Magic, the Devil, and, of course, our Lord Jesus were big some 400 years ago. The woods were full of evil spirits, the churches were packed with the faithful, and the Devil was everywhere, busy trying to lure the good into sin and damnation. Christ and his angels were our sole protectors against Satan and his infernal kingdom.

The Devil did not play fair, needless to say. He did not always appear with horns and spitting fire, but transformed himself into anything and anybody in order to lure his prey down under. Tales of unmitigated horrors that befell the simpleminded were a dime a dozen, told and retold around campfires, schoolrooms, and pulpits.

I suppose that is how the legend of Faust began. I always thought it was Christopher Marlowe, a very talented, drunk, homosexual barroom brawler who invented Doctor Faustus at the end of the 16th century. Actually, the Faustian myth began earlier in Germany, where tales of necromancy and sorcery were popular. In Marlowe’s play, Faustus is a doctor of theology bored by the academic standards of the time. He’s approached by the Devil, who offers him 24 years of whatever he desires. The good doc goes bananas: he gains the ability to become invisible, plays tricks on the pope, pays a visit to Helen of Troy, and tastes the seven deadly sins. Then, the inevitable happens. The 24 years are up and he has mostly wasted his time. The Devil comes to collect and carts Faustus off to Hell forever. 

In Goethe’s 18th-century version, it’s the Devil’s emissary Mephistopheles who bargains with Faust. The great German copped out in the second part his masterpiece, ending it with Faust ascending to heaven rather than going down under. Christian forgiveness and all that.

The reason I’m going on about Faust and Faustian bargains is a recent discussion about Gaza I had with my very close friend Michael Mailer. Michael is a film producer, director, and the son of the novelist Norman Mailer. I was telling Michael about a New Year’s Eve party I once gave, where I introduced his father to an Israeli beauty. “Why don’t you ever come to Israel, Mister Mailer?!” she wailed. “Because they don’t all look like you, sweetheart” Norman answered, and walked away. 

Norman Mailer was a radical and Jewish, and from the discussions I had with him throughout the years, he acknowledged that Israel was committing a great crime in suppressing the Palestinians—a crime against the Palestinians, but also against the Jewish people. Norman died in 2007 and things concerning Israel and Palestine have gotten much worse since then. In my discussion with his son Michael, who is half Jewish and a liberal, I mentioned that the United States must have signed a Faustian pact. It must be getting something out of the deal, otherwise the one-way traffic of bombs, aircraft, arms, and billions to Israel simply does not make sense. “Norman would probably be intrigued more by who the modern Mephistopheles is than anything else,” Michael said.

Has Uncle Sam indeed signed a Faustian bargain, and will he be dragged to hell for it one day? Millions of people in Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan believe that’s so, despite the fact most of them have never heard of the good doctor. If America is hated today, it is for her unstinted support of Israel, no ifs or buts about it. Uncle Sam has been the tiny newborn nation’ greatest supporter.

It’s true that the Jewish people had suffered like no other and they deserved a home of their own. The trouble is, there were other people already living in Palestine. Those who had to be moved after the creation of the state of Israel in 1948 have been living ever since in refugee camps. Israel grew in territory after it annexed the West Bank and the Golan Heights in 1967 and the Palestinian population continued to grow under Israeli occupation. Hard-line Palestinian factions have now replaced Fatah, the main Palestinian group that recognizes Israel. The whole region is about to explode.

Why doesn’t Uncle Sam order Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories and agree to a two-state solution? America would guarantee Israel’s borders and safety, continue to fund and arm the Israelis, while the West Bank illegal settlements would revert to their rightful owners. Peace and happiness for everyone would follow.

Well, the real-life Mephistopheles has been busy down there, including within the groups of religious nuts known as settlers. 

Yes, Israel is the only true democracy in the Middle East, where the rights of women and minorities are respected, but the settlers hold their nation at gunpoint. They don’t serve in the army, don’t pay taxes, and go around the West Bank looting and shooting Palestinians at will. The true Faustian bargain is the one between Israel’s government and the religious zealots who keep it in power. Netanyahu is the Mephistopheles in this tale, which will have a Marlowe ending, not a Goethe one. ◆