Thursday, August 18, 2005

Pictures worth a thousand words

A friend of mine sent me this link, and I can't begin to tell you what it means to me. To see Jews doing such things to Jews is beyond my comprehension; to listen to Reuters (a bad idea to begin with) this is after "four decades of occupation." No mention of the attacks by the Arabs that forced this "occupation." Certainly no mention of what the Palestinians in Gaza have managed to do in the last 40 years. Which is nothing at all. Meantime brave Jewish settlers have built homes, communities, farms, and lives.

And all of it destroyed in three days.

It's no surprise that this began on Tisha B'Av, the most tragic day in Jewish history. I had started a post on the Three Weeks, a period which ended last sunday with the observance of the Tisha B'Av fast. (more details on the three weeks and Tisha B'Av here.) This is as good a place to talk about it as that one. Tisha B'Av is primarily known as the day when both Temples in Jerusalem were destroyed, first by the Babylonians in 586 BCE and then by the Romans in 70 CE. Most of the commentaries note that Tisha B'Av is the national day of mourning and tragedies.

The commentaries note that the Israelites in the desert cried over the episode of the spies (Numbers, Chap. 13 if I have it right). The night they cried over the false report was Tisha B'Av, the ninth of the Hebrew month of Av. As the sages report, God said "you've cried tonight over false reports and for no reason; I will make this a day you will cry over forever." Numerous tragedies, including the Jewish expulsion from Spain in 1492 have happened on this date. I don't know any other faith that has a national day of mourning. Certainly the death of Jesus is highly significant, but given the theological necessity of his death, I don't consider that an issue where Christians "mourn", exactly, that event. The closest parallels are national (rather than religious) rememberances - the Armenian Genocide, Pearl Harbor Day, September 11, etc.

We as Jews focus on this day all of our grief and pain at our suffering. What makes it important is not that we have been persecuted and killed. It's that we have lost our immediate relationship with God, and it's our own fault. We pushed God away, and we mourn the consequences of our all too human mistake. The First Temple was destroyed for the sin of idolatry. The Second Temple, however, was destroyed largely because of man's inhumanity to man. It's known in Hebrew as "Sinat Chinam", literally "hatred of friends/neighbors", most commonly translated as baseless hatred.

Which brings me back to the original part of this post. The idea that Jews could do such a thing to Jews is beyond awful. If this were to happen in any other country - the government forcing thousands of its citizens to abandon the homes they've lovingly built and maintained for a generation - there would be outrage and international condemnation. There would be talk of the Nazification of the country, or discussions of ethnic cleansing. But Israel? Jews? They're just "ending the illegal occupation."

The psychological damage this will do to a generation of Israelis is enormous. The soldiers being forced to do this have been shown crying their eyes out at the idea that they have to destroy the lives of their fellow citizens. This was destined to happen on Tisha B'Av - there could be no other day when such events could happen. It's more proof of why, when people expect that I will support the State of Israel no matter what, I argue that a government is just a government. Since Israel is led largely by non-observant Jews, the State doesn't represent what I believe Israel needs to be. It needs to be the Light Unto The Nations, and how is that possible when the people running the country don't follow the path of God? It becomes just another state, where events like this can happen, and we do not serve as an example to others.

I think the saddest part of these events is the likely result. Talking heads and elitist thinkers will nod sagely, saying "Israel is finally showing that it's willing to move a little towards peace." The rest of us may realize that Israeli compliance with the "peace process" has been WAY beyond what reasonable people could expect, for which they've gotten zero credit. And while the gasbags pretend this will help, I believe this will change nothing. The Palestinians will not magically lay down their weapons & teach their children to co-exist with Jews. They will simply direct their energies towards other protests, other "failures of Israel to be a partner in peace," and sadly, towards new terrorism.

It's a false promise, Mr. Sharon. This will not bring peace. This will not end the conflict. Your government has simply destroyed life and success, and the end result will be status quo. More death, more lies, and no peace. I pray you've made the right choice, but I firmly believe you have not.

May God comfort my brothers & sisters, and may he bring an end to our strife speedily.