Editorial, April 15, 2011
Cry of freedom
ON Monday and Tuesday nights, Jews around the world will sit down at their seder tables with family and friends to celebrate Pesach, the festival of freedom.
Freed from slavery, the Children of Israel were free to worship their own God, free to pursue their own destiny, free to make their way to the Promised Land.
Three millennia on, after countless other struggles to free ourselves from the shackles of discrimination and persecution, we can marvel at our achievements as a free people and as free individuals: we have a homeland we can call our own; Jewish politicians and judges have reached the highest of offices elsewhere in the Diaspora; in the fields of culture, medicine, sport and technology, Jewish artists, athletes, entrepreneurs and scientists are world leaders.
And yet, for all that we have accomplished, true freedom still eludes us. For how can a people be free when they live in fear or when their right to practise their religion is curbed? This week alone, we read of rockets raining down on southern Israel; in Los Angeles, a bomb exploded near a Chabad centre; in Holland, moves are afoot to ban shechita; and even here in Australia, the freest of countries, boycotters and political parties are seeking to prevent goods from the Jewish State being freely sold in our stores.
One could ask, “Why is this year different from all other years?” And, of course, the answer would be, “It isn’t.”
In the haggadah, we read, “Come and learn what Laban, the Syrian, sought to do to our father Jacob.”
But every generation delivers a new Laban. Every week, every month, every year, new stumbling blocks are thrown in the path of the Jewish people’s freedom. Traditionally, we have had the opportunity at the seder to reflect on those of our people whose freedom is most challenged. In decades gone by, an empty chair signified the symbolic absence of Soviet refuseniks. More recently that chair has been reserved for Gilad Shalit.
This year, we again pray that the words “Next year in Jerusalem” will finally be fulfilled for the young Israeli soldier.
But the empty chair next week is shared. For as well as Gilad, as we gaze upon that chair, we remember the victims of the Itamar massacre, the five members of the Fogel family who will never share in a seder again.
Pesach – a celebration of freedom attained and a solemn remembrance of freedom yet to be granted.
Chekhov’s loaded gun
THE playwright Anton Chekhov famously said that a loaded pistol seen in act one must be fired in act two. The principle of Chekhov’s gun can have applications far beyond the stage.
In Gaza, for example, terrorist groups have been arming themselves feverishly since Operation Cast Lead ended more than two years ago.
Some of the weapons have included home-grown rockets, which have steadily improved in range and accuracy. Other, foreign-made weapons, such as the Russian anti-tank Kornet missile that struck an Israeli school bus last week, have been smuggled in through tunnels and other means.
None of these weapons are for decorative purposes. Like Chekhov’s gun, they were introduced to Gaza to be used against Israeli civilian targets and over and over again, we have seen them used in that fashion.
In the spirit of Nachshon, who had to show his faith by jumping into the Red Sea before it parted, Israel has combated this threat with action, prayer and – all too often – the indescribable combination of the two.
To watch video of the new Iron Dome system destroying an incoming missile from Gaza is to witness the latter.
Israeli technology has proven itself capable of destroying a variety of airborne projectiles where the consequences of missing a warhead could be deadly – and we have the YouTube videos to prove it.
While ceasefires and lulls may give a welcome respite to Israeli civilians, for once we can see the logic in the words of Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who warned this week that ceasefires against a virtual terrorist state ultimately does not work into Israel’s advantage.
Could there be any doubt that Hamas and its minions will shatter the calm with their missiles and mortars at a time that suits them?
Prayer can only take Israel so far. The next school bus targeted may not, Heaven forbid, be near empty. Not every Iron Dome missile interception can be expected to be successful.
As long as Hamas holds veto power through means of terror, the prospects for peace with the Palestinians will be held hostage.
Only through concerted action – by Israel, the Palestinian Authority and the international community – can Chekhov’s gun be disarmed, Hamas be contained, and peace again be given a chance to grow.
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