Last week my two sixteen year-old daughters received their first draft notices in the mail. The fruit of my womb has been requisitioned by the Israel Defense Forces, and on May 25 my girls will start the process of enlisting in the army for two years after they graduate from high school.
This is a significant milestone for all of us, including me. I arrived in Israel after the draft age and never served in the army; at the end of eleventh grade I was filling out college applications and traveling around the northeast to visit campuses. (Needless to say, the thought of enlisting in the American armed forces never crossed my mind.) I missed out on the army as the ultimate experience of the Israeli melting pot; perhaps this is why I have always felt, to some extent, an outsider here. My daughters' army service might be my chance to serve in the army vicariously.
My husband's parents never wanted him to serve. Timid, fearful immigrants with Holocaust baggage, they sent him into exile in Canada at age fourteen, hoping he would choose not to return to Israel. Their plan backfired and he returned, determined to contribute, but the IDF was always a foreign body to them.
So our daughters will enlist with the full support and enthusiasm of both their parents because we believe deeply in the importance of the army as the tool of a strong, independent Jewish state. However, those letters from the IDF forced me to consider that our time together as a family in this configuration is running short. When our girls went off to first grade it seemed my ability to protect them was suddenly limited - all at once I found them with one foot outside the nest. Still, they were always close to home, in our orbit, under our watchful eyes, somehow steerable.
When they go off to the army we won't be able to see them from the nest anymore, a thought which prompts reflection on my role as a parent. Did I do the best job I possibly could while I still had the power to shape them? Have I prepared them to handle whatever will challenge them? Did I take advantage of every moment I had with them? Will they leave feeling loved and protected, or gasping for freedom?
It will be a struggle to step back and watch them take charge, although I believe that teaching our children to be independent is a parent's greatest obligation. If my daughters' army service will be an opportunity for them to learn and grow, then somehow the idea of an empty next isn't quite as daunting. I'll keep fluffing the feathers and warming the oven; hopefully, they'll always be happy to return home.
Wednesday, March 26, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Deja Vu
The attack on the Mercaz Harav Yeshiva last Thursday brought back a wave of painful memories and desperation. It's been a while since we sat in front of the tv watching the details of yet another bloodbath unfold in real time. Yet, it was if three years of relative quiet vanished into thin air as we returned to those horrendous days of siege and breaking news.
The general assumption here is that the most recent attack is not an indication of a new trend, a third intifada. The separation fence and the IDF's unlimited access to the dens of terror in the West Bank ensure that we will never return to the darkest days of the second intifada. However, although Hamas and the various minions of terrorism find it increasingly difficult to act, their determination and persistence sometimes pay off, particularly when the fires of revenge are coursing through their blood.
The newspapers reported that the terrorist, a 26-year old Palestinian from a prosperous family from East Jerusalem, was deeply affected by the media images of last week's Israeli incursion in to Gaza, when about one hundred Palestinians were killed, many of them civilians. He chose to avenge their deaths, knowing he would die in the process.
The Palestinian glorification of death and their preoccupation with revenge are two cultural characteristics with which Israelis and Jews cannot identify. Although a desire to blow them all to kingdom come is a common reaction to a terrorist attack, it is widely acknowledged as a visceral one. When we regain our senses we remember that revenge is not a strategy by which a state operates but a powerful emotional desire that brings no resolution to the problems at hand.
Obviously, the terrorist did not care to acknowledge that the Israeli incursion into Gaza was a response to a direct threat to our homefront that no sovereign nation would willingly accept. The Palestinian inability to self-examine has created a deep sense of victimhood - they are always right, Israel is always at fault. This approach was evident in the reply of an Arab man from the terrorist's hometown who was asked by a reporter, "what do you think of the terrorist?" "What do you think about what happened in Gaza?" he retorted.
So, the solution is not to hit harder. It is to find a way to end the hitting by both sides. The cycle of violence only serves those who wish to perpetuate the conflict, and not those who are tired of living by the sword. However, speaking as an eternal optimist, it's virtually impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is no leadership figure on either side that can tip the balance towards a positive process - at best, we will continue to jog in place. Each party to the conflict is intrenched in its indignation and convinced the ball is in the opponent's court. Is there anybody out there who can save us?
The general assumption here is that the most recent attack is not an indication of a new trend, a third intifada. The separation fence and the IDF's unlimited access to the dens of terror in the West Bank ensure that we will never return to the darkest days of the second intifada. However, although Hamas and the various minions of terrorism find it increasingly difficult to act, their determination and persistence sometimes pay off, particularly when the fires of revenge are coursing through their blood.
The newspapers reported that the terrorist, a 26-year old Palestinian from a prosperous family from East Jerusalem, was deeply affected by the media images of last week's Israeli incursion in to Gaza, when about one hundred Palestinians were killed, many of them civilians. He chose to avenge their deaths, knowing he would die in the process.
The Palestinian glorification of death and their preoccupation with revenge are two cultural characteristics with which Israelis and Jews cannot identify. Although a desire to blow them all to kingdom come is a common reaction to a terrorist attack, it is widely acknowledged as a visceral one. When we regain our senses we remember that revenge is not a strategy by which a state operates but a powerful emotional desire that brings no resolution to the problems at hand.
Obviously, the terrorist did not care to acknowledge that the Israeli incursion into Gaza was a response to a direct threat to our homefront that no sovereign nation would willingly accept. The Palestinian inability to self-examine has created a deep sense of victimhood - they are always right, Israel is always at fault. This approach was evident in the reply of an Arab man from the terrorist's hometown who was asked by a reporter, "what do you think of the terrorist?" "What do you think about what happened in Gaza?" he retorted.
So, the solution is not to hit harder. It is to find a way to end the hitting by both sides. The cycle of violence only serves those who wish to perpetuate the conflict, and not those who are tired of living by the sword. However, speaking as an eternal optimist, it's virtually impossible to see the light at the end of the tunnel. There is no leadership figure on either side that can tip the balance towards a positive process - at best, we will continue to jog in place. Each party to the conflict is intrenched in its indignation and convinced the ball is in the opponent's court. Is there anybody out there who can save us?
Friday, February 29, 2008
Crossing the Rubicon
The rockets from Gaza have been flying left, right and center and frankly, we're sick of it. We're sick of waging war against a terrorist entity that claims to represent the best interests of the Palestinian people. We're sick of listening to them whine about how miserable they are. We're sick of the impotence of their leadership and their inability to take the reins and move forward with anything. We're sick of the international reluctance to condemn Hamas in no uncertain terms.
But mostly, we're sick of the Palestinians' inability to rationally and logically decide what is in their best interests. A Gaza resident interviewed in Haaretz this morning complained about Hamas' rule of terror in the strip. Then he added, "You need to understand that however angry people are with Hamas, their anger at Israel is greater." Neighbors, do you want an independent state of your own or do you wish to continue the armed struggle indefinitely? Do you want to compromise and begin building your own state, or do you want to keep fighting for generations in the futile attempt to achieve the unattainable ? Do you want a viable, thriving state in Gaza or do you want Israel to reoccupy and begin the cycle all over again?
In Israel we are running out of patience because it has been quite some time since we concluded that creating a Palestinian state is the only way to resolve this conflict. In 1992 we elected our toughest warrior, Yizhak Rabin, to lead us into negotiations with the Palestinian leadership. In 2000 we sent the most left-leaning, peace-pursuing government ever formed in Israel to sign a deal with Yasser Arafat - the veritable dream team of compromise. Ehud Barak, Shimon Peres, Shlomo Ben Ami, Yossi Sarid, Yossi Beilin - never since then has a team like this been assembled within a government of Israel charged with negotiating a deal with the Palestinians. Even our current prime minister, Ehud Olmert, a long-time member of the Oslo opposition, was elected on a platform of closing a deal with our neighbors. We're ready to compromise and to get this done, although we know there will be plenty of opposition from within our own ranks.
But our neighbors are still back there on the other side of the river, paralyzed, crying over their wounded honor. Where is the Palestinian Nachshon, the first Israelite slave to free himself of bondage by wading into the waters of the Red Sea? Is there a person in Palestine who is capable of leading the people across the Rubicon? Is there a figure who can take control and do what needs to be done? Is there anyone there capable of knocking some sense into masses? If you're out there, please: stand up and identify yourself, and do something.
But mostly, we're sick of the Palestinians' inability to rationally and logically decide what is in their best interests. A Gaza resident interviewed in Haaretz this morning complained about Hamas' rule of terror in the strip. Then he added, "You need to understand that however angry people are with Hamas, their anger at Israel is greater." Neighbors, do you want an independent state of your own or do you wish to continue the armed struggle indefinitely? Do you want to compromise and begin building your own state, or do you want to keep fighting for generations in the futile attempt to achieve the unattainable ? Do you want a viable, thriving state in Gaza or do you want Israel to reoccupy and begin the cycle all over again?
In Israel we are running out of patience because it has been quite some time since we concluded that creating a Palestinian state is the only way to resolve this conflict. In 1992 we elected our toughest warrior, Yizhak Rabin, to lead us into negotiations with the Palestinian leadership. In 2000 we sent the most left-leaning, peace-pursuing government ever formed in Israel to sign a deal with Yasser Arafat - the veritable dream team of compromise. Ehud Barak, Shimon Peres, Shlomo Ben Ami, Yossi Sarid, Yossi Beilin - never since then has a team like this been assembled within a government of Israel charged with negotiating a deal with the Palestinians. Even our current prime minister, Ehud Olmert, a long-time member of the Oslo opposition, was elected on a platform of closing a deal with our neighbors. We're ready to compromise and to get this done, although we know there will be plenty of opposition from within our own ranks.
But our neighbors are still back there on the other side of the river, paralyzed, crying over their wounded honor. Where is the Palestinian Nachshon, the first Israelite slave to free himself of bondage by wading into the waters of the Red Sea? Is there a person in Palestine who is capable of leading the people across the Rubicon? Is there a figure who can take control and do what needs to be done? Is there anyone there capable of knocking some sense into masses? If you're out there, please: stand up and identify yourself, and do something.
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The Elephant in the Living Room
Israel is a small country surrounded by menacing enemies, so invariably one community or another is suffering from the aggressions of our neighbors at any given time. During the Gulf War Saddam's missiles were all aimed at the Tel Aviv metropolitan area. In the second intifada the residents of Gilo in Jerusalem absorbed gunfire from Palestinian militants in Bet Jallah across the way. During the second Lebanon war the entire northern portion of the state came under rocket fire from Hizbollah. Today it's the citizens of Sderot and the rural settlements around the Gaza Strip. It's the luck of the draw: if your community happens to be the bull's eye on the target, normal life is transformed into living hell. On the other hand, if you're out of range you carry on doing what you always do, as if you're in Iceland somewhere.
The television is what keeps us all connected to our unfolding reality, bringing the misery and suffering of our compatriots and neighbors right into the living room, ensuring none of us ever forgets where we really live. Each of the three local channels operates a crack news team, with predictably aesthetic visages broadcasting the latest events from fancy studios in real time.
Not surprisingly, most of the local programming is unabashedly escapist: talented young singers and dancers competing for instant fame, glossy, sculpted Jewish hotties trying to survive on a desert island. The imported programs like CSI, Law and Order and the Dog Whisperer whisk us ot other places on the globe where the most pressing problems are how to solve a crime or educate your pet. Even the commercials transport us to another place. My current favorite is for a bank, showing a gang of kids playing with a supermarket cart in the desert, transforming this most unromantic of objects into a vehicle for flight and fantasy, all for the token sum of a five shekel deposit.
However, amidst the vapid , celebrity-obsessive zeitgeist of Israeli television there remains a cadre of programmers who insist on using this medium to explore the Arab-Israeli conflict at a more intimate level than the news. Thought you could turn on the box and get away from it all? Not a chance. The world's most volatile disagreement is in our living room, and it's surprisingly compelling.
The current show running for several months is called Avodah Aravit, or Arab labor, a play on the concept of avodah ivrit, Jewish labor, a pillar of the Zionist ethos of the pioneers that built the state. This sitcom, written by Sayed Kashua, a well-know Israeli Arab journalist (whose book 'Dancing Arabs' is on my favorites list at the bottom of this website) protrays his alter-ego, Amjad, an Arab journalist working for a Jewish newspaper. Surrounded by a cast of supporting Arabs and Jews who fit every possible current stereotype, Amjad is interviewed in the various media as a spokesman for the Arab sector, buys a car from a sleazy used-car salesman, rescues his friend from an apparent terrorist kidnapping, searches for an appropriate preschool for his daughter, attends a passover seder, accompanies his pregnant wife to the obstetrician and goes into therapy to explore his confusing identity as an Arab living in Israel. Each episode cleverly highlights one of the many absurdities in our behavior towards one another and within our own cultures in Israel of the 21st century. Both sides receive equal treatment as their strengths and weaknesses come under the microscope. We are forced to examine the stereotypes and evaluate their origins, each time from a different angle. The series is funny, entertaining, insightful and thought-provoking, all at the same time. Somehow, it manages to make us endearing, in a Keystone Kops sort of way.
Up next is a soon-to-premiere series called 'All-Consuming,' a translation which does no justice to its Hebrew name Ochelet Yoshveya. The series, about two women chefs, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who compete against one another in a reality show, takes its name from an infamous biblical description of the land of Israel. Moses has sent a team of men to spy out the land and report back to him. Bearing a bunch of grapes so big it has to be carried on a pole by two men, they return and Caleb describes the land as one"flowing with milk and honey," advocating immediate conquest. Others, however, beg to differ and paint the picture of "a land that devours its inhabitants," eretz ochelet yoshveyha. A tv show about chefs in the land that devours its inhabitants sound extremely promising just from the title.
By nature, I'd typically much rather read a book in the evening. More and more, however, I'm finding that amidst a world of money-driven, intolerable drivel some very creative minds are working to create quality, relevant television in Israel. Will wonders never cease?
The television is what keeps us all connected to our unfolding reality, bringing the misery and suffering of our compatriots and neighbors right into the living room, ensuring none of us ever forgets where we really live. Each of the three local channels operates a crack news team, with predictably aesthetic visages broadcasting the latest events from fancy studios in real time.
Not surprisingly, most of the local programming is unabashedly escapist: talented young singers and dancers competing for instant fame, glossy, sculpted Jewish hotties trying to survive on a desert island. The imported programs like CSI, Law and Order and the Dog Whisperer whisk us ot other places on the globe where the most pressing problems are how to solve a crime or educate your pet. Even the commercials transport us to another place. My current favorite is for a bank, showing a gang of kids playing with a supermarket cart in the desert, transforming this most unromantic of objects into a vehicle for flight and fantasy, all for the token sum of a five shekel deposit.
However, amidst the vapid , celebrity-obsessive zeitgeist of Israeli television there remains a cadre of programmers who insist on using this medium to explore the Arab-Israeli conflict at a more intimate level than the news. Thought you could turn on the box and get away from it all? Not a chance. The world's most volatile disagreement is in our living room, and it's surprisingly compelling.
The current show running for several months is called Avodah Aravit, or Arab labor, a play on the concept of avodah ivrit, Jewish labor, a pillar of the Zionist ethos of the pioneers that built the state. This sitcom, written by Sayed Kashua, a well-know Israeli Arab journalist (whose book 'Dancing Arabs' is on my favorites list at the bottom of this website) protrays his alter-ego, Amjad, an Arab journalist working for a Jewish newspaper. Surrounded by a cast of supporting Arabs and Jews who fit every possible current stereotype, Amjad is interviewed in the various media as a spokesman for the Arab sector, buys a car from a sleazy used-car salesman, rescues his friend from an apparent terrorist kidnapping, searches for an appropriate preschool for his daughter, attends a passover seder, accompanies his pregnant wife to the obstetrician and goes into therapy to explore his confusing identity as an Arab living in Israel. Each episode cleverly highlights one of the many absurdities in our behavior towards one another and within our own cultures in Israel of the 21st century. Both sides receive equal treatment as their strengths and weaknesses come under the microscope. We are forced to examine the stereotypes and evaluate their origins, each time from a different angle. The series is funny, entertaining, insightful and thought-provoking, all at the same time. Somehow, it manages to make us endearing, in a Keystone Kops sort of way.
Up next is a soon-to-premiere series called 'All-Consuming,' a translation which does no justice to its Hebrew name Ochelet Yoshveya. The series, about two women chefs, one Israeli and one Palestinian, who compete against one another in a reality show, takes its name from an infamous biblical description of the land of Israel. Moses has sent a team of men to spy out the land and report back to him. Bearing a bunch of grapes so big it has to be carried on a pole by two men, they return and Caleb describes the land as one"flowing with milk and honey," advocating immediate conquest. Others, however, beg to differ and paint the picture of "a land that devours its inhabitants," eretz ochelet yoshveyha. A tv show about chefs in the land that devours its inhabitants sound extremely promising just from the title.
By nature, I'd typically much rather read a book in the evening. More and more, however, I'm finding that amidst a world of money-driven, intolerable drivel some very creative minds are working to create quality, relevant television in Israel. Will wonders never cease?
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Soul Searching in the Snow
Beneath the scorching, relentless summer sun it's hard to believe it can ever snow in Jerusalem, but when the city is covered in white and the texture of the powder reminds me of my childhood backyard in New York I can't help but think of the ancients. Did Abraham and David know the same tricks for keeping warm as the Hopi and the Blackfoot? Could structures akin to teepees perhaps once have dotted the hills overlooking Mount Moriah? The scene doesn't sound all that incongruous as I size up the height of the fluff accumulated on the rough boulders of Jerusalem stone in my garden. Lions and Syrian bears roamed the hills then; maybe the biblical poets simply forgot to mention the wild turkeys and the squirrels?
But not even a noreaster could prevent the long-awaited presentation of the Winograd report yesterday evening at six pm sharp (the Haaretz cartoon showed Olmert and the committee members being transported to the meeting comfortably nestled in the palm of the snow plow). This 610-page tome bears the exhaustive conclusions of the committee set up to evaluate the roles of the government and the army in the Lebanon War of Summer, 2006. Prime Minister Olmert was reprimanded for some faulty decisions but the failure of the war was not laid primarily at his feet. The Israel Defense Forces bore the brunt of the criticism; the panel was unequivocal in concluding that the army had failed in almost every way to evaluate the war situation and utilize its forces effectively. The panel also found fault with every Israeli government and every army chief of staff since the withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, who were guilty of not reading the situation correctly and not preparing for it.
Perhaps the most interesting criticism of the report was leveled at Israeli society at large via the army. The committee pointed out that many of the problematic military decisions were based on avoiding casualties for our forces and that advances were halted in order to evacuate the wounded. In other words, the army assigned so much importance to protecting the soldiers that it tied its own hands for the battle mission. It's important to note that after Hizbollah kidnapped the two soldiers from sovereign Israeli territory the whole country was in favor of going to war to restore our deterrent capabilities. If we let this one slide, what was next? However, at the end of the day no one was unequivocally prepared to sacrifice untold numbers of living Israeli soldiers to achieve this goal. On the contrary - the army was expected to produce a swift, bloodless victory with all the casualties on the Hizbollah side. The army in fact cooperated with this delusion by claiming, at the beginning of the conflict, that the whole war could be fought and won by the air force alone.
The committee felt compelled to remind the public that Israel's deterrence lies in its "fitting military leadership, military ability and public fortitude." In other words, if you guys aren't willing to put down your cappucinos, lay your lives on the line and bear the sacrifices stoically then we can't beat anyone. An army cannot win a war without casualites and sacrifices. The problem is that life is so rich and good here, that at times we altogether forget we're actually at war. What a bummer -you mean they still want to fight?
Despite the partial positive outcome of the war, the Winograd Committee stated repeatedly that Israel had lost, Israel had failed, Israel had erred. Hassan Nasrallah and his minions are no doubt celebrating their victory tonight, enabled by the Israeli insistence on airing our dirty laundry in public. However, although our enemies gloat the process of self-evaluation and the honest and difficult search for the causes of failure lie at the roots of our strength. Our state, our society and the building of our future are one big work in progress which will only succeed if we continuously re-evaluate the formula and those who lead us in our aspiration to build the optimum Jewish society. The Winograd Report isn't about punishing those responsible for the failures. It is an attempt to identify mistakes and make the necessary corrections to achieve better, more effective results in the next round against our enemies. And there will most certainly be a next round...
But not even a noreaster could prevent the long-awaited presentation of the Winograd report yesterday evening at six pm sharp (the Haaretz cartoon showed Olmert and the committee members being transported to the meeting comfortably nestled in the palm of the snow plow). This 610-page tome bears the exhaustive conclusions of the committee set up to evaluate the roles of the government and the army in the Lebanon War of Summer, 2006. Prime Minister Olmert was reprimanded for some faulty decisions but the failure of the war was not laid primarily at his feet. The Israel Defense Forces bore the brunt of the criticism; the panel was unequivocal in concluding that the army had failed in almost every way to evaluate the war situation and utilize its forces effectively. The panel also found fault with every Israeli government and every army chief of staff since the withdrawal from Lebanon in 2000, who were guilty of not reading the situation correctly and not preparing for it.
Perhaps the most interesting criticism of the report was leveled at Israeli society at large via the army. The committee pointed out that many of the problematic military decisions were based on avoiding casualties for our forces and that advances were halted in order to evacuate the wounded. In other words, the army assigned so much importance to protecting the soldiers that it tied its own hands for the battle mission. It's important to note that after Hizbollah kidnapped the two soldiers from sovereign Israeli territory the whole country was in favor of going to war to restore our deterrent capabilities. If we let this one slide, what was next? However, at the end of the day no one was unequivocally prepared to sacrifice untold numbers of living Israeli soldiers to achieve this goal. On the contrary - the army was expected to produce a swift, bloodless victory with all the casualties on the Hizbollah side. The army in fact cooperated with this delusion by claiming, at the beginning of the conflict, that the whole war could be fought and won by the air force alone.
The committee felt compelled to remind the public that Israel's deterrence lies in its "fitting military leadership, military ability and public fortitude." In other words, if you guys aren't willing to put down your cappucinos, lay your lives on the line and bear the sacrifices stoically then we can't beat anyone. An army cannot win a war without casualites and sacrifices. The problem is that life is so rich and good here, that at times we altogether forget we're actually at war. What a bummer -you mean they still want to fight?
Despite the partial positive outcome of the war, the Winograd Committee stated repeatedly that Israel had lost, Israel had failed, Israel had erred. Hassan Nasrallah and his minions are no doubt celebrating their victory tonight, enabled by the Israeli insistence on airing our dirty laundry in public. However, although our enemies gloat the process of self-evaluation and the honest and difficult search for the causes of failure lie at the roots of our strength. Our state, our society and the building of our future are one big work in progress which will only succeed if we continuously re-evaluate the formula and those who lead us in our aspiration to build the optimum Jewish society. The Winograd Report isn't about punishing those responsible for the failures. It is an attempt to identify mistakes and make the necessary corrections to achieve better, more effective results in the next round against our enemies. And there will most certainly be a next round...
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Our Parallel Universe
Strolling through Tel Aviv yesterday, I couldn't help marvelling over how, on the surface, Israel seems like a perfectly normal western country going about its business on a Thursday morning. Men in snappy clothes hurried to work, chicks in tights and big sunglasses walked dogs and looked beautiful, shopkeepers hawked their wares and pedestrians daydreamed at crosswalks.
In the paralled universe of the Gaza Strip Palestinians were gingerly making their way over the rubble of the old barrier separating them from Egypt as, in a great rush of relief so loud you could almost hear it, they gleefully liberated themselves from the ongoing siege that has virtually suffocated them.
Watching them on tv, it was hard not to sympathize with those poor souls who ultimately pay the price for the decisions of their leadership, which in this case is the continuing rocketfire from Gaza on to civilian settlements in sovereign Israel. The Palestinians are skillful at manipulating the media to their advantage but no matter how the picture is painted the bottom line is still the same: Israel's responsiblity is to the security of its citizens first, and to the welfare of the civilian population from whence the rockets come only second. We're in a game of trial and error here, where the ultimate goal is to find the most effective way to pressure Hamas to stop the rockets without actually reoccupying the Gaza Strip.
Many Israelis are cursing Ariel Sharon and his Disengagment for having created this situation and I think everyone would agree today that it was a fatal mistake to ignore the Palestinian leadership and execute the job unilaterally - under no circumstances can territory be evacuated in a vacuum. Fundamentally, however, the Gaza Strip has no place within the future final borders of the state of Israel. We must continue to think creatively until we find the carrot/stick that will put an end to the rocket fire.
A tourist couple wrote me a thank you note this week at the end of their tour. Amongst other things they said, "We think you guys (Israel) are too nice and accomodating - and we think they will never be satisfied no matter how much you give them back - so I'm for you keeping it all. I have been amazed at how kind you have been towards the Arabs and Muslims."
I wish I could have conveyed to them a story I heard the following day from a friend, who went to a seminar on Israel's War of Independence this week. She said that the thing that stayed with her the most was related by the Israeli writer Yoram Kaniuk when describing his experiences as a soldier during the war: "We had conquered an Arab village and rounded up the villagers to expell them. As they were leaving, several buses pulled up carrying Holocaust survivors who were to occupy the abandoned homes. And I have struggled to live in that gap ever since."
It is a complex reality in which we live. Despite our extraordinary achievements and despite the Tel Aviv bubble, Israel is still a nation fighting for its survival and forced to justify its existence every day. As long as the Palestinians choose to pursue the armed struggle we will do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves, even if it makes us look bad.
We will continue to soul search in cafes over double lattes before during and after, and hope that we won't always have to live by the sword. It's still hard to be optimistic, but then again, this is the Middle East - anything can happen...
In the paralled universe of the Gaza Strip Palestinians were gingerly making their way over the rubble of the old barrier separating them from Egypt as, in a great rush of relief so loud you could almost hear it, they gleefully liberated themselves from the ongoing siege that has virtually suffocated them.
Watching them on tv, it was hard not to sympathize with those poor souls who ultimately pay the price for the decisions of their leadership, which in this case is the continuing rocketfire from Gaza on to civilian settlements in sovereign Israel. The Palestinians are skillful at manipulating the media to their advantage but no matter how the picture is painted the bottom line is still the same: Israel's responsiblity is to the security of its citizens first, and to the welfare of the civilian population from whence the rockets come only second. We're in a game of trial and error here, where the ultimate goal is to find the most effective way to pressure Hamas to stop the rockets without actually reoccupying the Gaza Strip.
Many Israelis are cursing Ariel Sharon and his Disengagment for having created this situation and I think everyone would agree today that it was a fatal mistake to ignore the Palestinian leadership and execute the job unilaterally - under no circumstances can territory be evacuated in a vacuum. Fundamentally, however, the Gaza Strip has no place within the future final borders of the state of Israel. We must continue to think creatively until we find the carrot/stick that will put an end to the rocket fire.
A tourist couple wrote me a thank you note this week at the end of their tour. Amongst other things they said, "We think you guys (Israel) are too nice and accomodating - and we think they will never be satisfied no matter how much you give them back - so I'm for you keeping it all. I have been amazed at how kind you have been towards the Arabs and Muslims."
I wish I could have conveyed to them a story I heard the following day from a friend, who went to a seminar on Israel's War of Independence this week. She said that the thing that stayed with her the most was related by the Israeli writer Yoram Kaniuk when describing his experiences as a soldier during the war: "We had conquered an Arab village and rounded up the villagers to expell them. As they were leaving, several buses pulled up carrying Holocaust survivors who were to occupy the abandoned homes. And I have struggled to live in that gap ever since."
It is a complex reality in which we live. Despite our extraordinary achievements and despite the Tel Aviv bubble, Israel is still a nation fighting for its survival and forced to justify its existence every day. As long as the Palestinians choose to pursue the armed struggle we will do whatever is necessary to protect ourselves, even if it makes us look bad.
We will continue to soul search in cafes over double lattes before during and after, and hope that we won't always have to live by the sword. It's still hard to be optimistic, but then again, this is the Middle East - anything can happen...
Saturday, January 12, 2008
Dubya in the Holy Land
"Israeli politics is like karate. You never know where the next chop will come from."
Thus spake the world's ostensibly most powerful man, eloquently encapsulating the complex reality at the root of the world's problems. Observing George Bush in the land of the Jews this week was a fascinating exercise in wishful thinking: is this really the guy who's going to bring peace to the Middle East?
From the moment he appeared at the open door of Airforce One, waving and smiling like a cowboy about to mount the meanest bronco in the rodeo, Bush was relaxed, easygoing, jovial. The warm, confident grin never left his face - not in the mile-long receiving line of Israeli politicians waiting to shake his hand, not in the midst of Israeli children singing and dancing for him at the president's residence and not at the dinner of who's who in Israeli politics as Olmert steered him from one empty conversation to another.
The entire country was on the edge of its seat as the president of the United States made his rounds. Needless to say, the traffic arrangements in Jerusalem were so daunting that people stayed home from work. My daughter's classes were cancelled one day because the teachers were convinced they couldn't get to school. That's the best excuse invented since "the dog ate my homework"!
There probably isn't a single other country that would have received Bush with as much love and admiration as he got here in Israel. Olmert the prime minister positively gushed with praise and kind words for him. The excitement at the airport was so palpable it radiated right though the tv screen; every single one of those salty, manipulative, horse-trading Israeli politicians couldn't wait to run home and tell all their friends they shook hands with the president of the United States of America. It's interesting to note that there was a similar, albeit less intensive ado over Jerry Seinfeld a few weeks ago when he was here to promote his new movie. Both the prime minister and the president rushed to have their photos taken with the Jewish comedian. Despite the attention lavished on little Israel by these great men, we're still stuck in our ghetto inferiority complex. Beneath our achievements in armaments, technology and slow drip irrigation we still can't believe that we deserve to be treated as equal among the nations of the world. "What, the president of the United States is coming to Israel? Give him a visit to remember, because who knows when we'll get this much attention again."
And be sure and send him home with copious gifts. What does one give to a man who owns many oil wells and a ranch in Texas? Olmert's aides were given a mission: find out what Dubya likes. "Bicycling," they reported back. The prime minister presented his guest with a uniform of the Israeli national cycling team (who knew we even had one?)and a GPS system outfitted for a bicycle, complete with information on the road near the ranch. So the next time Bush is lost in the wilderness of the Middle East all he has to do is phone home to Israel. We'll be happy to steer him right back to the road map we've drawn up specially for him.
Thus spake the world's ostensibly most powerful man, eloquently encapsulating the complex reality at the root of the world's problems. Observing George Bush in the land of the Jews this week was a fascinating exercise in wishful thinking: is this really the guy who's going to bring peace to the Middle East?
From the moment he appeared at the open door of Airforce One, waving and smiling like a cowboy about to mount the meanest bronco in the rodeo, Bush was relaxed, easygoing, jovial. The warm, confident grin never left his face - not in the mile-long receiving line of Israeli politicians waiting to shake his hand, not in the midst of Israeli children singing and dancing for him at the president's residence and not at the dinner of who's who in Israeli politics as Olmert steered him from one empty conversation to another.
The entire country was on the edge of its seat as the president of the United States made his rounds. Needless to say, the traffic arrangements in Jerusalem were so daunting that people stayed home from work. My daughter's classes were cancelled one day because the teachers were convinced they couldn't get to school. That's the best excuse invented since "the dog ate my homework"!
There probably isn't a single other country that would have received Bush with as much love and admiration as he got here in Israel. Olmert the prime minister positively gushed with praise and kind words for him. The excitement at the airport was so palpable it radiated right though the tv screen; every single one of those salty, manipulative, horse-trading Israeli politicians couldn't wait to run home and tell all their friends they shook hands with the president of the United States of America. It's interesting to note that there was a similar, albeit less intensive ado over Jerry Seinfeld a few weeks ago when he was here to promote his new movie. Both the prime minister and the president rushed to have their photos taken with the Jewish comedian. Despite the attention lavished on little Israel by these great men, we're still stuck in our ghetto inferiority complex. Beneath our achievements in armaments, technology and slow drip irrigation we still can't believe that we deserve to be treated as equal among the nations of the world. "What, the president of the United States is coming to Israel? Give him a visit to remember, because who knows when we'll get this much attention again."
And be sure and send him home with copious gifts. What does one give to a man who owns many oil wells and a ranch in Texas? Olmert's aides were given a mission: find out what Dubya likes. "Bicycling," they reported back. The prime minister presented his guest with a uniform of the Israeli national cycling team (who knew we even had one?)and a GPS system outfitted for a bicycle, complete with information on the road near the ranch. So the next time Bush is lost in the wilderness of the Middle East all he has to do is phone home to Israel. We'll be happy to steer him right back to the road map we've drawn up specially for him.
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