Where We Are

OK, so, over Shabbat, at both meals (not at my house), the subject of Iran came up, and we all had lovely discussions over whether we'd prefer to die immediately in a nuclear, biological, or chemical attack, or survive the initial attack but languish for years with radiation sickness, cancer, etc. Since we were all single with no kids, we all said we'd rather die right away than have to look at years of disease and the utter desolation of the only Jewish home. Perhaps if we had kids to protect we would have felt differently; I'm not sure.

Let's take a look at where we are: The UN and various countries are slowly sending troops to patrol southern Lebanon, but they have stated that they will not disarm Hezballah. So, um, what is the point, again?

Meanwhile, almost the entire Western world is still delluding themselves into thinking that this war was about Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and Iran. Hello! People! The Muslim-Arab states don't hate the West because of your support for Israel! They hate Israel because they think Israel represents the West! This is not about Jews! They don't want any Christians, either! Or any Enlightenment secular people either! WAKE UP!!! Israel is on the front lines of YOUR war. If they destroy Israel, they are coming for you next! If you turn the other way while Hezballah does whatever they want, it's just a matter of time before there are missile launchers in the playground down the street from you! Hello! IS ANYONE HOME???

Fine. No one is home. And in addition to no one being home, I've got people at this blog and at Israelity trying to post comments, many many comments, to the tune of "You Israelis are dirty Nazi pigs. You are so intolerant. You just like to kill people. So, you deserve to die. In fact, if I were living in the Middle East, I'd come over and kill you myself, you disgusting intolerant murderers! Peace."

And then there is the foreign media, Haaretz, Shamnesty International, and Jewish Fights Watch. Don't even get me started.

So, Israel can rely on no one, because everyone else has their heads in the sand.

But we can rely on ourselves, right? Our own government will do what it can to protect us, right?

Ha!

What the hell were they thinking signing this cease-fire?

And, while they were busy pouring millions of shekels into the withdrawal from Gaza (which I supported with misgivings), no one was giving any thought to training reservists for a possible war because . . . why? The soldiers who fought in Lebanon were not given enough food or water because . . . ? They were disorganized, ineffective, basically on suicide missions, because . . . ?

If I didn't have so much work, I'd be right there at the reservists' protests, calling for the resignation of Olmert and Halutz myself. They are wussy pansies.

And, to top it all off, you would NOT BELIEVE the dating story I heard this Shabbat, from the very woman to whom it happened. I'll call her Rena, though that is not her name. She is a 35-year-old native Israeli living in Jerusalem. She and I were guests at the same Shabbat table, and this is her story:

She was, very recently, set up on a blind date with a man who is 45. They had a nice conversation on the phone, and arranged to meet at a cafe. On the night of the date, she carefully arranged her hair and put on nice makeup. She changed her outfit several times, wanting to look special. She hadn't had a date for a while. It's not easy, being single, female and 35.

When she showed up at the cafe, the gentleman was sitting at a table with another woman, who seemed to be in her twenties. The man introduced the two women to each other, and for the rest of the evening, the three of them sat there, getting to know each other. It turned out that the man thought he could kill two birds with one stone by scheduling dates with two women at the same time.

A few days later, the man called Rena. She found out that this had been his second date with the other woman. Rena said "So, what, you want to marry both of us?" The man said "I wanted to go out more with her, but now she does not want to go out with me." (Duh)

And then he asked Rena if he could call her again. Oh, yes, he did!

But here is the kicker. Rena is so desperate . . . her standards have become so low . . . that she is actually thinking about going out with this man again. To me, that is the craziest part. That a woman could be so beaten by the dating world that she is trying to convince herself that maybe this man is worth seeing again, since he's asking, is, to me, the craziest and saddest part of the whole story.

We recommended to Rena that she go out again, and arrange with a male friend to go with her, so she, too, can schedule another "date" for the same time.

But, really, the fact that she didn't walk out of the cafe as soon as she realized what is going on is, for me, the most telling part of the tale. She's attractive, intelligent, and socially competent, and yet she has gotten so little from men, that she's stopped expecting anything more than to be trod upon.

And that is where we are.