Alice in Israeland
A peculiar side effect of “the situation” is that it constantly echoes in my mind, regardless of what I happen to be doing, even when there seems to be no reason. Just recently, for example, I reread Alice in Wonderland, an early example of literary nonsense. It seems similar to literature of the absurd which developed later, but is satirical and entertaining rather than dealing with issues like lack of meaning and alienation.
Early in the story, as a dreaming Alice begins falling, down and down, deeper underground, she wonders whether the fall will ever end. Or, take the scene where croquet is played. The rules aren’t fixed but shift to suit the players, the balls are hedgehogs and live flamingos serve as mallets. Thus, living creatures are pawns on a playing field of whims. Can you see why it resonates?
When defendants are put on trial, the judge is none other than the king himself. After all, what is the judiciary worth if we cannot control it? And, of course, the Queen of Hearts’s endless refrain: “Off with his head!”: the Mad Hatter, former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, the March Hare, former Head of the Security Services Ronen Bar, the Cheshire Cat and whoever else displeases the King and Queen, all merit beheading. When the royal entourage arrives, we witness groveling – the literal prostration – of shallow courtiers, cards from a pack.
To my disappointment, I discovered that my line of thought is not original and that problematic regimes have already been compared to Alice in Wonderland. A few months ago, a judge in the United States invoked the Queen of Hearts’s tyrannical outbursts to describe one of President Trump’s executive orders. Others have likened America’s current shifting rules and alliances to events from the book. In both cases, self-preservation becomes the main focus of confused characters.
Netanyahu’s Israel lacks the theatrical flair of Trump’s America, but it seems that our confusion surpasses theirs. Alice, who grows and shrinks throughout the story, says she finds it hard to explain herself because she isn’t really herself. Can Israel explain itself? Does it know who it is? Jewish? Democratic? Secular? Religious? Traditional? Nationalist? Liberal? Racist? Egalitarian? Cruel? Compassionate? A superpower? Threatened? Wealthy? Impoverished?
I read the sequel, Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There a long ago, and remember only one thing: When Alice says she can’t believe in impossible things, the White Queen explains that one must simply try; at Alice’s age, she would practice for half an hour a day, sometimes believing in as many as six impossible things before breakfast.
Only six? It’s hard to believe that a friend’s son survived in Gaza only because of a donated ceramic vest, even as our leader’s offspring receive elite protection. One lives overseas and, allegedly, influences state affairs from there. Let us count: 1. Donated ceramic vest instead of army issue 2. Security for the sons 3. One lives abroad 4. Involved in our fate from afar.
Next: In the midst of a war which is almost two years long and with hostages still in Gaza, absurd in itself, the government works tirelessly to secure exemptions for thousands of ultra-Orthodox whom the military needs. A nation that prides itself on scientific achievement funds for them an insular education system that stifles their potential and harms the country’s future. An indicted prime minster seeks to fire his prosecutor and appoint his judges. A country that counts Nobel Prizes turns a blind eye to warnings of impending international isolation. Still keeping count of the unbelievable?
What else do we see through the looking glass? Where else must we suspend belief? Our Minister of Defense is Israel Katz. We also had Foreign Minister Israel Katz and Finance Minister Israel Katz. Itamar Ben Gvir is the convicted Minister of National Security. See also Minister of Transport Miri Regev’s constant overseas trips, even as accidents and traffic jams reach unprecedented levels. Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich doubles as Minister in the Ministry of Defense, no need to explain the absurdity of both. Shall I continue?
At the end of both books, Alice awakens from her strange dreams and returns to her placid countryside life. And us, into what will we awake?
