Overheard at Kibbutz Ramat Rachel. Friday, April 5, 6:30AM
Dramatis Personae: Two pool regulars, finishing up their ablutions and dressing.
Woman 1: “I heard that there was a panic at the grocery store last night. I guess everyone needed to restock their safe rooms.”
Woman 2: “Around 8:30PM, things calmed down, they said. People were buying for Passover but really filling their shopping carts with lots of stuff, and canned goods.”
Woman 1: Well, at least I got a swim in this morning. Before Iran fires a missile at us.
As I listened, getting my stuff out of the locker, I also thought to myself, “well, let’s see how many laps I can get in before anything happens.” Funny right? Or just one of the many ridiculous thoughts I’ve had since last week.
I read today in the Times of Israel, “Tehran unlikely to attack Israel directly, wants proxies to carry out attacks instead - CNN.” Umm, isn’t that what’s been happening here since October 7th? The Houthis, Hezbollah, and Hamas. And the world refuses to believe the threat, let alone the power and influence, that Iran flexes in the Middle East.
Today marks 3 years since our mother, Dorothy Steinberg z”l, died on March 13th, 2021. She was 91 and had a full life, moving to Israel in 1992 with our Dad to enjoy all Israel had to offer from lots of grandkids, and a full social life with other retired conservative rabbis and their wives, to excellent coffee and danish. I’ve often wondered what my mother would have made of the current situation, let alone that die-hard Zionist, my Dad, Rabbi Theodore Steinberg z”l. They would have been gobsmacked by the horror of October 7th, let alone the terrible losses, and they would have been deeply saddened by the anti-Israel rhetoric and worse, worldwide.
Sister Jessica and I went to our local, egalitarian-outdoor minyan last night for evening services. We shared a few memories of our mom, meeting up again this morning at 8:30am for the late service at the local minyan factory, Shai Agnon Synagogue. We were pleased to be one of a more than a few woman gathered on the women’s side, and to enjoy the comfy new seats, upholstered in Dorothy’s favorite color, blue. Mom would have approved.
Prayers were led by Moshe Shapiro, Aner Shapiro’s Dad. Aner z”l, who was killed tossing back grenades from a roadside bomb shelter on October 7th, grew up in the neighborhood. Moshe was breathtakingly efficient in his leadership but it was hard to see him up there, 6 months since Aner’s death. I wondered if he’s chosen to say kaddish for longer than the traditional 1 month after the death of a child. One month for a child, or a spouse or a sibling never really seems like enough time. I know.
We recited these words of the Hallel prayer responsively
אנא ה' הושיעה נא הושיעה נא - Please, G-d, save us now, save us now
אנא ה′ הצליחה נא הצליחה נא - Please, G-d, make us succeed now, make us succeed now
We need saving. We also need to succeed, cut a deal even if it’s the worst deal ever, and bring the hostages home. All of them and not just the 40 currently being discussed.
On Sunday night, I stood with so many people at the Knesset, marking 6 months since October 7th. Six months of captivity. Six months since our lives changed between October 6th and 7th. Incredible to believe that on October 6th, Israel was being ripped apart by the protest movement over the government reforms, Bibi’s lack of leadership, and his unsavory crowd of the weekly protest movement offering hope but leadership change seemed impossible. Then, there was October 7th. Is there an October 8th? We need it now.
The emcee for the evening, actor Lior Ashkenazi, opened with with these words, ערב“ לא טוב, or, It’s not a good evening.” He continued, “Saving lives isn’t politics. It’s to be an Israeli.” The hostage forum has resolutely avoided making their rallies political in nature - they fear repercussions on their loved ones in captivity if they lash out at the government - but it was hard not to feel the thread of distress that bound all of us together that night. That feeling that something is desperately off. That war hasn’t worked even if it was initially the only step that seemed possible. That something isn’t right with our leadership. That if the hostages are to come home, we need a different plan and different leaders.
As we stood, observing a moment of silence, I wondered to myself, If that’s what we’re doing today what will we do in May for Israel’s Memorial Day, when we stand for 2 long minutes. This year, I feel like I could stand forever, honoring all those lost. We’ve all been wondering what May and all the days of observances including Holocaust Day, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Jerusalem Day, will be like. Marking them will be deeply painful this year, especially if there are still people captive in Gaza.
Released hostage, Itai Regev spoke. He shared, as did Yagel Yaakov and other hostages, how Hamas captors told their captives that Israel didn’t care about bringing them home, that they shouldn’t hope for freedom - it will never come. He added, “the Hamas were right.” Sigh.
Seventeen year-old, Agam Goldstein-Almog, also released with 2 siblings and her mother in late November, told of leaving her fellow Israelis in Gaza. “The other hostages with me begged me to go home and tell about them - don’t let them forget about us.” She reminded us that her recovery is complicated. Captivity aside, it’s only six months since her father and sister were killed on Oct 7th before she was taken hostage.
Agam looked at us and told us that those pictures of people smiling on all of the hostage posters? In the tunnels in Gaza, they’re not smiling anymore. She’s right.
I read two thoughtful blog posts today. One, asks the obvious question, at least for Israelis living here, “Will the world ever condemn Hamas’s goal of eliminating Israel?”
The author notes, “…We have been at war for six months. A war that we did not start and did not want…our army is active on several fronts — against Hamas in Gaza, which is our southern border, against Hezbollah forces on our northern border in both Lebanon and Syria, against Hamas cells in Judea, Samaria and East Jerusalem, and we are periodically attacked by missiles from the Houthis in Yemen, and Iran is constantly threatening to attack Israel.”
She continues with a discussion about mistakes made during war, from friendly fire (which has been an issue for Israel) to the recent tragic deaths of the aid workers in Gaza. “What army engaged in active warfare has not been responsible for unintended and innocent deaths? Have other democratic countries been castigated by the entire world leadership for mistakes made during a war which caused the death of innocent individuals? Have other democratic countries acknowledging mistaken deaths caused during war been accused of war crimes?”
All points with which I agree. But it’s this piece that sticks with me, “The cost of ignoring Gazan suffering.” It’s not an easy piece to read but well worth the time. She writes, “On Israeli television, images from Gaza are overwhelmingly those of IDF forces fighting Hamas and uncovering arms caches in tunnels and around civilian-use infrastructure, while footage of displaced, wounded, killed and hungry civilians only get a few occasional seconds of airtime. This helps shield Israelis from the unsightly spectacle of what this war is inflicting on families, children and babies in Gaza, and maintain the national resolve to achieve “complete victory” against the elusive, devilish foe. The sparsity of such images encourages Israel’s seeming indifference to civilian suffering in Gaza…”
She continues, “In truth, the grotesque double standard applied to Israel around the world regarding the cruelty inflicted on enemy civilian populations makes it very difficult for Israelis to consider in earnest what this war is costing Gazans…In this sense, the preposterous genocide lawsuit filed by South Africa at the International Court of Justice has had the opposite effect to that intended: with enemies like these, all Israel has to do is point the finger at the rest of the world, never at itself.”
But it was this that really hit home with me. “…Israelis tend to view international criticism focused on the suffering of Gazans as sheer antisemitism – yet another sign that the world is “against us.” Here too, the hatemongering pro-Palestinian and pro-Hamas demonstrations around the West have done Israel a huge favor. Even more than over decades of occupation, these heinous crowds have enabled Israelis to block out any attempt at soul-searching, any examination of what, in their own conduct of affairs in a poisonous neighborhood, is likely to stoke the anger and hatred directed at them. Only a small minority of Israelis today are able to discuss whether other approaches may produce less anger, hatred and terror among neighbors...”
I was chatting with someone today who didn’t want to think of the pain being felt in Gaza, along with Israel’s need to deal with the humanitarian issues faced by Gazan civilians. Yes, it’s complicated and dangerous to make sure they get supplies, and that Hamas doesn’t steal food and water from Gazans but it’s a responsibility we have in this complex war being fought among an under-protected civilian population. By the way, I get this person’s hesitation about this issue. They’ve had siblings doing reserve duty in dangerous areas, and they’ve attended too many funerals of friends, and friends of friends from their community. It’s too painful, at least right now, to think of Gazan civilian’s suffering - why is it my responsibility - let alone to consider could Israel have acted differently at any point in the last 6 months?
Just now? Rockets fired from Northern Gaza to Kibbutz Kfar Aza. It’s the 3rd day in a row that there have been rockets fired from Northern Gaza. Now that the IDF has moved out and civilians, or is it Hamas terrorists, are on their way back to their old neighborhoods. Same old, same old.
I guess it’s still October 6th and 7th.