:: meanders ::

:: Oh, Jerusalem!
Television is often portrayed as a vast wasteland, and to judge by much of the programming, it is. But for every generality, the exceptions are there to disprove them. One benefit of broadband has been the creation of The History Channel, which just now is featuring the archive program Against all Odds: Six Day War and the Raid on Entebbe. The drama of the events of those days are echoed today with the terrorist events at Netanyah and Ramallah. If TV is not for you, two books I recently read give further depth to the issues: O Jerusalem, by Dominique Lapierre and Larry Collins, and The Fixer, by Bernard Malamud (ed: 7 Aug 2002: see note below) O Jerusalem is unfortunately out of print but likely available in libraries and second-hand bookstores. It is a non-fiction account of 1948, the year Israel became a nation state, and tells the story from three sides: the Jews, the Arabs, and the British. I have never read a book with such avid eagerness, especially in light of knowing the outcome. I could not put it down and highly recommend it; well worth the time to hunt down an edition. The Fixer is quite different. From the Penguin "20th Century Classics" edition, it is a

"fictionalized account of a notorious anti-Semitic incident, the arrest and eventual trial, following a great outcry in the West, of Mendel Beilis in pre-Revolutionary Kiev. Beilis was accused of murdering a Christian boy."

To say more tells too much. I quibble with the word anti-Semitic, as it was specifically anti-Jewish. This book is a far more difficult read, which belies its compact length. The difficulty lies in taking in the stark presentation of the utter darkness the human heart is capable of. It is no wonder The Fixer endures.

Note (7 Aug 2002): I recently received an email from the grandson of Mendel Beilis, whose comments may be read at the Mendel Beilis website.

How shall we sing the LORD'S song in a strange land? If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget [her cunning]. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy. Psalm 137:4-6 O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!" Matthew 23:37 O Jerusalem, the choice of Allah of all his lands! In it are the chosen of his servants. From it the earth was stretched forth and from it be rolled up like a scroll. The dew which descends upon Jerusalem is a remedy from every sickness because it is from the garden of Paradise. The Hadith, sayings of the Prophet Mohammed