Prime Minister Netanyahu called it “A Day of National Mourning,” and that
is precisely what it was, as Naftali Frenkel, Gilad Shaar, and Eyal Yifrach were
laid to rest.
The families first had individual services in their respective
communities. I was going to say “private,” but in fact they were
televised, and we were able to see what was going on, sometimes via split
screens.
Then all gathered for interment at a cemetery in Modi’in, at which both
religious and political figures spoke.
At least fifty thousand people attended these services – some say many
more. They came by bus and by car from all over Israel, and they didn’t
stop coming. Many thousands more watched the proceedings on
television.
Credit: Times of
Israel
While it is my great desire to convey to my readers what went on, I know
that at some level it is not possible to impart the sense of it all: The feeling
of oneness, the mourning for these boys as our boys, the shared pain and
horror. My daughter-in-law said it perfectly: “I came to stand with Am
Yisrael (the people of Israel).” And my daughter thought what was
incredibly moving was the soft heart-felt singing – of psalms, words of prayer -
done by thousands and thousands of people, their voices joined, while waiting
for the proceedings to begin.
~~~~~~~~~~
The messages of those who spoke were ones of comfort and praise.
Prime Minister Netanyahu, his face etched with sorrow (emphasis
added):
“The whole nation prayed for the return
of the boys, and the whole nation saw the nobility of spirit, and inner strength of you, the
parents.
"The
nation understood immediately the depth of the roots and the strength of spirit
you possess.
"We
learned a lesson that will not be forgotten, of faith and firmness, of unity and
sensitivity, of Judaism and humanity."
"A whole nation was banded together
and was reminded of who are we and why are we
here.
"You [ the
mothers Racheli, Bat-Galim and Iris] gave the whole world a lesson about the cry
of a mother.
“...A deep moral abyss separates us and our enemies. They sanctify
death, we sanctify life. They sanctify cruelty, and we sanctify mercy.
That’s the secret to our strength, and also the basis for our unity.
"Life has it's own strength, like a
river that drags us forward, and gives us hope. The nation that has cried
with you and embraced you will continue to accompany you and will be a source of
comfort."
Credit: JPost
~~~~~~~~~~
President Shimon Peres (emphasis added):
“You, the mothers and fathers, raised children that Israel can be proud
of. You inspired in them a love of their people. A love of
Torah and a love of the land. You instilled in them devotion and a love of
mankind.
“Naftali, Gilad, Eyal: Many of us saw only small snapshots of your
personalities, of who you were. From those snapshots a beautiful picture
developed of confident young boys, sure of their way, in service of their
people.
“Youngsters with radiant faces, who stood tall. With a thirst for
knowledge and a knowledge of prayers. Sure of their purpose and fulfilling the
commandments. You showed the face of our people with a bright and painful
light, our unity and morality.”
"Gilad,
Naftali, Eyal. Wonderful boys, sons of the whole nation. Rest in peace.
We will bow our heads but our spirit will not
break."
Credit: AP
~~~~~~~~~~
The words of Rabbi Dov Zinger, head of the
Mekor Haim yeshiva, were especially poignant, because he knew two of the boys
personally, as students: “Gilad and Naftali
sat together in school in the third column, second row.” Their seats will
not be filled by others, he said.
We have the privilege, he said, to be the generation in the land. But
we are being tested now. He called for increased prayer, in which the
“brokenness will transform into repentance,” and he appealed to all those
assembled to “love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Credit: Times of
Israel
~~~~~~~~~~
This, then, is the glory of Israel: that in the midst of pain and
suffering, wrought in the face of hatred, the talk is of love - there was a
great deal of talk about love - and traditional values. Of devotion to
Torah and prayer and Am Yisrael united, of concern for mankind and hunger for
learning. Of our support for one another and the need to strive to be even
better.
This is what we call Kiddush Hashem: Honoring the name of
the Almighty through proper action as a Jewish people that can be seen by the
world.
We here in Israel can hold our heads high, my friends. Without being
complacent. As Rabbi Zinger said, we are being tested. We must work
to hold on to the unity, to hold fast to the values that are transcendent, and
to remember always why we are here.
~~~~~~~~~~
I would like to think that the world would notice who were are, and
approach us with a kinder spirit. But I know to expect this would be only
great foolishness.
What I would hope is that young Jewish people outside of Israel actually
might be touched by our behavior as a nation. I’d heard so much about how
young American Jews are alienated from Israel because of the negative hype they
pick up. I’ve heard some painful, painful stories.
And I want to say: Look, my young friends. See who we are and be
proud.
~~~~~~~~~~
In some great measure, what inspired the words of those who spoke was the
exemplary conduct of the parents of the three students. Their faith, their
devotion to traditional values, their ability to cling to life, their
courage. All models for the rest of us.
Credit: AP
Rachel Frenkel, pictured here, told her deceased son, Naftali, “We will
have to learn to sing again without you. But you will always be in our
hearts.”
~~~~~~~~~~
The interment was a private affair for close family and friends. Not
televised – and the 50,000 plus people were sent on. The boys were buried next
to each other, bound together for eternity.
Credit: YNet
Credit: AP
~~~~~~~~~~
I will deal only briefly here with what comes
next. Focusing on this will require many emails over time.
A reader (thanks Jim C.) pointed out to me that while I used the term
revenge in my last posting, “justice” would be better. And he is absolutely
right. I had picked up on the term revenge because of the Bailik
quote. But what we must do now is truly a matter of justice.
What is more, when one confronts consummate evil, there is actually
a moral responsibility to eradicate it. To fail do so is
wrong.
The problem, of course, is that the world is composed large of either
bleeding-heart liberals who refuse to see consummate evil when it is staring
them in the face (it’s all about “their suffering” and “understanding
them”). And, amoral people who don’t wish to deal with issues of evil
because all that matters is what impinges upon the situation politically for
their purposes.
The failure/refusal of the world to see that consummate evil – and I’ll
return to this – makes our position very difficult. It requires strength
to stand strong. And that strength is required of us now. The people
of Israel, and our friends elsewhere understand this.
~~~~~~~~~~
I will provide here just one very painful piece of evidence of the
consummate evil that we are facing:
Gilad Shaar used his cell phone very briefly to call police and let them
know that he and the others had been kidnapped. Then the phone was silenced. But
a leaked version of the call has been made available by the press. It
includes a statement by one of the abductors to a third person, which can be
heard in Arabic in the background, announcing “We’ve brought three.” And then
the sound of gunshots, meaning that these evil abductors did not act alone, and
that one or more (likely all) of the boys were summarily shot.
~~~~~~~~~~
What particularly enrages me is a statement that came from the US.
“While emphasizing Israel’s
right to defend its citizens, the White House’s Deputy National Security Adviser
for Strategic Communication Ben Rhodes warns that Israel should ‘be precise’ and
avoid an overly ‘heavy-handed’ response that could further destabilize the
situation between Israel and the Palestinians.”
I’ve used terms in the past such as unmitigated gall, but
none of them seem sufficient here. This is nauseating and morally
reprehensible.
At no point that I have observed has Obama ever referred
to Hamas as being in any way responsible for the murders, although he conceded
they might be ‘involved.” After all, they are part of the unity government
right now, which the US has said it would support.
~~~~~~~~~~
What Netanyahu has said is that we will first find the perpetrators of this
horror. Dead or alive, they are saying. And then we will deal with
Hamas inside of Judea and Samaria. Lastly, we will deal with Hamas in Gaza as
necessary. Cannot see that it won’t be necessary, consider that they’re
still launching rockets, but one thing at a time.
We will be watching.
~~~~~~~~~~
© Arlene Kushner.
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