Running out of miracles

Government seems to be counting on miracles, instead of action, in Sderot

Uri Orbach|Published: 02.11.08 , 16:08

Every time a Qassam rocket explodes in Sderot, newspapers report that “miraculously there were not casualties” or that “a disaster was miraculously averted.” Stories about miracles arouse more powerful feelings among readers than a rational reliance on statistics and probabilities.

A Jew who thanks God for everyday miracles will certainly be grateful for being spared great trouble. Miracles are good for news reports, as they arouse excitement and amazement, with people exclaiming: “Look at that. What a miracle! What a miracle!”

As long as we are dealing with relations between a newspaper and its buyers, this issue deserves theological and social discussion. A discussion that deals with the factors that serve to deepen religious feelings, or alternately, factors that help newspapers and news broadcasts gain more followers. Yet what happens what the belief in miracles and particularly the reliance on miracles becomes an official government matter?

Theologically speaking, we can say that the Israeli government is a very religious government. It relies on miracles and on headlines such as “miraculously there were no casualties.” Yet sometimes there are no miracles, and two brothers sustain serious wounds, and then the sages of security start to grasp the sense of urgency: What shall we do now that miracles no longer work? What should we do when the occasional thwarted attack or surgical strike does not put an end to the great miracle barrages?

The greatest miracle: Government’s survival

The photos of Magen David Adom ambulance service volunteers mopping up the blood of wounded children in Sderot Saturday night should serve to prompt the government to stop thinking that the rocket barrages on Sderot are a natural disaster: damaging like a cold spell, interesting like last year’s snow.

As long as the Qassams miss their targets, the defense minister can order the elimination of some semi-senior Hamas member or the destruction of two houses in Khan Younis. Yet once the miracles stop, Israel gets closer to a large-scale operation. This is the operation that would restore complete quiet in Sderot for the coming years. You may not believe it, but this is how it used to be in Sderot up until seven years ago.

Government ministers come to observe the miracles from up close throughout the year, but show negligence in practical actions that are meant to prevent the need for so many miracles. And perhaps the greatest miracle is that our government has been able to survive all kinds of natural disasters – such as the Winograd Commission and the Qassams – and is still intact.