In the new testament God is presented as a loving, forgiving, and merciful. Not so much in the old testament. There are a few instances where he used angels to dispense his wrath but most of the time he did it himself or commanded men to do it. Fire and brimstone rained down on Sodom and Gomorrah. He sent a flood to wipe out the entire population of the earth except for Noah's family. Apparently you can get drunk and sleep with your daughters and still be considered righteous. Sometimes he spoke through prophets and leaders and commanded the armies of Israel to fight the pagans in the promised land. He would order them to not only slay every man, woman and child but also their cattle. He punished Saul for keeping a few sheep from a conquest. Genocide is OK in the old testament. Other times when Israel would fall back into idolatry he allowed the pagan nations to rise up slaughter and enslave them. In the time of Christ the Jews were under Roman rule as a punishment for their sinful ways. To keep the peace the Romans allowed considerable religious tolerance except when it conflicted with their laws. They expected the prophesized savior to be military leader to free them from the Romans.
We condemn fundamentalist Muslims for their brutal laws but the old testament and the Torah also ordered executing adulterers, homosexuals and many other offenses including offering sacrifice to pagan gods and breaking the Sabbath. If you got caught having sex with a sheep they stoned you and the animal.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_capital_crimes_in_the_Torah
If Israel practiced Torah law today they would be condemned as war criminals and terrorists. They do retaliate quickly to any attacks. If terrorists blow up a bus or a market place you can count on bombs dropping as soon as they decide who is responsible. When you figure their entire nation is one tenth the size of Kansas and surrounded by millions of Muslims who want them all dead it may be understandable why they take such a tough stance.
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