20 Days to Go – Levity in the Face of Danger!

By Sherwin Pomerantz

The clock continues to tick with now just 20 days to the opening of the 66th Regular Session of the UN General Assembly and the vote to grant Palestinians statehood, for which, for sure, they are not ready in any event.

In Israel, of course, in addition to the concern about September there’s always something else going on as well. On Friday of last week, the Jerusalem Light Rail System, which has been under construction for the better part of ten years, finally began operating with passengers. Of course, even ten years was not long enough to get all the kinks out of the system. Only 20% of the sensors which will permit giving the trains right of way over automobile traffic have actually been installed, the automated ticketing system is not working (which is why people are being allowed to ride free) and, because of the signalling problems, the maximum allowable speed is 25 mph (40 kph). That means that the 13km (7 mi) end-to-end run which is supposed to take 42 minutes actually takes an hour and 15 minutes but, who cares right?

Of course even under these very restricted conditions the US Consulate in Jerusalem could not help itself and had to issue the following advisory early this morning:

"The U.S. Consulate General in Jerusalem advises U.S. citizens that the light rail system in Jerusalem has now started operations in the city. This new form of transportation is part of the public transportation network. Official U.S. Government personnel are currently prohibited from utilizing public transportation facilities, including municipal buses and the light rail network. The Consulate General will monitor the performance and security climate of the new light rail system as it begins operations."

"U.S. citizens in Jerusalem are encouraged to exercise caution and take appropriate measures to ensure their safety and security, and to report any suspicious or unusual activity immediately to Israeli authorities. U.S. citizens should, as always, maintain a low profile in public."

Can you believe? Of course I took all this to heart and now when I walk the streets of this city I make sure I hug the building walls closely trying to maintain a low profile which is a real challenge for someone 6’-3” tall and heavy but I do my best. And I will definitely stay off the light rail given the US Consulate’s warning.

But there is really nothing to worry about. Gil Troy, Professor of History at McGill University and a Shalom Hartman Research Fellow in Jerusalem, whose writing I highly respect, tells us in an op-ed in this morning’s Jerusalem Post:

"We should stop dreading this fall. The calendar is our friend. For each of the five weeks starting with Sunday August 28, Zionist activists and educators should pick a theme or two – conceptualizing the conversation about Israel as a double helix linking education and advocacy, the purely positive and the necessarily defensive, the aspirational with the historical. We should affirm Zionism’s continuing relevance and power for Jews today, along with Israel’s continuing search for peace. The advocacy piece should link Palestinians’ destructive – and self-destructive - hatred of Israel with the Durban debacle, 9/11-style terrorism, al Qaeda anti-Americanism, and the UN’s corruption– all on full display this coming September."

Well, I cannot disagree with some of the activities he advocates but I certainly do not agree either that the calendar is our friend or that there is nothing to dread this fall. Not since 1973 have the winds blowing in this region been as menacing as they are today with stockpiled armaments pointed at us from at least two directions, a number of our neighbors in the midst of political chaos, and world opinion definitely not on our side.

The challenge that we face is to do our best to continue living normal lives, riding the light rail, walking upright and proud on our streets and believing that we have every right in the world to be here as dictated by the resolution on the topic passed at the San Remo Conference on April 25, 1920. But in parallel, we must also be prepared to deal with the events of the next month which could very well be the catalyst for some very unpleasant occurrences within Israel and on our borders as well. We need not keep a low profile as the Americans have advised people here, but we also should not lull ourselves into a false sense of security should the effects of September turn negative, as well they may.

Si vis pacem, para bellum first uttered by Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus in 5th century Rome and repeated often in our day as If you wish for peace, prepare for war remains relevant. We all hope that whatever the outcome of the General Assembly in September, we will have nothing to dread. But, given past history, the deck is stacked against that and, therefore, we need to be ready, ever vigilant and, in the interim, vocal regarding what we believe is in the best interests of Israel and the Jewish people. This is our job over the next month, nothing less.