Monday, September 27, 2004

Yom Kippur, Part II

On the same subject, from a slightly different perspective, is the following article in the JPost (registration required). I should note that his description of Latrun is very inaccurate (more on this another time).

The Double Meaning of Yom Kippur

Posted below is an essay I wrote last year, when the Yom-Kippur
War "Blame Game" reached a crescendo. The recent controversy
over the Chinse Farm would suggest that little has changed.
The Double Meaning of Yom Kippur Yom Kippur is the holiest day of the Jewish calendar. It is a time Of both judgment and atonement. It is the culmination of a 40-day Period of soul-searching and stock-taking, and which Jews, both Individually and collectively, try to learn from their mistakes and Become better people in the future. Yom Kippur is more a-historical than other holidays. Unlike
Passover and Shavuot, Yom Kippur is not dependent or based on Any specific event that occurred in our history. It is
a day removed from time, a universal standing before
the Almighty to ask for forgiveness. Yet Yom Kippur also has a different significance,
a meaning grounded completely in history. For on this day, the second
bloodiest War in Israel’s short and bloody history began. On that day, Syrian And Egyptian forces attacked the thinly defended IDF lines along the Suez Canal and the Golan heights, starting what would be known as The Yom Kippur War, or simply the ’73 War. It lasted less than a month, and in the end we were victorious, but the Cost was horrific. In less than a month, the IDF had suffered 2781
dead plus tens of thousands wounded, almost one half of
the human cost of the War of Independence, which took more than a year. The war sent shock waves throughout Israeli society, and the trauma Still reverberates to this very day. It was a war in which the seeds
for both Gush Emunim and Peace Now were planted. It is more
than likely that the war had a part in the fall of the Labor Party
and the rise of Menachem Begin. Besides the raw numbers, a feeling took hold that these losses were unnecessary*, that the government, specifically Prime Minister Golda Meir and Defense Minister Moshe Dayan, by failing to call up enough troops in time, had caused needless loss of life, all due to the post-Six Day War feeling of invincibility known in Israel as the ‘conception’. Others would later claim that they were responsible for the war because they failed to heed Sadat’s ambiguous 1971 call for a negotiated land-for-peace deal, thus ‘forcing’ him to go to war. Thus started what has become a national pastime, an annual carnival -the Yom Kippur War “Blame Game”, or the anniversary of the ‘Mehdal’. Every Yom Kippur the same story, the same arguing over who was more responsible for the failure to call up the troops-the government or the military. Every year, Meir, Dayan and “Dado” are dug up from their graves to face a kangaroo court of public opinion that decides each year whether or not they deserve to be shot. Rather than pay respects to those who fought and died, or were scarred, both physically and emotionally, in defense of this country, pages upon pages are wasted on the irrelevant question of who was more at fault or who was more responsible for the circling of the Third Egyptian army. Nobody ever stops to think and wonder whether these arguments and blame games lead anywhere or serve any tangible purpose. No one does any real soul-searching or try and learn lessons from ‘Israel’s Shiloh’**. Rather than ask “what went wrong”, newspapers and pundits spend each year asking “whose fault was it” or "who screwed up". The time has long past for us to take the lessons of Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement and put them to use to understand Yom Kippur the historical event. The time has long past for us to learn what really happened and why. It is time that we look at the pain straight in the eye, and come to terms with what we lost, as well as what can be healed or learned in the future. Rather than argue endlessly what generals and leaders did or did not achieve, we should be asking those who were there-the soldiers themselves, those for whom the war was a living, breathing nightmare, not some abstract theoretical discussion. We must hear their story and learn from them, as well as those who were in the home front, the real experience that was the Yom Kippur War, and learn from it. To achieve closure, however partial, we must be willing to face reality and not run from it. We have the tools, we have the people, and we have the experience of 3,000 years of annual stocktaking to be able to face this challenge. The only question that remains is-do we have the guts?
* Recently this has been supplanted with charges of
misconduct and negligence of senior officers
at the Chinese Farm.
** One of the bloodiest battles of the American Civil War, in which the Federal army was taken by surprise by the Confederates, due in part to the high command’s failure to foresee, or properly prepare for, a Confederate assault, being busy with their own offensive plans. The Federals were ultimately victorious, but the losses were staggering-some 13,000 Federals and 10,000 Confederates were killed, wounded or missing the end of the two-day battle.

The Man and His Work (on Bobby Fischer)

I do not think that anyone would today deny that Bobby Fischer was one of the greatest chess players of all time, or at least of the 20th century. His games against Donald Byrne, Robert Byrne and others are masterpieces that are a joy to play over and over again. Yet I don't think anyone would deny that Fischer is also a hate-mongering, paranoid lunatic (anyone with doubts should see this essay, registration required). His anti-semitic rantings are even more repulsive given the fact that he himself is a Jew. So what is one to do about this clear difference between Bobby Fischer, chess genius, and Bobby Fischer, lunatic? Do we ignore Fischer the man to enjoy Fischer the chessplayer? Or maybe he should be ignored, removed from the pantheon for his actions? A few years ago, a similar argument took place regarding Richard Wagner. The composer Daniel Berenboim wanted to play Wagner in Israel, despite the man's virulently anti-semitic background and the protests of Holocaust survivors, who had to hear him play in the German camps. The argument was heated as those opposed pointed to both Wagner the man and the feelings of the Holocaust survivors. Thosewho were in favor argued that the artist must be seperated from his art, and that Wagner's music could and should be seperated from Wagner the man. Sometimes peole tried to poo-poo Wagner's anti-semitism, so desperate were they to justify themselves in hearing Wagner. I remember how an op-ed appeared in Ha'Aretz (where else would such a piece appear?) tried as hard as possible to whitewash Wagner and play down his hate-filled past. This was a clear attempt to enable himself and others to hear his music with a "clear conscience". I will make no such pretense. I know and acknowledge that Fischer is a scumbag and a despicable bastard (so was Wagner). Still, does this mean I can't enjoy his games? Where does one draw the line? Can the artist truly be seperated from his art?

Sunday, September 26, 2004

Chess Link

As mentioned before, this blog will also cover chess. To start with, here's a link to an excellent site featuring more than 400 problems. A new problem is introduced every week. Unlike other sites, this one does not give "Mate in X number of moves" or "what is white's best move?". Rather, it contains problems that require calculation and patience. Recommended for anyone who wants to improve their technique, win the on-site competition, or just enjoy some good chess positions.

Demography

Pundits both right and left have been screaming bloody murder, arguing that unless we take drastic action soon (negotiations and the establishment of a Palestinian state, transfer), the Jews will be a minority west of the Jordan and a unitary state of Palestine will be erected, with predictable results for the Jews. I would like to ask these folks a number of questions: 1) If the Palestinians really have such a winning card, why should they bother negotiating with us at all? Why ask only for the '67 borders when they can have it all in a little while? 2) The Palestinians and their supporters have been crying about the "occupation" for the longest time, and it has taken them decades to get anywhere with it. Is it conceivable that they will be able to shift gears and suddenly argue for the "South African" model after arguing the opposite for so long? 3) Heck, why haven't they demanded the right to vote now? Given the fractousness of Israeli politics, they would be a controling bloc for any government. Any answers?

Welcome!

I'm a 22-year old American-Israeli student at Bar Ilan University, and I'm setting up this blog to be able to put in my two cents on various subjects from the prosaic (chess, weather) to the interesting (history) to current affairs. At the request of a friend, I will try not to concentrate solely on Israeli politics (though it's pretty hard!). Stop by and tell me what you think!