Trying to make sense

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Maybe having had to run in my bathrobe to the neighbors yesterday morning as sirens woke us and bits of flaming missile fell in my general area had knocked me for a loop. But whatever the cause, I feel the news is making even less sense than usual.

Some actors showed up to the Emmys with red “stop the war” and one with a yellow “return the hostages” pins on their lapels. The show that swept the awards is based on a novel that revolves around a highly-trained warrior class.

Civilian defense teams in the North are being equipped with assault rifles. Apparently they are meant to protect the citizens there – the ones who have not been relocated – from the rockets and drones that attack them daily.

Likud member and former minister Israel Katz tweeted: “The people of Israel send their best wishes to the 45th President of the United States, @realDonaldTrump , following the despicable second assassination attempt on his life recently… We must strongly condemn any attempts to impose political views through threats and violence.” Issued the day after three women were violently arrested for putting pamphlets in a synagogue. Issued as people are taking potshots at the candidate most aligned with the “give guns to babies” lobby. And just what the heck is a realDonaldTrump? (And, for the record, despite being one of the people of Israel, I did not send him my best wishes.)

The news reported that most of the tunnels under the Philadelphi corridor between Gaza and Egypt had already been closed by the time the army got there. The rest are no longer functional. And yet, our prime minister insists it cannot be abandoned, even in return for hostages. No matter, Sinwar has since hardened his stance in the waning light of the negotiations, so the pendulum of blame for the continuation of the fighting can swing back to the Hamas side. In the meantime, IDF units are starting all over again in the northern half of Gaza, apparently fighting new Hamas recruits who have enlisted to replace the thousands already killed.

In further irony, we are told only 3% of the Palestinians in Gaza today support Hamas, but they are gaining strength in Jordan.

Speaking of hostages, the government seems to think we can treat them like Shroedinger’s cat – both alive and not until we open the box. Not actual people whose condition is likely worsening with every day they are held in captivity. The army admitted that three of the hostages whose bodies had been brought back to Israel had been killed “as a byproduct” of IDF attacks on Gaza.

Who needs WAZE to tell us we’re in Beirut as we drive north past Yokne’am, when we have the daily news to drive us to distraction?

Aside from wondering what kind of byproduct (rather than direct product) would be so lethal, I think about the fact that the admission came months after their bodies had been recovered, examined and buried. I understand such official reports must go through channels, but I believe the timing of the announcement is not random. The army can, by this point, shrug and tell us they can’t know where every hostage is at any given time. The narrative has shifted from “some might have died,” to “some might still be alive.” And of course, others were killed after these three, this time as a different “byproduct” – the refusal to let the army take them alive. After nearly a year of war, even the most sensitive among us start to become desensitized. It’s that or spend the war curled in a ball in the bedroom.

To his credit, General Halevy still points out at every opportunity that the only way to get the rest of the hostages released is through negotiation. That overly sensible point of view is likely to get him fired, along with his one protector in the war cabinet – Yoav Gallant.

I am sure there are people to whom these news items make sense. If I were a conspiracy theorist, instead an “incompetence” one, I’d believe that sowing confusion is a part of some master plan to reduce those of us who had a shred of common sense a year ago to drooling mental cases who mumble the words “free them now” to ourselves over and over as we’re led to lunch. Who needs WAZE to tell us we’re in Beirut as we drive north past Yokne’am, when we have the daily news to drive us to distraction?

In the meantime, we’ve been promised rain. Which brings to mind the words of the immortal Stevie Nicks:

Like a heartbeat drives you mad
In the stillness of remembering what you had
And what you lost
And what you had
Ooh, what you lost

Thunder only happens when it’s rainin’
Players only love you when they’re playin’
Women, they will come and they will go
When the rain washes you clean, you’ll know

You will know.