Those of us in Israel tend to ignore or downplay it, but Monday marked the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024.Formally, the Jewish state is still too traumatized by generations of Christian persecution of its people for its religious establishment to acknowledge, never mind mark, the global ticking of the clock that the Western world follows... well, religiously.The ridiculous policies of threatening to cancel kashrut certificates of restaurants, clubs, and hotels that hosted “New Year’s Eve” parties (or masquerade them as “Sylvester” parties) can be attributed to the shtetl mentality that governs much of what passes for law in Israel – from transportation policies to marriage and divorce.Even without the religious coercion that governs Israeli society, there would be no mistaking it for the Netherlands, for instance. Our year revolves around the Jewish calendar and the cycle of Jewish holidays. We’re a Jewish state.
But that doesn’t mean we’re not a nation of the world. And if the world collectively marks one night a year by putting on funny pointed hats, drinking too much, and making resolutions they won’t keep, why shouldn’t Israel be allowed to dumb down and do the same?Usually, the answer is either because it’s a goyish (gentile) ritual that has no relevance for us, or because, for Israelis, both on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day are regular work days. Minus the buildup, and the day to recover, what’s the point?
This year, however, there’s a more colossal reason. A meme making its way around social media on Sunday explained that for Israelis, Sunday wasn’t really December 31st, it was October 85th.It was 85 days ago – on October 7 – Israel’s year, world and status irrevocably mutated. We’re no longer on the global calendar like everyone else. On October 7, we began counting from one.
Pain lives on from October 7 Massacres
For the families of the hostages being held, for the families of the soldiers risking their lives day in and day out in Gaza, for the more than 1,400 families who have lost a loved one, for those cradling one of the many thousands of wounded in battle and for the country at large which experiencing the worst trauma in its history, it doesn’t matter that 2023 has made way for 2024.Only in the hope that this calendar year doesn’t contain the heartache and grief of its predecessor (a very low bar, indeed), are we able to mark a differentiation between 2023 and 2024.As long as our boys are dying in battle, our collective family is being held in inhumane conditions in Gaza, and Hamas is still clinging to a semblance of control, there is no room in our hearts – and no time in our lives – to celebrate.The best we can do is raise a toast in the hope that October 86th will soon make way for a date in January or February to be determined. And that come next December 31st, Israel will have a blowout to match any New Year’s Eve celebration. And we won’t call it Sylvester.