Traditionally, Tisha B’av marks the day on which both the first and second Jewish Temples were destroyed (in 586 BCE and 70 CE respectively). Not only that, we are told that today marks the day when Moses destroyed the original set of the 10 Commandments (remember the golden calf story?), the elder generation of Israelites are told they will not enter the land of Israel, and the Jews are expelled from Spain during the Inquisition. The day is a communal day of mourning, and traditional observers of Tisha B’av fast from eating and drinking, dress in black, and sit on the floor to show their sorrow over the losses felt by our people.

What makes this Tisha B’av, in the year 5765 according to the Jewish calendar, all the more interesting is that it falls the day before the “disengagement.” After years of conflict and bloodshed, the Israeli government has set Monday, August 15 as the deadline for settlers living in the Gaza Strip, a small coastal area in the southwest of Israel, to leave their homes and turn the land over to the Palestinian Authority. This move, led by Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, who was elected on a platform of not giving up land in exchange for peace, has absolutely polarized the country, though for vastly different reasons. Some support the disengagement because they see it as the only means for Israel to gain security, others because they see it as a moral imperative. Still others believe that releasing the land to the Palestinians will weaken Israel, while others claim that the move goes against the will of God as explained in the Torah (Jewish bible).

Regardless of people’s political beliefs on the subject, I have found one thing to be true about the disengagement: no one in Israel is happy about it. Matching the sorrow that comes with Tisha B’av and the weeks before it, even those who whole-heartedly support the disengagement feel a sense of pain and sadness about what is about to occur. This is due in part to the absolute resolve of some right-wing settlers who claim they will not leave their homes unless they are forcibly evicted by the Israeli army, who in turn have made it clear that they will use whatever means necessary to remove these citizens from their homes. All the while, there is still fear that Hamas may still attack retreating Israeli citizens and soldiers to bolster its claims that the Israeli government yielded due to the violence it perpetrated.

And so we sit here in Jerusalem, unsure of what the next week will bring to this country, but fairly sure that this is only one step in a long process. Personally, Julia and I have been avoiding the various protests that have taken place around town, and last night, despite the obvious significance of the Western Wall to the holiday of Tisha B’av, we chose to stay home and watch the festivities by webcam (english.thekotel.org). We’ve done this in part out of concern for security, but at least for me, this avoidance of taking a stand also reflects my sense of ignorance on this subject. After all, I am but a foreigner who, 10 months from now, will return to a country that has known the same secure boarders for many years. How can I judge an act which is motivated by self preservation when I cannot comprehend the concept of my country being destroyed?

Indeed, today is an inauspicious day, and as it has throughout the history of our people, it marks a watershed moment. This year, may it mark the time that peace began to reign in the land of Israel.