Be a Sport...Make a Phone Call

As the days go by, one of the emotions I keep having to deal with is anger. Anger at the sons of Ishmael...anger at our government...and worst of all anger at some of my closest friends.

I know it is difficult to believe, but I do have a circle of women friends who are very left wing. VERY. One even volunteers for Arab rights. One is/was a Woman in Black who stood on one of our very busy street corners with her friends every Friday noon, protesting the War in Lebanon and demanding that we get the hell out of there.

Now I really like these women. Both are articulate, intelligent, extremely capable and interesting people who have been friends of mine for donkey's years. And over the years, I have learned what they are doing, what they stand for, and how they think.

I have worked very hard not to discuss either politics or religion with them as I feel they are misguided in both these areas.

In my opinion, they made a three-ringed circus out of Rabin's assasination, working themseleves and the country into a frenzy. Even Kennedy's assasination is only remembered one day in the States. Here we have the Jewish date, the secular date, and one more 'just in case'.

I knew then that the far left was so busy pointing a finger that they forgot we are all appendages on the same hand.

Over the years I did dip my toe into the muddy waters of debate with them.

'We have to get out of Lebanon, at all costs.'
'But...'
'We have to get out of Gaza and the West Bank.'
'But...'
'As long as we are occupiers, we will not have a decent country.'
'But...'

WE WE WE...bad us/poor them.

Quietly, I tried to point out that we spell peace, p-e-a-c-e...and they spell peace, p-i-e-c-e. I tried to show that no one can force another to love them. I love my brother, I turn the other cheek. I know there is plenty of room inside Israel and in the Middle East for everyone. But they don't care.

One of the things we would discuss was 'what if'. What if we kept Israel the way it was, and what if we gave back the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and left Lebanon.

I asked, 'What if I am right. What if land for peace is just the aperitif? What if they want the whole kit and kaboodle?'
'Ah, well, then we'll have to take it back and defend ourselves.'
'Oh, REALLY? We let them re-arm, re-group, and then hide behind women and children and we simply go and take it back?'
'Oh, Marallyn. Don't be so dramatic.'

I'm not going to quote you figures of dead and wounded. Or report on the massive damage done to property up north. I won't even discuss how traumatized one million of our family are.

But I do think, the least my friends could do was to pick up the phone and say 'I'm sorry. You were right.'

The truth is that they still think they're right. After the past few weeks of death and destruction, I don't know how...but they honestly still think they are right.

And it's making me crazy. 'I know Daddy, G-d made me crazy.'

Have a great day...stay safe...and thanks for dropping in.