Navigating the treacherous waters between dynamic and formal equivalence while thinking Big Thoughts.
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And those who try to placate the crowds by appeasing them, by sacrificing the safety of half the world’s Jews, will soon find that the radicals’ demands will only escalate until the appeasers either accept total ideological conformity or are themselves purged.
Never in the field of human conflict has one side decided to make peace because the other let up the military pressure. The US learned this in Paris, when North Vietnam demanded bombing halts to negotiate, and then used those halts to strengthen its position in South Vietnam. No, always negotiate from a position of strength. You bring the enemy to the table by pressing the offensive; you parry the enemy's terms on the field of battle; you don't take your foot off their neck until they are prepared to come to an agreement acceptable to you.
If Hamas abandoned negotiations on account of the Israeli offensive into Rafah, that is because Hamas was never interested in a ceasefire. They were never interested in releasing Israeli hostages. They were never interested in the welfare of the civilians behind whom they hide.
In World War I, Germany only agreed to a war-ending armistice, one that left it effectively unable to pick up arms again, because its armies had been defeated and could no longer defend the homefront. Had the allies let up as the armistice was being negotiated, Germany would not have agreed to it.
The same is true in Gaza. Hamas will only agree to a sustainable peace and to a viable release of hostages when it can no longer fight. So keep fighting and do not relent.
A historical Warsaw synagogue that survived WWII was firebombed last week, just before the Holocaust Remembrance Day, Yom Hashoah. Look it up, I'm assuming it wasn't in the big headlines near you.
"Today is Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day. For the last 11 years we have performed Cabaret in Captivity on or around this day to commemorate the spirit of those in the Terezin Camp who found the strength to make joyful art despite their circumstances. This year it will be a little later than usual, May 18 in Jersey City, but I am looking forward to gathering again with cast members Jenny Lee Mitchell, Craig R. Anderson, Seth Gilman, and Katarina Vizina, along with guest stars Mel McGuire and Yvonne Roen. Maria Dessena will music direct and be on the piano, as usual, and Johnna Wu (also playing Exagoge!) will be on violin. Since Johnna is back, I'm posting a photo of her from our early Covid performance, on the street east of Morningside Park. Photo by Richard Termine."