Am I an animal? In these difficult times, I have difficulty finding the hand of God in every event as it is covered by His representatives here in this world. For example, at the beginning of the operation, the community newspaper and other newspapers provided an impressive and mesmerizing list of miracles that happened to the people of Israel during the days of 'Protective Edge,' and they simply forgot to mention that the one responsible for these miracles is also responsible for the deaths of almost 70 soldiers and civilians at that time. The Almighty God who took so-and-so out of the destroyed house a second before it crashed is also the one who removed the body of Shaul Oron. The God who deflected the missile from the gas cylinders at the last split second is also the one responsible for the sad death of Hadar Goldin.
""We believe in this, of course, it's all from God," the believers will say angrily. Even the elements who extracted spiritual statements from the heroic battalion commander Ofer Winter, to the great joy of the Haredim who seriously considered appointing him as the agreed-upon head of the yeshiva - with the consent of both sides - at the Ponivez Yeshiva, will explain with deep conviction that "it's clear. It's all from God, we just don't understand what God's plans are.".
Perhaps, but they already express these statements in a whisper. The voice of their spiritual interpretations towards God has been silenced. God receives presence and interpretation, only at convenient hours. Only in melodious colored writings. Then God's plans were clear, and the miracles with accompanying explanations were instinctively attributed to Him.
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And in any case, even for a person of little faith, it seems that the heavenly 'measure for measure' procedure against the theater actress, winner of the Israel Prize, Gila Almagor, is something that cannot be ignored.
About a month ago, when Interior Minister Gideon Sahar ordered the eradication of the slave market operating on Shabbat in Tel Aviv and the closure of large shopping chains on the day of rest, Almagor said that "Iran is already here, because religious coercion is like cancer - cell by cell." Almagor's statement was liked by quite a few Israelis, who praised the struggle of the enlightened actress who was not afraid to compare the decision of the Supreme Court of the State of Israel to the terrible cancer.
But then, the woman, who apparently never stopped speaking out, spoke out against the murder of the Arab boy Abu Khdeir, saying that 'she is ashamed to be Israeli.' On normal days, this statement would have made the headlines, but these were not normal days. Two days later, Operation Protective Edge broke out, Israeli soldiers risked their lives in battle against Hamas terror, and Almagor became one of the most hated women in Israel. People slandered her, cursed her ['Ugly old woman, go to Gaza' was the mildest of curses], and even threatened to kill her.
The actress, for her part, quickly gave an interview to Channel 2 and reporter Dana Weiss howled: "Did I say something against the state? Are people ashamed of me, of me?" "The ground trembles under my feet," "I'm being lynched," and also righteously, "These people who wrote against me may one day have to ask me for forgiveness.".
About a month ago, I interviewed the head of the Container Managers' Committee, whose life was ruined by Huldai's lack of enforcement policy, and I asked him to hear his opinion on Almagor's words, who called his struggle for a sane life 'cancer.' The man did not hesitate and expressed his opinion clearly, sharply, and openly: an animal.
He didn't elaborate. He didn't need to. My feeling [based solely on gut feeling, I have to admit] was that he, at the very least, wasn't going to apologize to her.
Haida Bibi. A few months ago, Yair Lapid refused to call the prime minister 'Bibi' in an interview. He has a name, Lapid said, Benjamin Netanyahu. You can argue with him, disagree with him, disagree with him, but basic respect is a basic commodity in a normal society. Certainly for a prime minister who, even according to his critics, seeks the best interests of Israel.
I was reminded of this correct statement, in light of the incessant derogatory chants directed at the Prime Minister and the Minister of Defense in recent days, including 'Bibi the coward, Bibi the loser, Boogie the bunny, a bunch of zeros,' and so on. There is no obligation to adopt the political orientation that the Prime Minister holds, but even if the man is mistaken in someone's opinion, he deserves a little more respect in such fateful days when the responsibility falls on his shoulders. On his shoulders alone.
Under natural circumstances. Last week, Theodore Van Kirk died at his home at the age of 93. The death of the anonymous old man marks the end of one of the greatest events that humanity has experienced in the last century. Who is the man?
In 1945, two atomic bombs were dropped on two Japanese cities: Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The bomb dropped on Hiroshima was given the symbolic name 'Little Boy' and caused the deaths of 140,000 people. The bomb dropped on Nagasaki was given the name 'Fat Man' and caused the deaths of 140,000 people.fromThe death toll was 80,000. Half of those killed died when the bomb was dropped and the rest in the following months from burns and radiation. Most of them were civilians.
Van Kirk is the last survivor of the original crew that dropped the bomb. He was just 24 when he served as a navigator on the American B-24 bomber, and last week he died of "natural causes" at his home in Atlanta.
When the man was asked about the traumatic event in which he participated, he replied that he had 'no regrets, and that if he had been required to do so, he would have dropped the bomb on Hiroshima again,' since the extraordinary step in which he participated prevented the continuation of the war.
Is Van Kirk right? Was this the way to end the war? Recently, President Obama apologized to the Japanese people for the loss of a quarter of a million of their citizens by the US. Was the American president's apology correct? Why is he actually apologizing?
What did Van Kirk say to himself during the 70 years that made up the rest of his life, when he was aware of the fact that he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people? Did he not reflect on an action that was based on the decision of one man [Truman], and for which humanity is paying the consequences to this very day? Did he not imagine at night the death of the masses of people, the tens of millions who were cut off before they were even born [to paraphrase the phrase 'the voice of your brother's blood - his blood and the blood of his offspring']? How did he live peacefully until the age of 93, and die under 'natural circumstances'?
And how does all this relate to the ceasefire, to Netanyahu, to the deaths of the 14 Israeli soldiers, and also to the deaths of the Gazan children?
