7/14/2006

Matzav (Milchama) Musings

Standing a month before Aliyah, you can be darn sure that this war is on my mind. Not that it’s not on all our minds anyway. Here are some thoughts.

  • There will never be a better time than now, with world opinion as favorable to Israel as it’s been in recent memory, with the U.S. Armed Forces in Iraq, the Gulf, and Pakistan, and the Hizballah-Iran nexus perfectly clear, to go after Iran (kick some Farse?) before they get the bomb and it’s too late. The only territory that Israel would have to worry about flying over is Syria; let them start up, too. We’ll see how good those old MiGs are.

  • It’s way too early for anti-disengagement folks to say ‘I told you so’. The fact that there are two recognizable borders that have been crossed makes these acts of provocation much easier to define and explain. It’s much easier to fight an ‘external’ enemy. I will characterize this point with a joke. [Please note that I’m not saying the disengagement was a good thing, only that seeking proof for its failure in the current outbreak is premature and a bit misguided] :

A dog urinated on the leg of a blind man. The man reached into his pocket to get a biscuit to give the dog. A bystander wondered aloud, “Why are you rewarding the dog for peeing on your leg!?” The blind man replied, “Because once I know where his face is, I can kick his tuches.”


  • With Hamas as the democratically-elected heads of the PA, and Hizbollah sitting in the Lebanese parliament, there are no more excuses and doublespeak about fringe elements or isolated incidents. These acts are the acts of recognized governing authorities, who bear responsibility for their actions and against whom war can be declared. See above joke.

And a couple of personal stories related to the situation and aliyah:
  • At the rally for Gilad on Monday at the Syrian Embassy, my activist career began. I was extemporaneously asked to recite, translate and lead the singing of ‘acheynu’. Personally, I think that song, especially the right songs (for this occasion, I’d have selected ‘Kol be-Ramah’, ‘Le-ma’an Achai’, ‘U-va’u Ha-ovdim’, and others in addition to ‘Acheynu’ ) should be used as a protest tool more often; I’m not into shouting slogans like  “2-4-6-8, Syria is a terrorist state” (yes, a group actually chanted that; it was one of the better ones, actually).

  • I was interviewed earlier tonight by the Washington Times about our upcoming Aliyah. The woman doing the interviewing asked, me being a Rabbi and all, if I was familiar with a verse that another interviewee of hers, something like ‘vashavoo’. I responded that it was probably a reference to ‘ve-shavu vanim le-g’vulam’, which is found in Jeremiah 31:16 (I said that immediately). Now it so happens that I looked that passuk up earlier this week, when thinking about the captives, so I knew exactly where it was. This woman, however, was totally blown away. I told her that I can lie to her and tell her that I know the entire Torah by heart, but that it’s not true and this was a fluke. But for that one second, she was absolutely floored.

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