“At Long Last a Clear Victory”

January 24, 2007

Reading today’s newspaper it smacks me in the face that this is unfolding as a particularly difficult week for us Israelis—old timers and newly minted alike. Never really hardened to fighting for our survival, we are waging battles on a variety of fronts.

Our military continues to reel from the aftershocks of the Second Lebanon War of this past summer. Certainly grave mistakes were made in the prosecution of the war and the readiness of our forces (especially the reserves) for battle. Last week Israel’s Chief of the General Staff Dan Halutz resigned to be replaced by Maj.-General Gabi Ashkenazi, described as “a soldier’s general,” in contrast to Halutz whose roots are in the elite air corps. Many analysts, both military and political, view the events of the summer as but a prelude to a second round of hostilities against Hizbollah next summer. We shall see if they are correct though everyone hopes not. Also on the military front, our soldiers and our civilians are challenged in the south against a daily barrage of Kassams from Gaza (despite a cease-fire declared by the Palestinians and observed solely by the Israelis), so far the restraint imposed by the political leadership is holding though near the breaking point.

Then there are the battles in the political sphere. Most notably, it appears that it is inevitable that indictments will be handed down against President Moshe Katsav accusing him of one count of rape and several lesser charges of sexual coercion and inappropriate sexual conduct against four other women as well as misuse of public funds for private gifts and obstruction of justice. Though he is scheduled to relinquish his office in July when his seven-year term comes to an end, it is very possible that Katsav will be Israel’s second president to end his tenure prematurely under a cloud of legal problems. Meanwhile, the Kadima-led government seems to flounder about as Prime Minister Olmert’s performance ratings continue their downward trend. Yet, problems in Likud, Kadima’s only serious rival, prevent the Right’s leading party from posing any significant threat to the coalition at the present time.

On the bureaucratic front, investigations continue exposing corruption in the Department of Taxation with the internal (revenue) rot apparently running to the very highest echelons. Israel’s once squeaky-clean civil bureaucracy has now become suspect and lost much of the public trust that it once enjoyed. And this may be only the tip of the iceberg of corruption in the civil service.

If these battles raging around us each and every day make it seem that we are besieged by problems too enormous to bear and which adumbrate the sure demise of Israeli society, please do not be misguided by what appears to be a jeremiad. In reality, the coin of these negatives has an obverse positive side for, if they expose weaknesses in the fabric of Israeli society, the fact that they are exposed and are being addressed in the open forum of public scrutiny is an indication of the strength—not the weakness—of this country. Such open confrontation to wrongdoing, misuse of power and bad planning by public officials makes Israel unique amongst the nations of the Middle East and, in fact amongst the nations of the world. And, only a nation that is willing to confront its problems and its shortcomings openly and honestly can over-come them.

And more, with all of these battles being waged, it is heartening to see that Israelis are—like most other people in the developed world (though, if truth be told, we’re more between the developed and semi-developed worlds)—concerned about simple everyday things like family, work, buying groceries, deciding where to go on vacation, trying to fathom how to program the VCR, and complaining about the price of a tank of gasoline. The “everyday battles” of life so familiar to Americans and Europeans also preoccupy most middle-class Israelis and bear eloquent witness to how “normal” the reality of our lives really is.

For the past several weeks the letters-to-the-editor columns of the Jerusalem Post have provided the forum for the vox populi of the Anglo-Israeli community protesting against the draconian actions of the Hot cable company in its decision to discontinue offering the BBC Prime channel in its basic service and “compensating” subscribers with new Ethiopian and Chinese channels. But, that is not all, Israel’s satellite TV provider Yes-TV (coincidentally) announced that it was discontinuing the Star World channel which provides American television programs. Both Hot and Yes claim that their decisions to drop BBC-Prime (Hot) and Star World (Yes) were made for financial reasons as the channels would not renegotiate lower rates with the providers and neither Hot nor Yes determined that the “limited” viewership of these English-language channels warranted the high costs of service.

So—get this—Hot subscribers who wanted to protest the cable company’s decision to drop BBC Prime by switching to satellite would lose Star World while those satellite subscribers who wanted to register their dissatisfaction by switching to cable would lose BBC Prime. Does this smack of collusion on the part of the two companies—a cartel perhaps? Yes announced that it was going ahead with its plans to drop Star World by January 15^th, Hot scheduled to drop BBC Prime on February 1^st. The government business and media regulatory agencies averred that there was nothing illegal in the providers’ actions and there was nothing that the government could do to prevent them from proceeding with these business decisions. And there it stood.

Limited viewership? What about all the so-called “Anglos” in this country—all of us from English-speaking countries? How about all those Israelis who use the media to improve their English? Without BBC Prime or Star World, how would they get to enjoy re-runs of “Becker” or (my favorites) a variety of British programs that I describe as “dumb Brits making bad real estate decisions?” I did my own survey of our personal viewing habits and found that at least 75% of our viewing time was spent watching BBC Prime (not meaning to be un-patriotic, but most of the American programming on Star World is junk, I prefer the high-brow limey stuff). How could those heartless corporate suits (in Israel can you still call them “suits”?) get away with such larceny? Is this but a hopeless battle, a tilting at windmills?

And then, in today’s paper, there was that article on page 7 (if you ask me, it warranted front page coverage), “Hot keeps BBC Prime—But drops David Letterman.” Okay, I can accept the trade off, I hardly, if ever, watch Letterman anyway, at least I can still witness some poor dolt from Dorchester spending 450,000 quid for a bitty bungalow in Brighton. Sweet victory! We, the Hot subscribers won! But ours is not an absolute victory for our brothers and sisters in TV-arms—the Yes subscribers have not won their war against corporate greed, as of January 15^th the satellite tap to Star World has been shut off—no more “Cheers” re-runs and “Friends” is available exclusively on Israeli-channel 4. And what of those protesters who quit Hot and joined Yes over the threatened but unrealized loss of BBC Prime? Apparently, the magnates at Yes are not totally heartless, those who regret their hasty change-over will not be charged an installation fee for Yes unless they took advantage of a sales promotion. So, sometimes, the little guys win one.

Wars, social and political traumas, we have them aplenty—and amidst it all, we still worry about little things like what we watch on TV, go figure. What does that say about us? I think that it says that we are “normal people” despite the fact that we live in a place where life seems to be anything but “normal.” We live, much more than survive, and that says a lot about the resiliency and vitality of Israelis and Israeli society I think. People looking in on us from the outside might wonder how we get by, what keeps us from caving in to fear and despair. But, the view from here, from the inside is so very different. I find that I have a great appreciation for so much in my life here—even for the little things, even for what channels I get to watch on my TV. Sometimes the little things put the big things in perspective and sometimes it’s vice versa.

Shalom from Jerusalem.

“”Twas the Night Before Christmas”

December 22, 2006

Something strangely quaint happened in line at the market checkout yesterday. Wendy and I were doing our usual pre-Shabbat Thursday shopping routine what it being Shabbat and Hanukah and all… Maneuvering the cart to the checkout I chose the one attended by my favorite clerk. She is a young Russian woman who always does her job with speed and efficiency all-the-while maintaining an air of cheerfulness despite the impatient crush of pre-Shabbat Jerusalem shoppers.

Just ahead of us in line was a middle-aged couple exuding that rarified aura that announced to the world without their having to say a single word, “We’re Americans!” Dress, body language and facial expression spoke more eloquently (and regionally) than speech. Not even assaying a few words in our ancient Semitic tongue, they addressed our lady of the register directly, “Nice to see you again!” Ah, so they were not complete strangers, but were acquainted—at least somewhat—with the Sylph of Super Deal, who, with her usual alacrity, executed her accounts and announced the tally courteously in English caressed by an accent reminiscent more of the Volga than the Jordan.

Their custom now completed, our American friends turned and smiling warmly saluted one and all, “Merry Christmas everyone!”

Merry Christmas!? We all looked quizzically at them. To whom did they address their good wishes—to me, to Wendy, to our clerk with her Star of David shining at them as prominently as any star of Bethlehem? Wendy was the first to respond. She said simply, “Happy Hanukah.” This seemed to awaken within them a realization of where in the world they found themselves at that moment in time at which point they said, “Oh yes, happy holidays everyone!” And then they left the store.

I suppose that this well-meaning couple simply greeted us out of sweet, loving reflex. They were being friendly. They were reacting out of the “holiday spirit.” But the incongruity of someone wishing people “Merry Christmas” at a Jerusalem market brought home another kind of reality for me. Here in the land where Christmas began, Christmas and the people who celebrate it are, quite nearly as possible, invisible.

At this very moment I am sitting a scant three kilometers (about two miles) from Bethlehem—the very place where Christian tradition relates that Jesus was born. That town and the church built around the little manger in which the Christian world’s Savior was born is the focal point of all the festivity, all the hoopla, all the media bombardment, the constant carols on the radio and the specials on television, the commercials and the sales, the prayers and the charity, the spirituality and the sacred works that make Christmas a holy day, as well as the holiday that it is for Christians.

Yes, here I am, just three kilometers away and absent is any sign of Christmas. No, that is not completely true. In the Jerusalem Post there has appeared a small advertisement placed by the Jerusalem municipality wishing the Christian community Merry Christmas and indicating where interested people can pick up a free Christmas tree as a gift from the city. But there aren’t any Christmas displays in store windows (except in the Old City), and no Christmas music on the radio, though you can see the occasional Christmas greeting and Christmas special on television broadcast from abroad. There are no Christmas lights on the streets, even though some of the Hanukah decorations can fool you. No, Christmas is definitely as nearly invisible as possible in this land where it all began. I feel for that couple at Super Deal, this must be a very lonely time of the year for them. Kind of like being Jewish in America during Christmas, only more so…

But, it is not just Christmas that is quite nearly invisible here in the birthplace of Christianity. Christians themselves are disappearing. By that I do not mean Christian tourists and pilgrims. Thankfully our Christian friends continue to show their loyal support by visiting the Holy Land. I only wish that our fellow Jews—especially liberal Jews—were as faithful in making pilgrimage to the Holy Land. No, I am referring to the Christians who live here and have dwelled in this land ever since the first followers of Jesus began their new faith. Their once significant presence in this land has been reduced to a mere remnant that is threatened by demographics with near extinction. That reality is a potential tragedy far more serious than the absence of Christmas trees and Christmas carols around December 25^th. And, it is a tragedy in the making that is generally under reported in the world’s media.

In 1950 Christians made up 15% to 20% of the Arab population of what is now Israel and the areas beyond the Green Line. Today, Christians number between 1.5% and 2% of the Arab population. Historically, the cities most closely associated with Jesus’ life and Christianity, Bethlehem and Nazareth, had sizeable Christian majorities. In 1948 the population of Bethlehem was 80% Christian and 20% Muslim, presently those numbers have reversed and the Christian population continues its exodus from the city. In Nazareth, following World War II the Christians accounted for 60% of the Arab population of the city, today they comprise only 30%.

To what do we attribute the depletion of the Christian population in their Holy Land?

Of course, there are no simple answers. Moreover, I am neither a demographer nor a sociologist. But anyone who is an observer of the social and political life that goes on around us and affects us and our neighbors can see clearly some of the more obvious factors that would contribute to the exodus of Christians from this area.

To be sure, the political unrest is a major factor. The Christian Arabs in the main identify as Palestinians and have suffered economically and socially as have Muslim Palestinians as a result of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet statistically, far more Christians than Muslims have left, why? Demographically more Christian Arabs than Muslim Palestinians come from higher economic and educational social strata. In addition, more Christian Palestinians than Muslim Palestinians have family contacts who live abroad, beyond the conflict. These two factors make it all the more possible for Christian Palestinians than Muslims to flee and establish themselves abroad, and so they do.

This is the case regardless upon which side one wishes to place the blame for the tensions and conflict. And there is blame to be placed on both sides. Many sources and anecdotal reports demonstrate that Israeli government policy over last 40 years, including draconian immigration and travel regulations have restricted the Christian Arab population along with the Muslim Arab population and have put unwarranted pressures on an already hard-pressed population making life for the area’s Christian population increasingly difficult. Many of these policies, of course, are predicated on the fact, that the Israeli government does not distinguish between Christians and Muslims in formulating its policies regarding Palestinians.

On the Palestinian side, though generally downplayed by both Muslims and Christians for political reasons, there is ample evidence of internal Palestinian faith-based tensions and discrimination against Christians. Some of these tensions flared up recently this year after the Pope’s remarks about Islam were misinterpreted by much of the Muslim world. In Bethlehem, as reported by the AP’s Brian Murphy in November, Muslims made death threats against Christians. According to Murphy: A group calling itself "Friends of Muhammad" accused a local Palestinian Christian of selling mobile phones carrying offensive sketches of the Muslim prophet.

Murphy goes on: These days Palestinian Christians, dominated by Greek Orthodox and Latin rite churches loyal to the pope, face questions about whether their hearts lie in their homeland or in the West. It gets even more complicated because of the strong support for Israel and Jewish settlers from American evangelical Christians. "We are stuck in no man's land," said a leading Palestinian Christian activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of reported death threats. "In the eyes of the West, we are Arabs. In the eyes of Arabs, we are a fifth column."

In 1999 Sheikh Yussef Salameh then the Palestinian Authority’s undersecretary for religious endowment caused a stir when he praised the idea that a future Palestinian state should accord Christians the status of dhimmis under Muslim rule. According to Sharia (Muslim law) dhimmis—a status assigned to both Jews and Christians under the Ottoman Turks—are a protected minority guaranteed security for themselves and their property in exchange for which they must pay a special poll tax and do not enjoy equal rights with Muslims.

Bringing us back to the season at hand, in a June 1999, edition of the Islamic Movement’s weekly Al-Haqq wa Al-Hurriyya, Sheikh Khatib criticized the way that Chrisitans celebrate Christmas. Addressing the words of the Prophet Mohammed, he wrote, “…on the birthday of your brother Jesus…the fools who claim to be of relation to him [the Christians], celebrate by committing deeds that he [Jesus] himself denounced, loathed, and forbade [like] drinking wine, playing games of chance, cursing, and screaming. They think that by doing so, they become closer to him. Oh, how wretched they have become…” This was cited on the website of MEMRI, the Middle East Media Research Institute (August 2, 1999, Special Dispatch Series, Number 41).

So, it seems, there are ample reasons for the exodus of Christians from this, their Holy Land, and there is plenty of blame to be spread around on all sides to be sure. What a tragedy it is that the long history of Christian presence and contribution to this land of its origin is apparently coming to an end; all the more so because it is a tragedy that is and should be preventable. But, where are the voices and support both moral and financial from the Christian world to help their brothers and sisters in their time of need? International Christian organizations that are quick to come to the defense of Palestinian Muslims seem to do precious little on behalf of the co-religionists, especially when it comes down to conflict between the two groups.

Who then is to stand up for the Christians? Would it not be ironic if it were world Jewry? Imagine if the Jews were to come to the defense of the Christians while the world’s Christians remained silent to their plight? It would be an act of real altruism given the Jews’ very problematic history with the Christian world. But the world is crying for altruism right now, isn’t it? And why stop with the Christians? We could begin by elevating all Israeli Arabs (those living within the Green line and who are citizens of the state) to the equal status that they deserve. We can insure that religious discrimination between faiths is not tolerated in the State of Israel. In short, we can enforce the provisions for full religious freedom enunciated in Israel’s Declaration of Independence for all its citizens. Then, even if Christian Arabs may choose to flee areas under Palestinian control at least they can find refuge in Israel and maintain a significant Christian presence in the Holy Land.

Religious tolerance and dialogue is not a pipe dream, not even here, not even now. I know, I have seen it happen, not in the ideal but in real terms. Last week I attended a meeting of Kedem, a project of the ICCI, the Inter-religious Coordinating Council in Israel. It is a wonderful organization in which I have taken great interest since making Aliyah (check out their website at www.icci.org.il). Kedem is a project that brings together Jewish, Muslim and Christian clergy for dialogue on various issues. The interesting thing is that these are not the “usual” faces that one sees in dialogue. There are rabbis, priests, ministers, imams and kadis who are not usually engaged in inter-faith efforts of any kind, so, the very fact that they get together in the first place is of significance no matter what they discuss even if was just the weather! The reality is, you probably never hear that such discussions, religious discussions like Kedem take place. This kind of event isn’t sexy; it doesn’t make headlines. But it is significant and these efforts can and do make a difference and can help to change the religious climate here in this land that is holy to three faiths so that all of the children of Abraham can feel at home here.

We should not allow the tragedy to happen that here in the land of Jesus’ birth there are none of his followers left to celebrate his birthday.

I wish I that was back in the checkout line at Super Deal right now, because I would wish that nice couple a very Merry Christmas.

Shalom from Jerusalem.

“Snapshots of the News” and Hanukah Thoughts

December 13, 2006

It has been over a month that we have been away from home, so we were longing to return to Jerusalem and our routines and familiar surroundings. A month is a very long time to be away. Much can happen in the course of four or five weeks, especially in the volatile climes of the Middle East and I hardly trust CNN or the scanty reports in the Los Angeles Times to give me an accurate picture of the latest moves and steps in the diplomatic and political ballet performed in the quotidian realities of life in Israel. The fact that I had but limited access to the Internet during my Los Angeles sojourn only added to my news-junky angst. So I could not wait to get home and sink into my easy chair as I caught up on the latest copies of the Jerusalem Post and the Jerusalem Report and went on-line to peruse HaAretz, YNet and various other sources of news and gossip about happenings in and around Israel and the Middle East.

So much has transpired since we left, here are just some snapshots of what was in the news when we got home.

Prime Minister Olmert has gotten himself into more hot water through a slip of the tongue made in an interview with German journalists during his recent visit to the German Republic. It seems that he implied the obvious—that Israel is a nuclear power, when he intentionally or unintentionally included Israel in a list of nuclear powers. This remark ran counter to Israel’s carefully maintained policy of ambiguity and obfuscation when it comes to declaring whether or not it has nuclear military capabilities. The fact that there is no one in a position to care who harbors so much as a scintilla of doubt that Israel maintains a stock of nuclear weapons did not stop the eruption of a firestorm of criticism against Olmert in the Israeli media. Not surprisingly, in his subsequent remarks, the Prime Minster reiterated Israel’s long-standing position that it would not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons into the Middle East conflict. This, of course, was a clear warning to Iran.

Truth be told, there was little reaction to the Prime Minister’s “slip” outside of Israel, so it appears, though there was a great deal of a flap within Israeli political circles. Not that this should astonish us, as the only ones who seem to believe that Israel’s position of ambiguity is at all believable—or effective—are Israeli politicians, specifically those in opposition to whoever transgresses the once-sacred doctrine. This is yet another reminder, perhaps, that in Israel there is no such thing as foreign policy divorced from domestic politics. The political wolves circle around any sign of weakness in their prey. Ever since last summer’s war it seems that we have endured one long, sustained drought in leadership.

One of the biggest stories here (and, I imagine, even in the US) was the “International” conference on the Holocaust held in Teheran, Iran. Holocaust deniers and anti-Zionists from around the world joined for an orgy of truth-twisting and fact-bending all in the name of the pseudo-history of “Holocaust Revisionism.” Perhaps the most disturbing of all the participants were the delegates of the Natorei Karta, the Ultra-Orthodox anti-Zionists whose antipathy towards Israel drives them to such extremes that they willingly join with these modern day Nazis to bash Israel and deny history itself. It is amazing that our own religious authorities in the Haredi world have not excommunicated these internal enemies of our people who overtly work for our own destruction. And there they were, prominently displayed in the front rows of the convocation of evil, their side-curls and beards and frock coats proclaiming to the world that the conveners were by no means anti-Semites, because here were good and pious Jews right in their midst, supporting them and their twisted agenda.

I was gratified to read the responses of world leaders who joined in condemnation of the conference. Outstanding among them (not surprisingly) was Prime Minister Tony Blair, but we also heard from Germany and France and Italy and officially from the EU. Notably silent was the United Nations as a body and all those NGO’s who raised their voices against Israeli racism in the infamous Durban Resolution of 2001, once again demonstrating the unfortunate hypocrisy of the world body when it comes to issues relating to Israel and anti-Semitism.

It was just reported that the Israeli High Court annulled the Intifada Law passed by the Knesset in 2005 which absolved the state of financial responsibiliy in nearly all "non warlike" instances of personal and property damages since 2000. The law applied to all areas of the territories declared as "conflict zones" by the defense minister. Before the amendment was passed, hundreds of damage suits were filed by Palestinian residents who had sustained corporal or property damage from the IDF during the intifada. In its ruling the High Court supported a petition brought before it by nine civil rights groups (spearheded by the Palestinian Adalah Center and including Rabbis for Human Rights) allowing non-combatants and those not associated with terrorist activities to sue the state for damages caused by military and government personnel.

Thuough this was a controversial decision, it is another significant indication of the strength of Israel’s independent judiciary. It also says much about the substantive concern for the protection of civil rights even during trying wartime conditions. I am not sure that this perspective of Israel is properly depicted in the international media where picures of destroyed houses and lines of Palestinians at checkpoints make for more spectacular press than this kind of news. Yet, while not denying those picures that make it into the media, it is precisely this kind of under-reported news that speaks of the real Israel and the vibrant democracy that it is.

So, these are just a few of the stories that we came home to. Though Israel is often singled out for criticism and even condemnation on CNN, on the BBC, in the New York Times and in the LA Times, the news abroad and in Israel is also filled with unrest in Lebanon brought on by the Lebanese themselves, virtual civil war in Gaza with Hamas gunmen killing the innocent children of Fatah officials—all independent of any Israeli actions. We live in a very rough neighborhood and this makes the prospects for peace in the short run dim. But, though I may be pessimistic in the short run I am, nonetheless, an optimist in the long run. Why? Well, perhaps because this is the season of miracles and this is the land of miracles.

When playing with my dreidel at Hanukah in America I followed its spin with its facets bearing Hebrew letters standing for “A great miracle happened there,” reminding me of a far-off place and a legend from long ago. Here we play with tops that spin out a message of “A great miracle happened here.” Here, all around us…in those days at this season. If then, why not now? In Israel, the difference between reality and miracles is that miracles sometimes take a bit longer to happen.

For me, the fact that we are getting by—at least for the present—without a Judah Maccabee to lead us is scary, but all-in-all, maybe something of a miracle.

For me, our very existence after the Holocaust, especially at this moment and despite those who would deny history—and us—is a miracle.

For me, the fact that we struggle but are determined to maintain our humanity and our sense of what is right when so many forces both internal and external seek to throw us off our moral balance is something of a miracle.

In a few days it will be Hanukah. We will light the candles, spin the dreidels and eat too many latkes, doughnuts and chocolate coins. But the shining lights displayed prominently in the windows will remind us that we live in a land of miracles. Perhaps this year…

Hag Urim Same’ach and shalom from Jerusalem.