Dylan Song by Song: "Neighbourhood Bully" Quiz

Answer: Infidels

"Infidels" appeared in 1983. In 1979, Dylan had converted to Christianity. In 1983, he studied at the Lubavitchers' center in Brooklyn. The Lubavitchers are a Jewish Hasidic sect, and many saw this as evidence that Dylan was returning to his Jewish roots. Just as "Slow Train" and "Saved" are the most obviously Christian of Dylan's albums, "Infidels" is arguably the most Jewish.

Some believe Dylan became a Messianic Jew at this point, and they see apocalyptic overtones in this song.

Answer: False

Rather, it is a not-so-subtle defense of the nation. While critics of Israel have used the term "Neighbourhood Bully" to describe the nation, Dylan employs the nomenclature sarcastically, implying that it is inappropriate for a nation that is struggling to survive in the midst of terrorist attacks and enemy threats.

Answer: Exiled

The Jews were first expelled from Palestine by the Romans in 132 AD. They have been exiled from numerous other lands as well, including England, from which they were expelled in 1290 AD. They were later readmitted to the English nation in 1655 during the administration of the Puritan Cromwell.

Answer: An Iraqi Nuclear Power Plant

In the 1980's, during the administration of Prime Minister Menachem Begin, Israel struck the Iraqi power plant. The purpose of the plant was to assist Saddam Hussein in developing nuclear weapons. For this pre-emptive action, Israel received much criticism throughout the world.

Answer: side

Israel tended to fight its wars at first with outdated weaponry, though it was soon able to purchase more advanced weapons from the United States. However, even Israel's perceived allies have never sent troops to defend the nation.

Answer: Fly

Dylan lashes out at the pacifists who urge Israel not to strike back when attacked. In another song on this album, "Man of Peace," Dylan warns that "sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace."

Answer: Britain

"Egypt and Rome even the great Babylon," he sings, all of which were imperial powers that oppressed Israel in its early days. Palestine was also, for a time, under the rule of the British. Israel gained its nationhood in 1948. On that very night, forces from Egypt, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon invaded Palestine.

Answer: Rivers

Dylan wishes to know what Israel has done to deserve the hatred of the world, and what the Jewish people have done to deserve centuries of persecution. People accuse Israel of aggression, saying "he just likes to cause war." But Dylan considers this attitude to be the result of "pride and prejudice and superstition indeed." He sings, "They wait for this bully like a dog waits to feed."

Answer: A million to one

"Well, the neighborhood bully, he's just one man, / His enemies say he's on their land. / They got him outnumbered about a million to one, / He got no place to escape to, no place to run." The actual ratio of Arabs to Jews in the Middle East is closer to 100 to one, but this is what in the literary world one would call "hyperbole."

Answer: Being alive

"The neighborhood bully just lives to survive, / He's criticized and condemned for being alive." Or, as Dylan says elsewhere in the song, "He's always on trial for just being born." In the view of Israel's critics, opines Dylan, the nation is not supposed to fight back in its own defense. Rather, the Neighborhood Bully is supposed to "lay down and die when his door is kicked in."