We endured a tragedy on Monday, and a tragedy within that
tragedy. A Palestinian youth blew himself up outside a fast-food
eatery in Tel Aviv, killing nine innocents and wounding several
more. A young mother died in her husband’s arms, while her children
cried, “Mom! Mom!” This is a favored time for such strikes, because
Jews are celebrating Passover, and the terrorists enjoy puncturing
the Israeli/Jewish sense of freedom.
The atrocity was “claimed” by Islamic Jihad. This is a grisly
sacrament that puts an exclamation point on such events: a claim is
entered into the annals of society. A claim for recognition, for
identity, for note, for renown, for a place in history…for
“credit.” Credit for fracturing civility and gentility. Credit for
rending the rhythms of life. Credit for foisting savagery on a
peaceable populace. Credit?! This is the first level of tragedy. It
ramifies beyond the wounds of the moment into the traumas of the
future.
But the second level is many times worse, although its existence
in the moment is limited to mere words. The words of the new
Hamas-led government of the Palestinian Authority, which justified
the bombing as a byproduct of Israeli “aggression.” Until now, when
the official Palestinian response belonged to Arafat or Qureia or
Abbas, they observed the conventions sufficiently to utter some
platitudinous words of condemnation. Even if we knew them to be
talking out of both sides of their mealy mouths, there was comfort
in the knowledge that mankind still had a common language. So long
as such principles command outward obeisance, they sustain the hope
that eventually an earnest polity can occupy those social
structures.
Now everything has changed. The Palestinian Authority, which
exists by Israel’s sufferance, has declared in favor of Israel’s
suffering. This falls just short of a de jure state of war, even if
the de facto vibe is more one of attrition than overt conflict. A
door has been opened to a long, dark corridor into terror. The
prospects for that region and the world are very dreary indeed.
The problem is exacerbated by the building bellicosity of Iran.
They have been playing a very dangerous game, coupling overt
threats against Israel with blustering proclamations of advances in
acquiring nuclear technology. Last week, they pledged $50 million
to the Hamas government to cover the shortfalls caused by Israel
and the United States withholding support. This is a high-stakes
gamble by Iran, to defiantly humiliate the U.S. even while our
troops are on the ground in Iraq, a country which borders on
theirs.
Apparently, our move into Iraq three years ago has worked in a
manner similar to the system employed by the Continental Op,
Dashiell Hammett’s fictional detective. Whenever he could not
readily find the guilty party, he would do some act of provocation
to the group of suspects to “stir things up” and get the criminals
moving again in the hope that they would show themselves. By going
after Saddam, we put the region on notice. You’re either for us or
against us, the President said. Now it’s shaking out.
On one side, Lebanon evicted Syria and made a move to restore
normalcy and a fairly democratic system. Libya decided to curtail
its chemical and nuclear adventurism, handing over whatever
contraband had been stashed in its armories and laboratories. And
Iraq itself takes fitful baby steps toward merging its unruly
factions into a government by most of the people for all the
people. Syria, whatever its reservations, has mostly been a surly
bystander. It may be used by some terrorists as a launching pad and
a staging ground, but it has not publicly shown its hand as an
enemy.
The same American boldness has flushed out negative responses as
well. Iran is making these stunningly subversive moves, flagrantly
advertising its nuclear program and supporting Palestinian
terrorism while eschewing the language of diplomacy. This has
emboldened Hamas to align themselves with this audacious challenge
to American hegemony. The Continental Op has done his job well: the
bad guys have been identified. But do the cops have the courage to
make the arrest?
We stand now at a critical juncture. President Bush is
experiencing a sort of Truman moment. The danger goes up as the
poll numbers go down. A stretched army and an embattled Defense
Secretary must stave off exhaustion. The next battle looms closer
than we had hoped. And none of us can properly assay its potential
costs. We know only this, that in this sunniest, most prosperous
moment in history, while the cornucopia of modernity showers us
with plenty, we are called once again to a battlefield stretching
ominously off into a murky horizon.
Can we clear this final barrier to the freedom that Passover
both celebrates and foretells? That is a matter of faith.
*****
NOTE: We have received numerous inquiries from readers who
thought that Passover had ended and were surprised to see it cited
as a factor in the news coverage. Briefly, to clarify: Passover is
a seven-day holiday, as indicated in Exodus (12:15) and numerous
supplementary verses, which is observed by festive activities and
refraining from eating bread. Only the first and seventh days
require taking off from work and making it a full-fledged party
day, as explained there (12:16).
When the Temples stood, Jews had no preset calendar, and months
were either twenty-nine or thirty days. If witnesses saw the new
moon on the thirtieth, a new month was declared, clipping the prior
month to twenty-nine days. Thus, as the month approached, people
were not sure which of two days would turn out to be the date for
Passover. The court would determine the scheduling, then send
messengers out to notify. In the fourteen days allotted, traveling
from Jerusalem, they could barely reach beyond the borders of
Israel. This caused most communities outside Israel, out of doubt,
to observe a two-day festival at the beginning and another two at
the end.
Although a preset calendar is now in place, it was decided to
memorialize the conditions of the Temple period by continuing the
same patterns. In Israel, they continue the 1-5-1 Biblical
structure for a seven-day holiday. Outside Israel, it turns into a
2-4-2 breakdown for an eight-day event. Even the famous Seder
gathering is affected: Israelis do only one, on the first night,
but outside Israel we do two, one on each of the first two
nights.
