is to militarily connect the operation to Jewish Biblical history to confer religious and political legitimacy to their military aggression, especially since the Golan is considered an extension of the Biblical region of Bashan.
It is well-known that Zionists, particularly under the current extremist religious government, are very concerned with the titles of their operations, which the distorted Bible often inspires to achieve their political goals and connect Jews to their religious identity.
There are estimates and reports that the "Israeli" aggression against Syria and the destruction of its military capabilities aims, among other things, to divide it according to undisclosed agreements with the new Trump administration, to ensure that "Israel" remains the strongest in the region.
Thus, "Israel" prefers not to wait for the political authority's new strength to develop in Syria, and continues to follow the principle of the upper hand, bombing Syrian weapons and provoking the new rulers of Damascus to safeguard its security and strategic interests.
Analysts believe that this naming, coinciding with "Israeli" incursions into Syrian territory, aims to shape the consciousness of the new ruling Islamic factions in Syria and all Syrians through iron and fire, terrorizing and pressuring them not to oppose the occupying state. They emphasize the spread of false press reports about the "Israeli" army's incursions into areas just 20 kilometers from Damascus, noting that while incursions did occur, they were not to that extent, and part of the goal is to condition and intimidate, according to the “Quds Press” agency.
The "Israeli" occupation army claimed that it has destroyed about 80% of the strategic military capabilities that the ousted regime's army held, under the pretext of preventing these capabilities from falling into the hands of Islamic opposition factions working to establish the new system in Syria.
The Origin of Bashan and Its Objectives
The name geographically originates from the "Bashan region," which has been mentioned historically in the Bible, referring to the Golan Heights and its northern extensions, which included the occupation of "Mount Sheikh," overseeing Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan. This raises questions about the military importance of controlling this elevated location.
The name Bashan refers to the kingdom mentioned in the Bible and the Gospel, which extended from "Gilead" in Jordan to "Mount Hermon" in Syria (all regions they believe must be occupied)."
"Bashan" is a historical land and is part of the land of Canaan, which the Jews claim is their promised land (the land of Canaan extends from Palestine, part of southwestern Syria, and parts of northwestern Jordan). This term appears in the Torah 60 times, and the linguistic meaning of the word is "the flat or leveled land."
According to the description in the Torah, the land of "Bashan" has specific boundaries: its northern boundary reaches Mount Hermon (which is part of Mount Sheikh in the Golan), and its southern boundary is at Mount Gilead, a mountain located in northwestern Jordan (specifically the Jordan Valley). The region includes the Golan Heights, Hauran, and the Lijah area (a natural reserve south of Damascus), and the area ends, according to the Torah, at Damascus; thus, one of their goals is to occupy Damascus.
Og: king of Bashan
According to their beliefs based on the Torah they currently possess, "Og" was the king of Bashan from the Rephaim, who are considered among the ancient Canaanite peoples or the "giants." They are Semitic peoples who inhabited the region in ancient times; the Torah mentions that the land of Bashan was ruled by one of the great kings (from the giants whom the Jews oppose) named "Og." He was a powerful king whom our master Moses, peace be upon him, fought and defeated, and the term "Amalek" in Jewish culture signifies "the peak of physical and spiritual evil."
Og emerged from his kingdom, and the sons of Israel occupied the entire region of Bashan. Moses, peace be upon him, assigned it to one of the tribes, specifically the tribe of Manasseh (one of the descendants of our master Joseph, peace be upon him); thus, the term "Spear of Bashan" was used for this operation to indicate Netanyahu's message to the Jewish people: that this war is religious in nature and an existential war to reclaim "the land of Bashan."
This land holds significant religious value for the Jews, a point Netanyahu has been keen to instill since the beginning of this war in Gaza; he has consistently affirmed that they will triumph in the war against the "Amalekites," in reference to "Hamas" and the resistance, and he speaks of the prophecies in the Torah that "Israel" will triumph over its enemies (the Arabs and Muslims).
This is not the first time the Israeli army has drawn the names of its military operations from the Torah and Jewish religious heritage. According to a report published by the Hebrew newspaper "Maariv" in October 2024, on several occasions, leaders of the Zionist occupation have invoked references to religious wars and imposed them on the wars with the Palestinians.
In November 2023, about a month after the war on Gaza broke out, Netanyahu cited texts from the Torah at least three times in his speeches to justify the attack on Gaza. In one of his speeches, he told the Israeli soldiers, "Remember what Amalek did to you," referring to the Amalekite tribe (a tribe of nomadic Bedouins who settled in the Sinai Peninsula and southern Palestine), mentioned in the Torah, to justify their attacks on Gaza.
Operation Kadesh
Before this, Israel drew the name "Operation Kadesh" to describe the tripartite aggression against Egypt in 1956, which is the name of a biblical city in Sinai where Mary, the sister of the Prophet Moses, was buried during the wandering of the children of Israel in the desert, according to their claims.
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