it’s 4 a.m. and i can’t go back to sleep – not after an alarm that almost no one else seemed to respond to. At least so it seemed.
All day long I was amazed at how we could ignore the war for our own sanity. but now i won’t be able to go back to sleep,
I’m pretty sure most of the people I know in Israel are horrified by what our government is doing. Even those who believe in the hard-nosed type of policy can’t be happy with the senselessness of what we are doing, although if we were playing a video game we might be winning. The problem is we are dealing with real live human beings whose lives are being ruined on both sides of a lot of borders.
And the people of Israel know it.
And feel incredible pain for all of those who suffer.
A few days ago I met an old friend who I have tried to avoid for a decade, and she gave me the opposite point of view of the political and human situation. She sees the enemy as inhuman and deserving of whatever punishment we can inflict on them. There was nothing I could say that could dissuade her in any way or convince her that we were not even behaving wisely for our own interests. But her language became more humane as we continued to discuss the situation and we turned to problem- solving in our specific group, a local writers’ group. When you turn to see what works, what can help, sometimes you find little solutions that can alleviate smaller problem so that you can turn to larger ones.
We didn’t solve any problems that day, but she gave me some ideas on what can be done to change ways of thinking that can lead to a change of attitude, and I’m going to turn to them. I’m sure she’ll come along.
horrified – 9.10.25 Read Post »
Oh Goody, I said, the dog has finally gone home, the pain in my hip seems to be under control, the cardiologist told me i can cut down on my stupid pills, and the hematologist said all my markers for multiple myloma have disappeared (after a decade) so I can concentrate on the galleys of my latest book.
And then the bomb fell – i mean on Doha of course. I don’t know how this brilliant show of assassinating all the Hamas leaders helps the peace process, but it certainly messes up the possibility of any quiet in the near future.
Maybe.
Maybe there was no choice. I don’t enough yet.
But I know that I’m not going to get any sleep tonight.
Are you?
not a single moment of silence Read Post »
Yup – we need a game plan – 9.8.25 Read Post »
it was just a moment’s conversation, and yet it was clear, that everyone was in competition to kvetsh more. The Americans were complaining about attacks and discomfort , the Canadians were complaining about behavior and moral center , and the Israelis were complaining about getting bombed, losing a country, losing status, losing meaning. The only thing we could agree upon was thaat we were all suffering.
now we have to get beyond it, share the suffering, and solve the problem.
We just don’t get it – 9.7.25 Read Post »
We’ve been watching the kidnapped survivors dying for the past 2 years. All of us have been prisoners of Hamas and Nukba and the soldiers of Gaza for two years, the families are hostages. No wonder we have lost all sense of logic.
For 2 weeks we’ve been taking care of Charlie, my daughter’s dog, for 2 weeks now, and have managed to control him by doing exactly what he wants. For example, we do not leave him alone so he will not bark and disturb the neighbors. Unfortunately, however, it drives me mad, just as it will drive his family mad when he returns home…
“Since I cannot prove a lover, am determined to prove a villain…” said Richard III. And I am reminded of it every day – but no more than today. Opposition makes Bibi believe even more that he is right.
So we decided not to watch the news tonight, even though so much was ruined again today. If we can demonstrate tomorrow, it will be only to comfort the families of the hostages. And perhaps to comfort ourselves…that all our beliefs have been smashed.
My entries here have been harder and harder to write because I feel obliged to say something about politics, and my personal and literary life so ineffective, so trivial.
Nevertheless, I continue to try.
determined villian – 9.5.25 Read Post »
