War (What Is It Good For)

Who's right, what makes sense, and will Iran be free?

A few weeks ago, just a few minutes from our house, a local woman, Maggie Evans, was killed, sitting in her car when a crane-mounted-truck fell on her. A nurse until her retirement, she was a also longtime member of the Christian community, arriving in Israel in 1980. She was killed by forces of nature - high winds - and potentially because of an often careless, work style that is endemic in Israel, leading to worker injury not usually seen in Western countries, although this was an unusual and tragic occurrence. (Note: This tragic accident, drove home the everyday dangers in which we currently live (wars notwithstanding), given that our entire neighborhood is a building site, huge cranes looming overhead - older buildings are destroyed and rebuilt as high-rises, or partially rebuilt anew, their infrastructure improved and strengthened.)

The 9 killed in an Iranian air strike in Beit Shemesh include 4 teens

On Sunday, members of the Biton, Elimelech, Cohen, Revach, and Katz families, were killed when an Iranian missile fell directly on their shelter. They were killed by Iran, the directors of anti-West and anti-Israel forces and rhetoric for the last 47 years.

I know, I know. You think this is all about the Epstein files, and Trump and Bibi’s need to draw attention from all the shit that has piled up around them…for many, many years. Maybe in part, it is. But guess what? They don’t care. Both of these untrustworthy and narcissistic leaders have known for years that they’re teflon and will most likely never be fully prosecuted for their failures as leaders as well as their reputed criminal activity. Even if they think that this is a chance to leave a different legacy for their time in office, they will always be painted with the stink of what they also covered up.

Does that stick in your craw? It sure sticks in mine, and yet, what has amazed me, since Saturday morning, let alone since October 7th, is the naïveté, along with the lack of nuance shown by people who seem to lack enough of a thoughtful understanding of the world beyond their borders. Their hatred of Trump and Bibi has created a murky pond in which they swim, and given their distance from the Middle East, they can’t see beyond the pool scum.

Journalist Larry Derfner put it so well in a post shared by Amy Klein, “I compare Trump and Netanyahu in the Iran war to Stalin in World War II…” I had to pause for a second when I read that. Is anyone like Stalin really?

He continues, “WWII was, of course, the ultimate good war, and Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union, which sacrificed about 25 million soldiers and civilians in the fight, and was 100% indispensable to winning it and stopping Hitler from taking over the world. So Stalin’s part in that war was of unsurpassed benefit to humanity, forever. Does that mean he was a great man, or even a good one? No, he was Stalin. He was a monster from hell on a par with Hitler. He murdered something like 60 million Russians because he wasn’t absolutely sure they’d all submit to being his slaves.

And why did Stalin fight WWII -- for the sake of humanity? To preserve freedom? To save the Jews? To save the Russians? Not exactly. He did it for the same reason that an alligator fights another alligator.

Which brings us to Trump and Netanyahu. No, they aren’t monsters on the level of Stalin, not even close. But are they monsters? Fuck yes. Do they care about the Iranians? Please. Does Trump care about Americans, does Netanyahu care about Israelis? Please…

But like World War II saved the world, the Iran war is a start at saving 90 million oppressed Iranians and ridding the world, especially the Middle East, of a malignant force. That’s what makes it a good war. It’s a war of choice for both the U.S. and Israel, it’s not urgent or “existential” for either country, not after the Israeli/U.S. attacks in June, which bashed up Iran’s nuclear project. For Trump and Netanyahu, it’s just predatory instinct. But for the Iranians, it’s a chance at delivery from hell…”

Exactly Larry.

Sitting in my safe-room yesterday morning, listening to the booms as missiles or drones are shot down, debris dropping, I saw this post.

Wag the Dog. I get it. War is supposedly good for ratings. Or is it, in 2026 America? Especially when you live in the US, far, far away from the Middle East, far away from the rest of the world’s concerns. I understand that that your domestic worries let alone Trump’s horrific empowering of ICE on immigration - on people’s safety and their lives - feels overwhelming but I’m asking you not to be limited by those real concerns. I’m glad for you that you can have such a narrow view - it’s no skin off your back - your assuredness that there are no other players here in this game, not Russia, not China, not the Gulf countries, not US interests, and not Israel, a strategic ally and friend to the US.

I felt, quite frankly, furious at this poster’s narrow mindedness, and worse, their unwillingness to just express support for their Israeli friends, for the State of Israel, and for the Iranians, whom nobody has really cared about for so many years, let alone those estimated 40,000 brutally murdered during the popular uprisings over 2 days in January ‘26.

I just wanted some caring, even if it feels hard. This part of the world? It will always feel complicated. Grow up and live with that, along with your children’s rejection of the Israel that you were taught to love before you found that hard. And don’t forget to come back and visit soon. Learn to grapple with all that makes it fabulous and yes, headstrong and difficult, as a Jewish homeland.

Hold on while I head back into my safe room, as we guide our youngest, the one with cognitive disabilities, downstairs. While he’s used to the sirens, he hates when we get a warning not followed by the siren, the full experience in his mind.

Humor is the saving grace of the Jews here

I’m continuing these thoughts in my next post…