It means translators are traitors, and it grew out of Italians’ disdain for how Dante’s “Divine Comedy” was rendered in French. This occurred to me when I went searching for the Hebrew word for “quandary” to illustrate how Hamas created a thorny problem for Israel. And for Jews worldwide.

The closest I could come was מְבוּכָה (pronounced meh voo cha with the “ch” like Bach, not “ch” in chair). It’s a word that also means confusion or perplexity, and its roots come from the word to confuse.  And I suppose it comes close because I am confused and perplexed about the quandary I am facing:

How do we deal with Hamas’ unconscionable rampage October 7th and Israel’s far too violent and destructive response?

I certainly understand the Israelis’ rage at the wanton murder, rape and hostage-taking and  the Netanyahu government’s need to make a statement that said, once and for all, “we’re mad as hell and we’re not going to take it any more.”  Particularly since Bibi was embarrassed that he had taken his eye off the ball. He was guilty of focusing on his political base, the ultra-orthodox and the settlers and the west bank.  He allowed Arab states to funnel cash to Hamas, thinking it would keep things calm. Well, he’ll pay the price for that.

But his response to the violence was to try to bomb Gaza out of existence. Back to the stone age, where he feels they belong. Predictably, the superior Arab PR machine turned the table, turning on the vile spigot of anti-semitism throughout the world.

My knee-jerk reaction as a Jew was to blame the brutality and violence on Hamas. They unleashed this latest horror to make a statement, a political statement, about the conditions in Gaza. Never mind that nearly 20 years ago Israel walked away from Gaza, leaving behind the infrastructure for Gazans to modernize and the tools to make a decent living. They had functioning businesses, in particular an operating agricultural center. But the Gazans, influenced by terrorist leaders who refused to accept anything the Jews built, deliberately destroyed it.  Here is how NBC News reported it at the time:

“Palestinians looted dozens of greenhouses on Tuesday, walking off with irrigation hoses, water pumps and plastic sheeting in a blow to fledgling efforts to reconstruct the Gaza Strip. American Jewish donors had bought more than 3,000 greenhouses from Israeli settlers in Gaza for $14 million last month and transferred them to the Palestinian Authority. Former World Bank President James Wolfensohn, who brokered the deal, put up $500,000 of his own cash. Palestinian police stood by helplessly Tuesday as looters carted off materials from greenhouses in several settlements, and commanders complained they did not have enough manpower to protect the prized assets. In some instances, there was no security and in others, police even joined the looters, witnesses said.”

In the Gazans’ zeal to erase all traces of what they saw as colonial misadventure, they sacrificed their future, dooming generations to poverty they would blame on Israel.

But I recognize that life in Gaza the last 20 years was hard.  And I understand how living there would breed resentment. You could say, as Abba Eden once remarked, the Palestinians “never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.”

But does that justify the murder, rape, terror and – most important – taking hostages? And was Israel’s response too harsh?

Where does that leave a 21^st century Jew, steeped in liberal, life-affirming values, with strong ties to my religion and Israel as a Jewish homeland? I despise the Hamas attack.  I despise the extent of Israel’s response.  It is a confusing and perplexing מְבוּכָה, a quandary.

I welcome your comments.