At Hersh Goldberg Polin’s funeral today, the mourners sang a prayer that is usually reserved for a few days of repentance  

Our Father, our King, forgive and respond

for we are at a loss

That sums it up.  I was sitting in a traffic jam at the Ramat HaSharon junction today because demonstrators had blocked it.  Later I got stuck elsewhere. 

I wasn’t one of the demonstrators today because I felt hopeless.  I can’t solve the problem.  Were there no human beings involved I would go for tough bargaining, but I would have given everything up immediately to get those people back. 

But then I heard Bibi asserting the need for stubborn negotiation and power and I realized that it isn’t going to happen, that participating in a demonstration isn’t what’s going to do it. 

And now I am at a loss