Thursday, October 13, 2005

Yom Kippur/10 Ramadan Commemoration

This year, I notice that the 10th of Ramadan (today) is also Yom Kippur (according to an announcement from Michael Lerner that I received yesterday).

This apparently happens every 32 years or so. The last time it happened was at the very beginning of the 1973 war in the Middle East. The war of 1973 is still known to Israelis as the Yom Kippur war, while to Arabs it is remembered by the date of 10 Ramadan, as well as the date of 6 October. (In Egypt, many places are named after these two dates in commemoration of a war against Israel in which the Arabs fought well and won some battles. I live in one of these places: 6 October City in the Giza desert.)

In spite of the instability, violence, war, occupation, economic problems, and overall pain and suffering that continue to affect the Middle East today, herein lies something to be grateful for: at least this time, the confluence of the 10th of Ramadan and the Yom Kippur is not marked by the opening of a full-scale war between Arabs and Jews.

Happy Yom Kippur and continuing wishes for a happy Ramadan, to all.

2 comments:

Cerebralwaste said...

I agree it was nice to see this date pass without both sides bringing more heartache to the table. Looking at the calender I must admit I expected problems. Cynical? Perhaps, but with the past history and the rarity of this "event" I thought there would be problems. Thank goodness I was wrong.

top pills said...

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