A decade a week

It’s been said that there are decades when nothing happens and there are weeks where decades happen. Every week since October 7 has been a decade – unrelenting in its surprises, almost overwhelming in the distress it unleashes.

And this past week has certainly been sui generis, but also exceptional. It’s been breathtaking in the chutzpah and brilliance of the Israeli surprise attack on Iran; this little David (or ‘Small Satan’) precise in its long range, smart and ferocious slingshots at the giant Goliath. It’s been frightening and fearsome in its destructiveness, the huge city of Teheran trembling like the Egyptians and their neighbours facing the wrath of God in a Red Sea tsunami. And homes and apartments in Tel Aviv and Haifa targeted and crumbling when the enormous rockets manage to snake their way through the formidable protective domes of the IDF. Casualties, suffering, death, and trauma.

This feels like another moment of monumental meaning that will forever be etched into Jewish consciousness and the long record of our fantastical history.

It also feels like a surreal time tunnel – is this really happening we ask our exhausted brothers and sisters as they retreat to their safe rooms and shelters. We are wildly worried, we are glued to our devices, we are astonished at their spirit – dancing and singing in some shelters. The song Shalom Aleichem bouncing off the walls of a Tel Aviv maamad takes on a new, eerily brutal beauty. What do the angels think of their people welcoming them into this dystopian Shabbat where our enemies still wish to extinguish our Sabbath candles and destroy our right to live? Even though our thoughts and prayers are naturally focused on our people, it’s not hard to imagine the terror in Tehran, the ordinary people who don’t support the regime being so vulnerable and without shelter.

Let us also remember that this is not a religious war, despite the Iranian regime doing its best to escalate this conflict into a global clash between Islam and Christianity (what it calls the ‘Big Satan’), and Islam and Judaism. The Ohr Torah Interfaith Centre in Efrat has just put out a video and call ‘to our Muslim brothers and sisters’ saying ‘this is an opportunity to create a better future for all of us’. The extremist Shiah tyranny of the Iranian regime is as perverted a reading of Islam as the Sunni Hamas interpretation of this mighty monotheistic faith. Says Ohr Torah Interfaith Center on X: What is the Iranian Regime actually trying to achieve? Despite Iran’s attempts to conflate Israel’s local conflict into a global religious World War, we believe in our Abrahamic family. We do not believe the Iranian Regime represents real Islam, and we need to create a counterweight to violence … and remember what God wants is peace on this earth and to see us working together.

I was reminded of this when praying today – the words rang out to me: God, You created light and darkness You make peace, you created all on earth. I wondered just what God would be thinking of us now, and if He was not once again lamenting that the thoughts of humanity are just evil, most, if not all, of the time (Genesis). How hard it is to tame the savage thoughts and impulses of our crooked hearts.

This week’s Parasha too reminds us about the power of creating hope when one is surrounded by doomsayers and fear. Two strong and singular individuals, Joshua and Calev, demonstrate that the conquest of the land of Israel was achievable despite the odds being stacked against them. They defy the can’t do attitude of their ten compatriots. Writes Kanter of the Harvard Business School, “Leadership is not about the leader, it is about how he or she builds the confidence of everyone else”. Adds Rabbi Sacks, Confidence is the Latin for having faith together. Another Harvard economic historian has posited that in the world the optimists have it, not because they are always right, but because they are always positive. Even when things go wrong, they are positive, and that is the way of achievement, correction, improvement, and success. Educated, eyes-open optimism pays; pessimism can only offer the empty consolation of being right.

We are living in the fog of war with its confusion, distortion, and lack of clarity. The current confrontation between Israel and Iran is no different. For those unfamiliar with the issues it can be very confusing and confronting. A simplistic reading of the current war is that Israel started an unprovoked attack against Iran, and even deserves the retaliation from Iran. There can be nothing further from the truth…

We can combat ignorance with knowledge and clarity.

We can counter panic and fear with calm deep breathing, mindfulness and simple physical exercises.

We can cease pain and distress with the perspective of trustworthy others or by seeking professional help.

We can counter angst with amity; reaching out to others in need.

We can counter tilim (Hebrew for rockets and missiles) with Tehillim (Hebrew for psalms) and Tefillah/prayers.

We can continue to sing, dance, and pray for peace.

Shabbat Shalom

Rabbi Ralph

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These are distressing times, not only for our Jewish community who are closely connected to Israel, but as a global threat which is of concern to many, if not most Australians. Some pointers or hints to help ease the stress, also mentioned above, can be found in point B below.

A – Background Information:

Iran’s behaviour over decades made this attack inevitable.
The IAEA condemnation of Iran and finding that it is in breach of its obligation under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty tells the story. Iran was clearly violating international law and heading for nuclear weapons, and had been doing so for more than two decades.
As IAEA Raphael Grossi said last week, there is no civilian use for Iran’s massive stockpiles of 60% enriched uranium. Moreover, the IAEA’s latest report found Iran has accelerated production of this 60% enriched uranium, and increased its stockpile by 50% in just the last three months. It now has enough to produce at least 10 bomb cores within a week or two. And the latest IAEA report noted that no non-nuclear weapons state has ever created 60% enriched uranium.
The IAEA also just found Iran worked on nuclear triggers for bombs. Moreover, Israel intelligence says they have information that in recent months “senior nuclear scientists in Iran have been working to secretly develop all components needed for … a nuclear weapon.”
It’s also worth noting that IAEA monitoring of the Iranian nuclear program is all but non-existent, after Iran kicked out inspectors and disabled much of the monitoring equipment in 2021 and subsequently.
Meanwhile, Iran is clear it plans to destroy Israel – and created a “Ring of Fire” strategy, incorporating Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis, Syria, and Iraqi groups to try to do so. It then attacked Israel without provocation directly twice last year with hundreds of missiles and drones.
This aggression, plus the IAEA findings, provides a legal basis for Israeli attack.
The Arab states will likely be pleased with this attack. Iran made an unprovoked attack on Saudi Arabia in 2019, and also targeted the UAE. Iran also seeks to overthrow all regimes in the area and support insurgent groups in many of them.
The timing of the war is likely tied to the IAEA findings, and the failure of the US talks with Iran. While the US Trump Administration tried dialogue with Teheran, but Iran’s fundamentalist regime completely rejected the only possible basis for a diplomatic deal given the advanced stage of Iran’s nuclear capabilities today – an end to uranium enrichment in Iran. Another key factor is that Iran’s air defence remains weak after Israel took most of them out in retaliation for Teheran’s attacks on Israel last year. And Iran had been counting on the threat of massive retaliation from Hezbollah’s missile arsenal to deter any Israeli attacks. But Israel destroyed most of that late last year.
This attack has support in Israel across the political spectrum.
This attack recalls previous Israel efforts to take out emerging nuclear weapons threats from hostile neighbours,
Israeli planes destroyed Iraqi dictator’s Osirak nuclear reactor in 1981 before it could be fueled. While Israel was widely condemned for this action at the time, after Saddam Hussein invaded neighbouring Kuwait in 1989, earlier condemnation largely turned into sighs of relief for Israel’s foresight, because if Iraq had had nuclear weapons at that time, reversing this invasion would likely have been impossible. Israel invoked this doctrine again when it destroyed Syria’s North Korean-built plutonium reactor at Al Kibar in 2007.
Contrary to claims, the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal did little to stop Iran’s nuclear drive, because, among other things, it allowed Iran to concentrate on the advanced centrifuges that make the Iranian nuclear program so close weaponisation today, and it never forced Iran to account for past nuclear weapons work. We know that Iran kept all its records from that work, instead of giving them to the IAEA as required, because Israel captured that archive in 2018.
This war is likely to continue for at least a few days, and despite its weakened state, Iran is still capable of causing a lot of harm, to Israel and possibly to other targets across the region, mostly via drones and missiles, and actions of civilian infrastructure it should also be noted that Israel does not deliberately target civilian structures unlike Iraq which is aiming for maximum damage in Israel’s largest cities.

B – Some Helpful Hints to ease the worry from Rabbi Ralph:

We can ease panic and fear with calm deep breathing, mindfulness and simple physical exercises.
We can counter pain and distress by speaking to others, especially trustworthy friends or by seeking professional help.
We can counter angst with amity; reaching out to others in need; it can help us break out of our own worries.
We can counter tilim (Hebrew for rockets and missiles) with Tehillim (Hebrew for psalms) and Tefillah/prayers