Linor Goralik. Let everything there be torn apart

Let everything there be torn apart - as long as there is no war
Sign twelfth. Israeli media coverage of the war in the Middle East

Linor Goralik

Date of publication: October 11, 2000

A star fell from the sky
Right in my dear's pants.
Let everything there be torn apart -
If only there was no war.

60's ditty

War: armed struggle between peoples.

Explanatory dictionary of the Russian language

Mikhail Epstein not long ago solved the problem of which letter should be assigned as a symbol to the current century. Yesterday, on a warm Tel Aviv evening, while watching a news program, it dawned on me: the letter E. The Age of E, the Age of Developed Euphemism.

As we all understand, the word "euphemism" is a euphemism meaning hiding the truth behind soft, acceptable names. For example: “Yasser Arafat suggested that Kofi Annan move his Afro-European, passively used in sexual intercourse anus to the permanent residence of the distinguished UN leader and hold off on giving his feces-derived recommendations regarding the conduct of the peace process in the Middle East to those living in the region and suffers from tears in the buttocks in the struggle for the freedom and independence of his own people . " Everything is politically correct. All clear. Euphemism won.

These thoughts were prompted by the events of recent days. Living in Israel these days is easy and pleasant. Just like anywhere else in peacetime.

I want to make it absolutely clear to everyone who does not understand this: there is no war in the Middle East. I specifically copied definitions of what exists from the recent press. Here: an armed conflict, clashes, riots on religious grounds, bombing of some objects, again skirmishes, confrontation, increased tension, armed clashes. All this is normal. There is no need to sow panic http://lenta.ru/mideast/2000/10/09/clashes/ . There is no war.

True, the Israeli reservists (that is, all capable male citizens over twenty-one - for those under twenty-one and over eighteen are simply in the active army) received “code 8” - an order about readiness to show up at the bases within four hours, if an appropriate order is received. But this is certainly not a call. There is no need for conscription without war. There are also wounded and killed on both sides, as well as hostages and missing persons. But war, probably, is when there are thousands of them. And now we haven’t even reached two hundred yet. So this is definitely not a war. Yes, Hussein is also gathering an army to fight Israel and offering armed support to the Palestinians. But, of course, there is no smell of war here - these are riots on religious grounds. Peaceful, one might say, attempts to resolve the conflict. And in response, the United States and England are bombing Iraq - but this is not a war, but, as far as I understand, a collision of explosives with ground targets. It doesn’t even smell like war here.

Yesterday evening, that is, at the end of Judgment Day, I went to see my friends. We fried potatoes. The TV was turned on. Let's watch the news. No war. Throughout the Day of Judgment, the two peoples shot at each other, went to demonstrations, were eager to lynch, destroyed religious shrines - in a word, they sorted things out in a friendly manner. The announcers kept saying this all evening: if, they said, we don’t achieve anything with such peaceful methods, then, what good, a war will begin. You sit and rejoice - it’s good, there is no war, it hasn’t started yet. So, says the announcer, a rabbi, 37 years old, father of eight children, learned that Joseph’s grave was destroyed. He dressed more discreetly - he put his sidelocks behind his ears, covered his waistcoat with his jacket - and accordingly went to the grave. Was killed. It’s normal, rabbi here, rabbi here. The main thing is that there is no war yet. The restaurants are open, we'll watch the news and let's go eat sushi.

The announcer also says that all sorts of well-wishers have arrived here and want to “help resolve the conflict.” Well done, good. Barack even extended the ultimatum on this occasion (whoever thinks that there is some kind of logical contradiction in this phrase does not understand a damn thing about the Middle East). And Arafat, you know, expressed skepticism about this. But he didn’t throw a stone at Barack. And Barak, in response to his skepticism, grinned - and also did not grab the machine gun, did not start scribbling left and right. We talked like civilized people. They resolved the conflict with words, just as their mothers taught them. And rightly so: this is not a war for you, there is no need to rattle weapons. Moreover, there are so many peacekeepers here that this whole Jewish-Arab conflict is beginning to resemble a Russian fight: “Oh, hold me, guys, hold me!” Of course they are holding you. You have a lighter in one hand and a pool of oil in the other. Why should you be released on bail? So you, what good, will start a war. But we don’t have a war. We don't need it.

The announcer also says that three Israeli soldiers have been kidnapped, the Red Cross is not allowed to approach them and they refuse to say what condition they are in. An unpleasant, but quite normal measure for peacetime. And everyone reacts as in peacetime: do not take hostages in response and do not shoot one every half hour until complete mutual understanding is reached. This is not a war. Therefore, exchanges are offered: we give you three soldiers, you give us 43.3 Arab prisoners for each. And Israel answered them: figurines. And those: well, it’s not necessary. Peace to the world.

...The word “war” belongs to the category of words, the very utterance of which is never in vain for anyone. To say “the war has begun” means to open the door to that black, terrible, alarming thing that lies in the consciousness of each of us and rises, like the souls of the dead from the underworld, according to this word. To say “war has begun” means to take responsibility for the panic. To say “the war has begun” means to admit that things have come to war; This means being forced to behave as if in war, to understand the situation as war and to be aware that you have allowed the situation to slide into war. Therefore, there is no war in Israel. And it won't. There will be, in the worst case, a religious conflict with the use of surface-to-surface missiles. Carrying, as I understand it, a powerful ideological charge.

So when the next - very right-wing - Israeli government asks: “What did you do on the evening of Judgment Day 2000?”, I will honestly say: “Eating potatoes, watching TV.”

What? There was no war.