In the movies about the Mafia, the scene often repeats where the police send forces to the funeral of one of the gangsters to see who is coming, and who is not.
Who came to pay homage, who to make sure the deceased was indeed dead;
Who stands close and who keeps distance.
This picture came to my mind this week as I flipped through the growing list of international responses to Ukraine's plight.
Contrary to Putin's plans, she is alive and kicking, but as in the example of the police at the offender's funeral - the reactions from around the world are a fascinating intelligence worth cutting out and keeping.
Some leaders are following Putin with interest.
Glad someone is testing for them how weak America and its allies are.
There are leaders of more modest countries who followed Zalanski with concern, wondering when their day will come.
Personally, I was deeply fascinated by the reactions of countries like Syria and Venezuela.
Human rights paradises, both together and separately.
No wonder most citizens of the world only dream of immigrating to Syria or obtaining a Venezuelan passport.
"Venezuela expresses full support for President Putin in his efforts to protect peace in Russia and the region" - this is the language of the official announcement, and it sings a song for peace.
Cuba also issued a statement in support of Putin in the name of peace, and our neighbor Bashar Assad issued an astonishing statement that the Russian army is making a historic correction.
Peace and correction, then.
That's what's going on here.
And this is fascinating, because once upon a time, when the world really believed in wars, it was no problem to say so explicitly.
People praised the commander for the amount of blood he shed, sculpted his figure in bronze and wrote rhymes about his glorious conquests.
Stories about the Rebbe of Kotzk who once said that hypocrisy is a sublime quality.
When all the chassidim responded in amazement, the Rebbe said that the hypocrite knows at least which fake words are correct to say and which mask is appropriate to wear.
Global values have changed so much that even places like Venezuela or Syria can no longer just cheer for fire and killing, they must mumble some nonsense about peace every time they justify bloodshed.
If you will, this is the deep defeat of the dictatorial culture.
It is precisely we, whose word "peace" tends to slightly obscure our senses, who must file such statements and save for the following days.
A good word must also be said about the rapid change of style of the countries of Northern Europe.
Last week there were mostly weak condemnations and ridiculous offers to send helmets or flannel.
But in the middle of this week also countries like Sweden and Denmark announced real shipments of real weapons.
The style of utterances that arose from the direction of NATO members gradually evolved into a sickly greenish variety to an angry and determined crimson.
In general, it may be that anyone who hurried to eulogize Europe was ahead of the latter.
As a Jew who still remembers something, it is very difficult for me to pronounce words like "my heart is with Ukraine."
As someone who lives here and now I wish for its success.
The world deserves to hope for the glorious failure of the Russian offensive, if only so that all the other bastards who eagerly follow and hope to see the democratic world collapse, will lose some of their appetite.
• • •
Now that the question "Will Putin attack" has been answered quite clearly, one can turn to a few more relevant questions, such as: What do we learn from the Russia-Ukraine affair?
Is it at all possible to learn in our case something beyond the basic insight that one must be strong and rely mostly on ourselves?
And has the West's weakness reached such a pathetic level that some players in the arena simply cannot resist throwing its head at it?
One moment after Russian forces began attacking Ukraine from all sides, last Thursday morning, the stunned world held its head and mumbled: How did we not see it coming?
And this fantastic response is quite typical of our time.
It takes extraordinary talent to define Putin's move as a surprise attack.
The Russian hints that preceded the attack were about as quiet and thin as the tanks rushing towards Kyiv.
But what to do and our world longs, and even succeeds, in being surprised every time anew.
One can, therefore, sum up: what one can learn, we were supposed to know long ago.
When a strong leader with no red lines spreads unreasonable threats, it is safe to assume that in his eyes they are extremely reasonable.
Even committed to reality.
It's just us who thought it was unlikely.
History provides quite frequent reminders of this fact, the question is why we insist on denying them.
Anyone who has seen a bit of cinema in their life, knows that when the routine seems peaceful and relaxed, the "boom" will come soon.
When life and the world itself are portrayed as a happy family picnic on a plaid blanket, and everyone is tempted to believe that it will stay that way forever, it's just a sign that in a little while a big upheaval will come, and the world will turn upside down.
This legitimacy is not a trick of screenwriters, but a testament to the fact that many of them read history books.
And history provides quite a few reminders of this fact as well.
Peace is a very temporary and fragile matter.
There were those who quoted Albert Camus this week, who said wars and epidemics always come as a surprise.
This is a partial truth.
It is correct only from the perspective of the victim's gaze.
The perpetrators of the plague and the instigators of the war are never surprised.
But it is worth remembering that not only surprise is the domain of only one party.
If the Russian offensive did mark the end of an era - and you are invited to call the era that ended this week by names as good in your eyes - it must be admitted that the West is wholeheartedly attached to this era, diplomatic.
It is doubtful if there was a time in history that the West loved so much, nurtured and almost indulged in it and its indulgences.
But even that is a partial picture.
For while the West was dizzy with love, there were quite a few others behind and on its side who deeply loathed the age of diplomacy and non-war.
Fact: They did everything to put an end to it.
• • •
Whenever we talk about things that are too big, rummage through the world or jump over our local belly button, someone grabs me and lands me back in the little reality.
This time it was P., my neighbor who is a very kind guy and a veteran tour guide of the sworn kind.
One that even at home prefers to make coffee in the PKL.
Well, one of the professional areas that has been hit the hardest by the corona is the area of guides and tour guidance.
The good people who accompany tourists and local vacationers have been unemployed for a long time.
Absolutely nothing.
The vehicles with the romantic painting of the biblical spies carrying a huge cluster of grapes - raised dust. For dessert, they also suffered insults from the finance minister, who called on them to despair and choose a new profession. Job offers, and then a new decree landed on them.
It turns out that someone in the Ministry of Transportation was very urgent to deprive tourists (so-called "cluster") of the right to travel on the public transport route (known as Natz). This is a small amount of vehicles. Several hundred all over the country. Second, without the right to travel on a fast lane, the mounted guide has nothing to offer tourists, who probably did not make it all the way here just to enjoy an authentic Palestine traffic jam.
shishabat@israelhayom.co.il
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