Tuesday, January 10, 2006

Only in Israel

"Among the ways in which physicians hope to stimulate Sharon's senses Tuesday is to place a plate of shawarma, the sliced meat dish said to be the prime minister's favorite, close enough for him to smell it, Army Radio reported." - Haaretz 1/10/05 (. . .)

The country is waiting to mourn. When it first happened, tv's in every macolet (mini-market) flashed footage from the facade of Hadassah hospital. Now, it's as if the Prime Minister's critical, but questionable condition has faded into the wallpaper of uncertainty that is the backdrop for life here.

I keep thinking of the symbolism of hemorhaging, of blood seeping and spilling in this place, of procedure after procedure, the risks of clotting and unclotting. The words for surgery and analysis are the same in Hebrew. Who can unravel the snarled veins of this conflict? What about the scar tissue?

To Be Continued . . .