April
2003
Guest Editorial:
Reflections on War on the Eve of Purim
By Ronit Avni
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March 17, 2003—Watching George W. Bush
mouthing ultimatums at the Iraqi government tonight, I was overcome
by a sense of cruel irony. Had this been some other year, I would
likely be among friends, drinking to celebrate the auspicious
intersection of the full moon, the long-awaited spring, the Jewish
holiday of Purim, and St. Patrick’s Day.
Purim, unlike virtually every other Jewish holiday, is a
relatively upbeat, raucous occasion. We celebrate the heroine
Esther’s success
in thwarting an attempted genocide of the Jews by convincing her husband,
the Persian king Ahashverosh, to overturn the prime minister Haman’s
plan to eradicate her people. In an unforeseen and welcome twist of
fate, the maniacal architect of this extermination plot, Haman, winds
up hanging from the very gallows that he had prepared for the killing
of the Jews. For this reason, we celebrate our reversal of fortune
by stepping outside of our lay identities. On this night, in good conscience,
we souse ourselves silly until we cannot distinguish men from women,
the dominant from the vulnerable, and the wise from the fraudulent.
Hierarchy and certainty are subverted. The unpredictable rules.
Purim is a godless holiday. The Book of Esther, in which this drama
unfolds, is the only sacred book of the Bible that does not mention
God at all. We are on our own to combat militants, maximalists and
escalationists without divine intervention. Leave it to a woman to
figure it out.
Tonight I wanted nothing more than a godless Purim; a night
in which hierarchy and Manichean analyses are challenged
and unraveled; in which
people gather in the spirit of gratitude to express themselves in new
and unconventional ways. I wanted a night in which monotheistic, apocalyptic “civilizing” missions
give way to the messiness that is respectful social interaction; a
night in which any cloaks, masks or veils donned for the occasion actually
connect us to, rather than alienate us from, one another’s complex
and rich inner worlds.
How fitting and how sad that this holiday emerged from the
very region where another potential massacre may yet unfold.
Centuries after the
triumph of Esther’s diplomacy, we have refined but not perfected
our tools of war. By the Pentagon’s own admission, the U.S. military’s “smart
bombs” repeatedly missed their marks in recent years. According
to a news report by the BBC, of all such “precision” bombs
dropped by the British in Kosovo in 1999, only 40 percent found their
targets. Now the American army is deliberately preparing to bombard
Iraq with far more powerful weaponry in the hopes of traumatizing the
Iraqi army into submission and defeat. How many casualties will it
take? Perhaps we should ask the Canadian armed forces (about the four
soldiers killed last year in Afghanistan), Afghan civilians, or the
staff of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade about the precision of the
American arsenal. We could also ask them about the accuracy of American
maps.
Hundreds of thousands of Iraqis have faced malnourishment
and disease over the last decade. Now the Bush administration,
unlike Purim’s
fabled Persian court, is bent on unleashing its coercive powers despite
vociferous objections from longstanding and loyal allies like Germany,
France, Canada and the British “street.”
After hearing Bush’s speech tonight, I forwent the Purim festivities
and headed home. Leaving Tribeca, I passed a series of soldiers in
camouflage gear on the Canal Street subway platform. As a New York
resident, I was not reassured by their ominously conspicuous yet ineffectual
presence. As an Israeli, I might have laughed had the situation not
been so tragic. Short of installing metal detectors at every turnstile
and replacing each trash can with see-through wire receptacles, I fear
that there is not much New York can do now to avoid its unfortunate
and gruesome future. While George W. Bush will not cause New York subways
to explode, his unwillingness to exhaust diplomatic channels—along
with his hostile language (beginning with the infamous and grossly
irresponsible ‘axis of evil’ speech) and his blatant disdain
for the concerns of the international community, as well as his neglect
of the divisive Israeli-Palestinian conflict—increase the likelihood
that global anger against Americans will intensify. Radicals with simplistic,
black and white world-views will undoubtedly exploit this anger in
violent ways. A tragic truth about terrorism is that, in addition to
causing carnage and pain, it also succeeds in subverting hierarchies;
even the most powerful armies and populations tremble at the nihilistic
acts of suicide bombers. The unpredictable rule. Yet, unlike the reversals
celebrated on Purim, such anarchy will lead to more misery, not less.
I am not a pacifist. Sometimes war is necessary to stop fear-mongering,
opportunistic leaders from fostering enmity and causing the undue suffering
of innocent people. Sometimes decent societies break down in violent
and unfair ways. Sometimes the presence of external actors—peacekeepers
or police—leads to the cessation of bloodshed and the promotion
of equality. In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, more genuine and
sustained diplomatic involvement by the Bush administration might actually
stop the deadly cycle of violence that is destroying both societies
and destabilizing the region. Intervention in the spirit of de-escalation,
genuine reconciliation, and the promotion of human dignity for all
can be a deeply constructive force in the universe.
Yet despite Saddam Hussein’s abysmal human rights record
and his disinterest in creating a free, equitable, safe environment
for
his people, I remain unconvinced that a massive, nearly unilateral
American military incursion and occupation will contribute to the preservation
of human life and the establishment of transparent self-governance.
One need not look further than the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan,
the Israeli invasion of Lebanon, or the American War in Vietnam for
examples of how seemingly simple war plans lead to prolonged and unforeseen
hardship. Today in Afghanistan, with peacekeeping forces confined to
Kabul and with grossly inadequate international support for reconstruction,
lawlessness still characterizes much of the country.
I might have been convinced that President Bush had altruistic
intentions in Iraq if his domestic policies demonstrated
his commitment to democracy
and the promotion of government accountability. Sadly, his administration’s
social and economic track record at home further convince me of the
impending injustices of this war, since there will be fewer mechanisms
to restrain the U.S. military and government from behaving in the interest
of corporate greed rather than on behalf of the Iraqi people. Perhaps
if this American president had been a different kind of leader, with
a reputation for spreading true freedom, equality and justice within
the United States itself, he would have earned a modicum of my confidence
and, more importantly, support abroad.
The word “Purim” means lottery, because the malicious
Haman drew lots to choose the date on which he would eliminate
the Jewish
people. On this night, Jews around the world celebrate life in all
of its unpredictable beauty. We honor Esther for her wisdom and diplomacy.
We praise Ahashverosh for his restraint. We condemn Haman for his bigotry
and bloodlust. We remind ourselves of our obligation to act in ways
that promote tolerance and the flourishing of all peoples. And we affirm
that no matter who seems to wield power or privilege at this particular
moment in history, nothing is predetermined; anything can happen.
Ronit Avni is a long-time human rights
advocate who lives and works in New York.
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