Is Raf OK? -- Installment #74
2024-02-06 -- Tel Aviv
Tags: 4 Min; Few Links; No Video
Prisoners-for-Hostages, Thoughts
By Linda Dayan in Haaretz
On Sunday morning, I got a text. In WhatsApp-dominated Israel, SMS messages are usually reserved for automated notifications from your bank to shame you for your frivolous spending, stores you forgot you gave your number to begging you to do more frivolous spending and the odd invitation to buy some medical-grade weed. But this one was different, a rare political message outside of election season. From a sender named "BenGvir," It read: "Minister [Itamar] Ben-Gvir: Sinwar was also freed in Gilad Shalit's hostage deal! We say no to a reckless deal."
I called up Ben-Gvir's spokesman to make sure it was, in fact, the national security minister who sent that message. "What, you got it too? Do you think you could help me figure out who sent it?" He asked before laughing, and added "nah, I kid around sometimes" and requested I call back later. I called back later, and he asked me to text him. I texted him. He didn't respond. But the link in the text message does send users to a page on the Otzma Yehudit website.
It is not surprising that Ben-Gvir would hold such a view. In fact, he's made it very clear that he sees a deal in which thousands of Palestinian prisoners are freed in exchange for the 136 hostages still held in Gaza as a victory for Hamas. What surprised me was the gall to send it to the personal phones of millions of Israelis, including, I'm sure, the family members of those in Hamas captivity.
I could only think of former IDF Spokesperson Ronen Manelis, who addressed Saturday night's rally at Hostage Square. "When talking about brothers and sisters, it's a bit strange, even unethical to speak in terms of a 'good deal,' a pair of words taken from the worlds of real estate and business, so far removed from talking about brothers and sisters," he said. "Bringing you home is not a deal – it is the supreme moral obligation of the country that abandoned you on October 7th."
Everyone advancing the exchange of prisoners for captives is aware of the risks and complexities that it brings with it. Many speeches at Hostage Square in the past four months have spoken of the "painful prices" to be paid for bringing home our loved ones. Yahya Sinwar was indeed one of the over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners released in exchange for the kidnapped IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, along with many others who had been convicted of murder. Hamas considered themselves the winners then, and Israel is loath to contaminate any of its war-related measures with anything that smells of victory for Hamas.
I'll admit that seeing signs reading "at any price" at hostage rallies was initially unsettling. Since 2016, I have been carrying the knowledge that the man I hid from as he gunned down civilians in a Tel Aviv restaurant could one day be released in a prisoner exchange. And then I ask myself what separates a "good" deal from a "reckless" one. Every day, I come closer to the idea that a reckless deal is any that delays the homecoming of the men and women, grandparents and children in captivity. We have an entire hypothetical future to keep any evil that we are forced to release at bay, despite our past failures. Unlike Ben-Gvir, a reckless minister forcing his security guards to play tag, the hostages have no time left.
Antisemitism: Twist of the Day
From Leah Eichler's entry in Jewdicious:
Mike Rothschild (no relation), the author of "Jewish Space Lasers: The Rothschilds and 200 Years of Conspiracy Theories," also argued that these conspiracy theories are not only becoming mainstream, they are spreading faster than ever. In an interview, he explained:
“I'm already seeing right wing influencers pivot to being ‘pro-Palestine’ and building up their followings with left-wing posters, then start to introduce nakedly antisemitic ideas like Jews owning all the banks or the ‘Great Replacement’ Theory. There's always been an antisemitic component of some parts of the left, but it's much more noticeable now – though still nowhere near as prominent as on the right.”
Influences and Politics
Conspiracy Theories
I recently reminded a well-intentioned Jewish man that calling executives "Lizard People" is to reference an antisemitic conspiracy theory (aka David Ickes yuckiness).
Weird Times
David French recently wrote in the New York Times (PDF here):
This era of American politics will end, one way or the other. And when it does, historians are likely to debate whether its defining characteristic was stupidity or malice. I’ve gone back and forth in my own mind, but I now realize that the two traits have almost fully merged. Malice is creating stupidity, and stupidity is creating malice.
If there’s any silver lining in this dark cloud, it’s that perhaps MAGA has finally revealed itself too fully. One can dream, but perhaps targeting the world’s most popular pop star can at last help expose what the nation’s political observers have long known: MAGA isn’t just deeply angry, it’s become deeply weird.
From a Mark Manson Newsletter
Unrelated, I believe, to "Gaza in 2024" was this from someone named Kristen:
"I have often felt that I needed to apologize or justify my lack of outrage about political events. At University I was surrounded by people who were constantly furious about everything in the news. I studied American political history and civil wars [in school], and when you spend every day reading about this stuff, you become much less surprised when powerful people do bad things. My reasoning was always that unless I could actually do anything actively about it, I was not going to waste a lot of my energy being angry, and instead focus on areas of life I could actually control.
The other side of this was that those peers were willing to march and yell about people on the other side of the world, but did nothing when I had a crime committed against me. They rage about injustices in the abstract, they endlessly talk about 'community', but they do nothing about wrongdoings and suffering in the lives of those around them. These are not serious people that will actually make anything happen in the world."
Relief Area
Alef
Bet
What does this even mean? My guess is that Israeli's are saying:"We like Goa."
Gimmel
A counterpoint:
I wish we wouldn't start holding up these morons [like Bill Maher] as paragons of virtue just because they have one good take in the form of Israel.
Ben Shapiro [a right wing loose canon with a large following, formerly of Breitbart R.Z.] routinely platforms and supports antisemites because his audience enjoys their reactionary takes.
Bill Maher is an out of touch asshole who hasn't been funny in about 15 years.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
Dalet
A figure in the Florentine neighborhood of Tel Aviv… the “Pasta Nazi” (6 min, Hebrew w/English subs)
It is great to be home. Went to the symphony the night before last. The pianist Yoav Levanon played (him playing on YouTube). The hall was packed. He was called back for four encores.
People need distraction. Compartmentalized life is difficult.
It rained hard for a couple of days. So hard that yesterday someone took my umbrella from the yoga studio (there were only nine people there!).
Someone stayed dry (them).
But I’m here. And the sun came out today.
Raf