Dear friends,
In the face of imminent war, Israel celebrated Purim, the holiday commemorating the victory of the Jews over Haman, the tyrant who planned the first genocide (Book of Esther). It was so ironic that, as we celebrated victory over one genocidal tyrant, another stood poised beyond the horizon. The celebration turned out many people, including adults, in costumes; a reading of the Book of Esther; giving money to the poor; sharing gifts of food with friends; and dinner. We did all that. However, the Bible records that, in the walled city of Shushan, the Jews fought for an extra day and then celebrated; hence, in all walled cities, one celebrates on the 15 th and not on the 14 th of the Jewish month of Adar. This means that, in Israel, Purim is celebrated on the 14 th everywhere, but in Jerusalem it is celebrated on the 15 th. So, on the 14 th, we spent most of the day in Tel Aviv and surroundings distributing shared food with friends and, on the 15 th, we did the same in Jerusalem. I have counted 39 such visits, each with 2-5 people -- a lot of socializing for someone who is not too strong on this.
Part of the joy was that we followed Philippe's custom in the matter of shared food. He does not use the usual symbolic gift but buys huge fish, vegetables, fruit, baskets, etc. and assembles these as gifts. So, we got up at 2:30 a.m. and went to his apartment to find crates of frozen fish, cartons of fruits and vegetables, and stacks of baskets. He also had cartons of wine he had made for which he did everything. He picked grapes, cultivated the wine, bottled it, and designed and applied the labels ("Mas de Mousrara, mis en bouteille en appartement"). After a good laugh and some photographs, we began assembling 70 !! of these food gifts. At the end, the apartment was piled high with food baskets (foto 1; foto 2; foto 3) which then had to be loaded into his car, ours, and a taxi to which a young boy had been assigned. Everywhere we went, people were astounded by the size of the gift; the children were especially impressed. Many of these gifts went to people who are genuinely poor and they were deeply grateful for a real meal. I had heard Philippe describe this and it was special to have participated in it.
THE WAR
Day 1 (Thursday, 3/20) : I heard the news on the way to services at the Wall at 4:30: a small-scale, targeted attack. There was, however, no special security on the streets, even in the Old City. Prayers were quite normal: We always say Psalms 83, 130, and 91 at the end and we did that again today without any additions. The radio on the way home had the Minister of Education saying that all children and staff are to report to school today, and no local authorities or parents should assume the authority to cancel school or withhold attendance. She was very firm and clear. The Home Command gave instructions to open our "protection kits," try on the gas masks, and carry the kits with us at all times. The kit, which is a small carton the size of one which would hold a household iron, also contains an atropine shot in case one is actually in a gas attack which is, however, very dangerous if used under normal conditions. The kit can be slung over the shoulder and carried on a black strap. Ursula and I have opened our kits and tried on our gas masks. We keep them with us in the car and in the apartment. However most of the Israeli public is not doing that; only two students brought kits to class. We have also been assigned a sealed room at the University.
The instructor in Zohar class remarked to me that Bush is talking about liberating the people in Iraq while Saddam Hussein is telling his people to take out their swords and defend God; not much mutual cultural understanding there. Emails from Atlanta indicated increased security arrangements at Jewish schools there. Several of you have called or sent emails to express concern and solidarity; thank you. We wound up the day watching the bombing of Baghdad on television. Philippe remarked that it was like watching football, with replays of the important moments. Weird world.
Meanwhile, I am supposed to travel on Monday to Atlanta for a conference, symposium, two MA exams, and a series of administrative meetings. I have notified everyone that, in case of war, I will simply not leave Jerusalem or Israel, and everyone has been very understanding.
Day 2 (Friday, 3/21) : Another quiet day in Jerusalem, at least for us. There were riots by Palestinians after the noon prayer in the mosque but no one appears to have been hurt. I noted yesterday that the morning news featured the Minister of Education who urged students and staff to attend school. Only in a culture that is so child-oriented would the Minister of Education be so featured in time of war. And only in a child-oriented culture would 60% of the parents in Jerusalem defy her orders and keep their kids at home. The percentage was less elsewhere, but here the children count and the parents, not the state, make the decisions. I think we, too, would have kept our kids at home if they were small.
We do not know more about the war than you but, unless Saddam Hussein is really dead or badly injured, this is going to take a while. His tactic was all along not to engage the Americans on the open battlefields of Iraq but to draw them into tough urban guerilla warfare. That is still ahead of us. We wait and see. Meanwhile, the danger to Israel from direct Iraqi attack seems to be diminishing, though the danger from terrorist cells is still patent. As Shabbat draws near, the American advance has run into its first resistance at Nasiriyya. This will be the first battle of the war. Everyone is pregnant matters to get more difficult and waiting for Saddam to unleash greater and greater destruction of his own people and international terror as the war gets closer to Baghdad. The disappearance of an al-Qaeda operative in the US and the arrest of operatives in Paris and in Kenya do not bode well for the coming days.
Day 3 (Saturday night, 3/22) : Today has been Shabbat and, again, it has been quiet. One of our guests for Friday evening dinner arrived with her"protection kit" and we saw one family out for a Shabbat walk with everyone carrying kits. (There are special masks for children and for men with beards.) "Watching the war" on television is so surreal, especially since American television has a tendency to be so positive about everything. British television is not so enthusiastic; it is more sober.
It is important to remember that there are two dangers here: first, an attack from Iraq which could be unconventional and, second, a terrorist attack from a sleeper cell planted here by Iraqi intelligence or al-Qaeda which has been sheltered by Palestinians. An attack from Iraq has never seemed likely. The Israelis sent troops into western Iraq last summer to clear the area and have excellent protection in the form of jet fighters (we hear them a good part of the day) and anti-missle missles (though the Patriots did not do too well in Kuwait yesterday). The danger of a terrorist attack -- including a possible biological, chemical, or even dirty bomb attack -- is greater. The only reason – and it is truly the only reason – things have been quiet on that front is that the Israelis occupy the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Being there allows them to gather intelligence day and night. They stop about 40 suicide bombers a week !! on the basis of this intelligence. They also arrest 15-20 people per week who commit acts of terror or who provide support for terrorists. (The Palestinian Authority police simply do not do this.) Before reoccupying the West Bank and Gaza Strip, there was little intelligence and, hence, terrorists had a place to hide and lots of support from Arafat and the populace. This led to the spate of suicide bombings that happened here last year. It may also be the case that the Palestinians themselves have taken seriously Israeli warnings not to use the war as an excuse to open up a "western front." The Middle East, like most of the world, is a place where force speaks very loudly.
Tomorrow is decision day about the trip to Atlanta.
Day 4 (Sunday, 2/23) : There has been a lot of airplane noise today. It may be planes from the Theodore Roosevelt which is stationed in the eastern Mediterranean. Or it may be Israeli cover as the Americans fly in nearby airspace. Because of clouds, we cannot see the planes but we sure can hear them.
I have reached a decision about my trip to Atlanta. I think the first really dangerous time for us here in Israel was the initial 24 hours -- which we have survived without trouble. The second most dangerous moment, however, will be the fight over Baghdad -- which will not come until later in the week. As Saddam Hussein approaches his end, he will, like all dictators, try to destroy as much as possible of the world around him. If he can, in death, kill a large number of Jews through a missle attack or terror cells ( see article ), he will try to do so. The best intelligence reports I can get indicate that Saddam Hussein (and his son or sons) is alive and that he is saving his best firepower for the battle over Baghdad, as are the Americans. This means that, if he has unconventional weapons, he may use them later this week. I appreciate that there are many activities this week that my good friends and colleagues have planned around my being in Atlanta. I have utmost confidence in them but I must ask to be excused. I'm sure you understand that I just cannot leave Israel, neither my family nor my people, at this time. Meanwhile, your prayers and love for us, for our fellow Americans, and also for innocent Iraqis are most appreciated.
There is something unnerving about sitting at my computer and communicating with you while I have Mozart in the background, Skynews in the next room, and overhead the noise of passing fighterplanes.
Shalom (we could use it) and love, U&D