Life in Israel



   
    June 2011          
Search the Jewish Magazine Site: Google

 
 
 
 

Search our Archives:

» Home
» History
» Holidays
» Humor
» Places
» Thought
» Opinion & Society
» Writings
» Customs
» Misc.

 

Israeli View from an Ex-Pat

By Andrea Simantov

Whenever there is a renewed spate of terror, it is not unusual for the ex-pats among us in Israel to receive notes of concern from well-meaning friends from overseas.  Most people I know have formulated a simple plan to let others know immediately that we and our loved ones are safe via a simple group e-mail with a subject line that reads, "We are all okay."

But what constitutes okay?  If having the same number of fingers, toes or limbs at night that you left the house with that morning adds up to 'okay', then almost everyone I know is doing just dandy.  But if okay means returning home with the same matzav ruach - spiritual countenance - that one began the day with, we are in need of an infusion ASAP.

A woman in my office who has lived here for less than two years began to sob at the news that a bomb exploded at the entrance to the city, injuring many. At the time of the initial reports, there were thought to be casualties and only later would we would learn that an evangelical Christian woman - bible translator Mary Jane Gardner - died from her massive injuries.   The rest of us listened to various information channels with stoic expressions, holding our reactions in check in the event they were needed later.  This is the Israeli way.  After all, how much can one scream when there is so much to scream for?  Dodging katyushas, detecting bus bombs and watching for terrorists does, indeed, require a particular sort of 'vigilance rationing,' and the horrors to which we react tend to fall on an 'intensity scale' that has no known precedence.

Awhile back there was a deadly rocket attack, targeting a school bus.  Miraculously, all of the children except for one boy had just gotten off the vehicle - miraculous for everyone except for a 16-year-old boy and the driver.  Ten days after the carnage, the aforementioned boy, Daniel Viflic, succumbed to his wounds. One had to scour the western papers to read about this bombing, because the headlines that seemed to have "made it" were the broadcasts of Israeli attacks.  What none of the screaming bold print managed to mention was that the Israeli attacks - ALL OF THEM - were retaliatory!  We were forced to respond after week-upon-week of unanswered assaults against quiet cities and their residents who have not been permitted a moment of deserved quiet.

"Palestinian mother and child killed in early morning Israeli raid."

Sad?  Of course. But it is beside the point when Hamas deliberately hides behind the skirts of a collective Palestinian population that can dish it out but not take it.  What can be expected when a moral, achingly-restrained army is forced to protect its "What about us?" populace?  Those who harbor murderers should, typically, understand that they are sitting in the line of fire and will undoubtedly become caught in the crosshairs should our leaders own up to their ethical obligations and retaliate.

The sense of communal frustration felt in Israel is difficult to describe as we, too, read reports that emanate via international news outlets.  Scratching our collective head, it behooves one to consider that if we did not live with the boys in uniform, farm on the periphery of Arab countries, compassionately equip our bomb shelters with video games and Legos and spend valuable tax revenue on cutting-edge security systems for shopping centers and hospitals, we might also believe the headlines that detail our heinous characters and bestial natures.  Thanks to God, we know better.

What do we know?

We know that we want peace like nobody's business.  We want to promise our children futures that are rife with choice: choice of livelihood, choice of community, choice of where to travel, choice of how to be Jewish.  But we live in a neighborhood where the neighbors have determined the agenda and, consequently, compromised our freedoms.  While Arab leaders robotically spew slogans about self-determination, I feel compelled to ask, "What about our self-determination to live quietly and attend to the business of life?" After five thousand, seven hundred and seventy one years of peoplehood, including the last 63 years of modern Israel, we zany-Jews still haven't figured out that gratitude is subjective: offering Arab-Israelis ample education options in the finest halls of learning in the Middle East, unprecedented employment and career opportunities and superior free health care does not necessarily result in gratitude or even - Heaven forbid! - cessation of hostilities.

I received a note via Facebook from a Christian minister who had been to my house for Shabbat supper during a "fact-finding" tour with several other well-intentioned folks from a Washington think tank.  They visit frequently and try to talk with the common man - both Jew and Arab - to get a grasp of what is really going on.  When asked by a few skeptical friends why I would host such a group, I'm able to answer without hesitation.  'They are being invited into Palestinian homes all of the time and if we don't let them hear our voices, they will creatively fill-in the missing pieces.'

Part of Paul's note read:  “Good morning Andrea.  I've wanted to send this for a few weeks, so I'm sorry that I've just gotten around to it.  You have been in my thoughts since I read about the bombing in Jerusalem.  My prayers for safety and provision are with you and your people.  May God's peace be with you”. 

It was a nice note.  Still, I felt a churning unrest and, unencumbered by the niceties of the Sabbath table, I asked him if he had heard about the slaughter, the butchering of the Fogel family the previous month.  He hadn't.

Replying that while his note was appreciated, he must forgive me for harboring more than a little distrust of 'spiritual missions' that are being fed only bits and pieces of the story and believe that the Palestinian/Israeli narrative is one of 'parity.' 

'With whom can we negotiate, Paul?  There is no one in charge.  There is no one with the trust of the people; no one who carries a moral compass and can iron out an agreement that will not lead to our annihilation.  Tell me; what more can Israel offer that would leave her with a viable country and peace on our borders?'

To date, I have not heard back from him.

At 5:30 this morning I shared a cup of coffee with my soldier son, making certain that his laundry was done and he had four of his favorite sandwiches on hand for the long ride back to the base.  I teased him that he would always think of home when he smelled the rose-petal softener I used in the final rinse cycle.  His hair was almost completely shorn, and the small black skullcap he wears sat neatly atop the bristles.  Although he is a man, I could see beneath the resolute jaw and mile-wide shoulders that he is still my baby boy, sprouting teeth while toddling across a freshly-mowed American lawn.

Finishing my cup of coffee on the living room patio, I watched him cross the six lane avenue to catch his ride to the station.  He is my son, but, from this distance, he is clearly a son of Israel.

As he drove away, I mentally typed the subject line for my day.  It read, "We are all okay."

* * * * *

Reprinted with permission of Orange County Jewish Life Magazine, May 2011

~~~~~~~

from the June 2011 Edition of the Jewish Magazine

Please let us know if you see something unsavory on the Google Ads and we will have them removed. Email us with the offensive URL (www.something.com)




HOME
PAGE
 | 
ABOUT
US
 | 
MAKE
DONATION
 | 
SUBMIT
ARTICLE
 | 
CONTACT
US
 | 
FREE
SUBSCRIPTION
 | 
SEARCH
ARCHIVES