ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the complex relationships between real-world contemporary religious violence and scripture in the context of traditional interpretive approaches. A poster produced in response to the killing of teenager Shira Banki at the Jerusalem Pride Parade in 2015 will serve as a case study. The poster lauds Yishai Schlissel for killing Shira Banki, and casts his violence as paradigmatic, all in relation to scriptural excerpts from the Hebrew Bible, specifically Pinchas’ killing of Zimri and Kozbi in Numbers 25. Through an analysis of the text of this poster in comparison with the traditional Jewish (rabbinic) interpretations of Numbers 25 and Pinchas’ biblical violence, in addition to a brief consideration of Yishai Schlissel’s own expressed rationale for his violent actions, this chapter will argue that violent scripture does not necessarily exist in a causative relationship with violent acts. Even in a case such as this, where the violent act is explicitly connected by others to violent scripture, we shall find that any relationships are complex and problematic. Furthermore, this work concludes that traditional modes of interpretation can serve to moderate or nullify scriptural violence and its potential realization in the form of actual violence.
