Tonight, for the first time since starting this weblog, I felt like shutting it down. What’s the point about writing about peace? The brutal thug Sharon continues to lead Israel down a suicidal path, cheered on by Bush & Co, American Jews and Republicans. Over the weekend Uzi Landau, one of the more extreme members of the Likud and Sharon’s government had an op-ed piece in Ha’aretz. He wrote about a visiting delegation of Republicans who chided him, noting that Sharon’s proposed disengagement plan from Gaza is “caving in to terrorists.” Apparently, to show he still is a manly man and not the type to “cave in to terrorists,” Sharon decided to rub out the head of the opposing gang, Sheikh Yassin, in typical Mafiosi fashion.
I don’t shed any tears for that man Yassin. But I worry about my family and friends still living there, in that insane asylum that was once a beautiful and thriving country. The idea that killing Sheikh Yassin will “save lives,” as the macho supporters of Israel will no doubt claim in justification, is a bitter joke. Sharon and the Israeli army might as well have gone through the streets of Tel Aviv and Jerusalem and shot people at random. Because that will be the inevitable and direct result of their insane and murderous policies. So I shed tears in anticipation of the many more deaths that will occur over the next days and weeks in Israel and in Palestine, in an endless cycle of tribal revenge.
So I ask myself tonight, what is the point of fighting for justice, peace and life, when so many people seems to prefer injustice, war and death? The Rabbis tell us that in every generation there are 36 righteous souls whose purity saves the world from destruction. What keeps me from despairing is I know one of these 36, a dear friend, whose indomitable courage and spirit in the face of adversity and injustice, has taught me that the human spirit is invincible.
