By Rabbi Dow Marmur
JERUSALEM –An article in Friday’s Jerusalem Post Magazine, under the rubric, “Purim Oddities” called, “Psychiatric playfulness,” points to the Jewish tradition of levity and humor on Purim, the festival that tells the story of an impending disaster. The article informs us that “humor is the strategy in dealing with stressful situations.” We laugh on Purim because it reminds us of so many disasters in our history. That’s why we so often laugh with one eye and cry with the other.
Congestion. I thought of it as I reflected on the story that went around in Israel when it became known that two missiles from Gaza had reached Tel Aviv, which may have led to a full scale war. The reason, so the joke has it, that one of the missiles landed in an open field some distance away from the metropolis was because it couldn’t find a parking spot in the city.
Congestion is indeed a major problem here. Israel’s state comptroller has just issued a report bewailing the poor state of public transportation that should and could relieve the traffic jams, reflected inter alia in frequent train stoppages due to inefficiency and labor disputes. The comptroller blames the minister of transport, Yaakov Katz, for much of it.
Poles. Perhaps that’s why the prime minister rewarded Katz for his inefficiency by making him, at least until the next government is formed, also the foreign minister. On the first day in his new position, the minister insulted the Polish government, which hitherto has tried to have good relations with Israel, by echoing an earlier statement by Netanyahu and saying something to the effect that Poles – not some Poles, but (all?) Poles – cooperated with the Nazis during the Holocaust.
For good measure, Katz also invoked a bon mot by the late Prime Minister Yitzchak Shamir that Poles imbibe anti-Semitism with their mothers’ milk.
The Poles are exceedingly sensitive on the subject of Nazi collaboration. They insist that they have been as hard hit by the Nazis as the Jews. Our minister has so far refused to clarify his statement, let alone apologize. Not only is the Polish government fuming, but the leaders of the Jewish community in Poland are greatly upset. They’re pleading for reconciliation. Their well-being depends on good relations between Israel and Poland.
Diaspora. Neither the acting foreign minister nor the prime minister of Israel seem to be losing sleep over upsetting Jews in the Diaspora. Nowadays, even American Jewry is troubled by what they perceive to be a deliberate disregard by the government of Israel of Jews in the United States, perhaps at least in part to punish them for being mostly Democrats. The heading of a column by Amos Azael, one of the sanest media commentators in Israel, in the same issue of the Jerusalem Post reads: “Likud to Diaspora: Drop dead.”
Some of it is, of course, due to the impending elections which tend to make politicians lose all sense of responsibility in their efforts to catch votes. As Diaspora Jews can’t vote and as many Israelis have all kinds of unfinished business with the Diaspora, bashing the hapless Jews around the world may seem expedient.
Apology. A lot of recipients of my comments on the forthcoming elections in Israel tell me that I confuse them. All I can do is to apologize, which I do most sincerely. But perhaps it’s not only my fault…
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Rabbi Marmur is spiritual leader emeritus of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, Canada. Now a resident of Israel, he may be contacted via dow.marmur@sdjewishworld.com