A few days ago the Jewish people began the period known to us as the three weeks. On the same day as we were fasting for a tragedy from long ago, we also marked 1,000 days since October 7th, 2023. To me, 10/7/23 feels more like a thousand years ago, yet somehow also yesterday. A few years ago, I mean months or was it weeks, the whole country experienced  one more day of war on a random Monday. By Tuesday it was over. By Shabbat, when the rabbi in shul mentioned it, I was shocked to realize that it had, in fact, been just the beginning of that week. 

If someone asks about the October 7th war, it feels like it happened so so long ago. And yet, every day, it is still happening. We want it to be over, we want to say “It is done. It is over.” But almost daily we see pictures of smiling boys in army green ages 20, 21, now frozen that age forever. Our breath catches, we feel heartbroken and also uncomfortably relieved if it is not our particular boys or girls in green. We are sad for those who were closer, but we are far enough that we can, after a minute or a few, go on with our day.

The sirens have (mostly) stopped. Those taken, even the ones who were brought home only to be placed in the ground, have all finally been returned to our land. It should feel like it’s over, done. Nigmar. But it continues, like a horrible background noise that you learn to live with for months, or years, or a lifetime. Which war are we on? Which new war within a war that has been happening forever? Or is this just another one on the long list since 1948, when we decided No More, we are back in our land and we will not be killed just for being alive.

And yet. And yet. Bondi Beach. London. New York. Detroit. The list goes on. They’re only angry at ‘zionists’ they say- 100 percent the new antisemitism. It always starts with the Jews, world. When will you wake up? When will you see it? First they come for the Jews, wrote Martin Neimoller so poignantly, and others don’t speak up. Not to be a doom prophet, and not to make the wedding joke, but you’re next. Wake up world. Wake up and smell the propaganda, the hate, the gaslighting and brainwashing. It doesn’t stop here. But we, we are done. It will stop at our borders. We will be vigilant. We will fill all of the terror tunnels, we will build........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)