One of the delights of sitting in a cafe or riding a bus in Israel is listening to the conversations around you. A less polite but more honest name for it is eavesdropping, but, as anyone forced to listen to details of Aunt Muriel’s colonoscopy knows, it is hard not to hear what people around you are saying. In Israel, philosophy and politics are the topics you are most likely to overhear.
The conversations I’ve been hearing since we arrived in Israel a few days ago mostly revolve around whether Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech to Congress was a necessary gambit or whether Obama’s personal dislike for and resentment of Netanyahu helped lead to the president’s insistence on his disastrous Iran deal.
I don’t know if there were more effective ways to spur opposition to the Iran deal. However, more than anything, the people who are blaming Netanyahu remind me of a section of a book I read as a child. My recollection is fuzzy, to the point that I don’t remember if the protagonist of the following story was a Chinese immigrant, a Black child, or some other minority group, but I do remember the story.
There is an opportunity for a poor child of illiterate parents to attend a good school. First, he (could it have been a she?) must pass an examination. Scrubbed till his skin is raw and dressed in meticulously cleaned and mended clothing, the child appears before the principal. The principal takes a piece of paper and tears it in half, asking the child, “What did I do to the paper?” When the child answers, “You broke it,” the principal refuses entry. On the way home, the child’s father cries bitterly, castigating the child for using the wrong word.
What we the readers know, that the father did not, is that the principal’s aim was to deny that child entry to the school. If the child had answered that question correctly, the questions would have continued. The only way that exam was ending was in failure.
There are ample reasons for Prime Minister Netanyahu’s constituents to approve or disapprove of him. Failing to stop the Iran deal, in my opinion, isn’t one of them. America’s current president has an antipathy to Israel as he does for the United States of America. He despises the Prime Minister as he despises Republicans and conservatives; to the best of his ability he will make sure that they fail and he will do whatever it takes to ensure that outcome.
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So much that this president does causes me shame – and anger and disgust. Like not speaking out against the murder of policemen, or innocent citizens, or babies. And yes, it is wonderful when you have raised a child who will vote with God and country in mind.
Our president’s treatment of Israel and Netanyahu causes me such immense shame. I can only pray. I have a new opportunity for hope- a child old enough to register to vote.
Shabbat just ended in Jerusalem and I was glad to log on and see your response, John
Why is it that the person who speaks out against the reckless behavior is usually blamed for it. I see this happen all the time. It has become something I expect, but still don’t understand.
I think P.M. Netanyahu’s speech was a great way to call attention to the horrible deal. It is now a central topic in election debate, and will hopefully stay central until its destruction.
Great article, Mrs. Lapin. Thank you for your musings.
My husband is no longer doing WC4Y. He is podcasting on the Blaze network instead: https://soundcloud.com/rabbi-daniel-lapin-show. At some point, we’ll figure out how to take phone calls for that show. I hear more of ‘Aunt Muriel’ type stories in America than Israel.
Well, then maybe I shouldn’t feel so bad. We missed the Rabbi LIVE on W4CY tonight. Lovely that you are in Israel! But I hope you don’t have to listen to too many ‘Aunt Muriel’s colonoscopy’ narratives.
Good point, Judy.
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s speech was neither here nor there for this administration. The plan to do what they’ve done was in the works long before the speech. What is important is that the speech was made. It removed deniability. No one is able to say, “We didn’t know.”
Hmm. I would not have gotten ‘grosgrain’ even though I did some sewing. 🙂
Kasey, then I wasn’t so young when I read the book, but now that you say it, I do believe you are right. Thanks- it was bothering me that I couldn’t even remember the nationality (or gender) of the child.
Outcomes are engineered. Once this voracious reader was up for a spelling championship. The final word was the clincher. I pondered and beat my head against the wall trying to reconstruct what this riddle of the Sphinx might be. Finally, all I could think up was G-R-O-G-H-R-A-I-N-E. A girl won that championship. Since she likely made her own dresses (and I obviously do not), she knew the name of the ornamental fabric G-R-O-S-G-R-A-I-N. This was long ago, before terms like ‘gender discrimination’ were common currency. But at age 16 you bet I was thinking ‘gender discrimination’ if I did not know exactly what to label it. I tried to smile while shaking the winner’s hand. If I did, it was a bitter smile, ‘cause I knew I’d been had. That word favored spellers knowledgeable in feminine interests. No one could tell me otherwise.
This kind of numerus clausus afflicts everyone sooner or later, even when we do not realize it. Many years ago my wife and I both had our abundant wisdom teeth extracted by a fine Jewish oral surgeon. Imagine our shock to read just a very few years ago that he had spearheaded an inquiry against a professional school accused of preferentially flunking out Jewish dental students! Some high-ranking school official even made headlines when he actually admitted that this abominable historical practice was true. You don’t believe it UNTIL it happens to YOU.
Nobody should fault Netanyahu. Outcomes are engineered on a still grander scale. Just like you said last week: heads I WIN; tails you LOSE. Heads the President WINS; tails America LOSES. And Israel LOSES, as well. But let Israel not seek a scapegoat in Netanyahu.
Mrs. Lapin,
I believe the book you are referring to is “Hawaii” by James Michener. If it is, the story is about a young Japanese girl. She never gets in to the school. Her younger brother eventually does, but only because he kept beating the prestigious school’s team in football. The powers that be decided it was easier to recruit him than compete against him.