War is not the answer, but peace doesn't seem to work so well either
Monday, 12 January 2009
I am not going to offer a strategic analysis as we have far more competent people to do this. But I wanted to write, touch base and at least give you a personal perspective of what is like living in Israel during this war (my second war in Israel and hopefully my last - but I suspect not).
On one level my family is fine. We are lucky because we live in Jerusalem. Amazing how quickly things change. Who could imagine saying this only a few years ago during the Second Intifada? On another level, how can one be fine during a war? Ayal our eight year old was in our bed the first night of the war and actually was in our bed the other night as well…everyone is effected and children sense what is going on around them on a much deeper level (than we give them credit for).
Even during a war life goes on; but of course it cannot be business as usual. Nothing feels the same nor should it feel the same. Even the wonderful aspects of life here feel different. The other night my wife and I went to a meeting at our son's school where we were getting ready for his siddur (prayer book) ceremony. The Reform movement had just put out an amazing siddur for his school. As we reviewed this prayer book, we were truly overwhelmed at how it reflected the values that so many of us were working to instill in our children. It was just one of those rare coordinated efforts that succeeded in reflecting ideals about spirituality, pluralism, equality, Jewish tradition and of course it was all in beautiful Hebrew (that my kids understand way better than I do). It was a remarkable moment sitting in a circle with all these Israeli parents in a cold school room in Jerusalem kvelling over this Reform Jewish prayer book. And then the woman next to me received a phone call and shot out of the room. Her husband had just been called up to go into Gaza.
A few nights ago friends came to stay with us because they live on Kibbutz Dvir which is in firing range not too far from Gaza. They only have 45 seconds to get into the bomb shelter when they hear the siren and they just needed a rest - because to live with this uncertainty - is exhausting. Of course their visit also allowed me to observe the moments that can only happen in Israel. Because one has only 45 seconds to get to the bomb shelter, our friend could not get herself to take a shower, so she has been walking around in sweats for the last two weeks But her daughter who is a 14 year old Israeli teenager has been very nicely dressed this whole time. When she asked her why she was dressed so nicely, her daughter replied "Ima, everyone I know is going to be at the bomb shelter…I need to look good." Welcome to life in Israel.
Finally for me the strangest aspect of "business as usual" is interacting with Palestinians in Jerusalem. I work at Beit Shmuel and most of the maintenance staff here are Arabs from East Jerusalem, or Palestinians. Nothing is more confusing than Palestinian identity in Jerusalem. Every morning I see the same guys and we say the same "Ahlann", "Boker Tov", "Good Morning", while down in Gaza our people are in a fight to the death. Maybe "Good Morning" is easier. I have come to learn there are layers of interaction here that seem to have their own rules. Israelis and Palestinians relate to each other very differently professionally, personally and finally nationally and yes the contradictions are intense.
No one wants this war, but no one wants missiles falling through their roof either.
But on the other hand the pictures and stories from Gaza are horrible. And now I will write something profoundly un-Israeli, betraying how poorly I have internalized the Israeli ethic. I am willing to admit I don't have a good answer. I just read Ha'aretz newspaper this Shabbat and agreed with every article. And they all advocated something else. This is an incredibly complex conflict. I am still convinced that concerning our situation, we are acting differently than any other sovereign nation in the world, even though we make mistakes. And I am following the news every day and hoping we know what we are doing. What is so frustrating is that we have seen that war is not the answer, but in this region peace doesn't seem to work so well either.
I do know that the protesters around the world are making me sick. They don't seem to want to help the Palestinian people as much as they simply want to hurt Israel……..similar to Hamas. I see the protests in Europe and they remind me of the story that Amos Oz told about his father when his father was living in Germany in the 1930's. Apparently there was graffiti all over Germany saying "Jews- go back to Palestine." Of course when Amos Oz was invited back to visit Germany in the 90"s - to receive a prize in literature- he saw signs all over Germany that said "Jews- get out of Palestine". And so it goes...
Pray for peace, for our soldiers, for the innocent on both sides and for the State of Israel.
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
