Many years ago (on September 11th, 2002 in fact) we read a post by the great James Lileks, in which he imagined going back in time to talk to himself on that horrible day one year before. We've never read it since, till now. To our surprise and joy, we've found the Lileks piece. Here it is. We're going to do the same thing. Here's what we're telling ourselves one year on, let's call it 8:45 AM 10/7/23.
Calm down. For about an hour now you've been following the news about this terrorist attack on Israel. As we said, calm down. Because it's going to get so much worse. The casualties are mind numbing. This attack will turn into the Israeli 9/11, worse than 9/11. We've seen things you wouldn't believe, but you will come to believe because you will see the footage of gleeful Gazan's rapine and slaughter.
Embrace your hatred. You already hate the Gazans and West Bank People, you won't know how to describe how you feel about them in a year. Let's just say you'll be sorry Curtis Lemay and the 20th Air Force aren't around. When someone hates you, it is important to hate them back. And don't you forget it.
Take heart. Because the Israelis will unleash biblical level destruction upon Gaza. During this time you, Gaza, and the world will learn how to describe victory. Victory looks like rubble. It smells like gunpowder. It sounds like lamentations of women. Hamas no longer exists as a military organization. Most of its personnel are dead or captured. Sinwar hides in a hole. We've seen this story before, haven't we? And we know how it ends.
Gird your loins. Because there are going to be many low moments. Moments where it seems Joe (we won't give you the spoiler about what happens to him!) betrays Israel. The Juden haas here in the United States is appalling, though not surprising. Fortunately you and no one in your family will see it up close. You still haven't decided what to do when confronted by Juden hass. Laugh? Throw a right hook? Walk away?
Don't worry. Because the Israeli government will respond magnificently. A year from now you'll be glad Binyomin Netanyahu is the prime minister. No one in Israel right now could possibly have handled the pressures of war, diplomacy and domestic politics as has Bibi. Militarily, everything will come around. By the way, neither Hamas nor Hezbollah will have the punch the experts expect them to have.
Ignore. Speaking of the above-mentioned experts. Ignore them. Twenty years ago these experts were talking about the Brutal Afghan Winter and the Arab Street. The experts are always wrong. They know nothing.
Don't be surprised. The world will not let you down. That is, after some proforma condemnations and moral support for Israel, most of the world will turn against the Jews, of course. Ceasefire will be the word, uttered again and again by the usual suspects.
Don't back down. You'll take little actions in the coming days, weeks and months. You'll go to temple. You'll attend a rally. You'll blog and blog. The most relevant thing you'll probably do is wear your Israeli T-shirts to the gym and your Israeli hat out. The only responses these elicit will be positive. You won't fly your Israeli flag. Too risky.
Take comfort. The pain visited upon Israel, Jews and you personally has been revisited upon the Gaza, Hamas and Hezbollah a hundred-fold. They look about the rubble that was once their country, as the Confederates looked around Georgia after Sherman's March.
One year on, things are much better than they are on the morning of 10/723. And they're poised to get better still.
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