Poet Evgeny Minin from Israel: “My grandchildren are participating in the war”

Relatively peaceful life remained only in Jerusalem

Russian-Israeli poet Evgeny Minin, a regular contributor to the “12 Chairs Club” of Literary Gazette and leading literary magazines, on October 10, in a conversation with an MK correspondent, spoke about the first days of the military crisis in Israel. Almost a month later, our interlocutor revealed the truth about the situation in his country, the operation against Palestinian militants in which his grandchildren are participating, the situation with prices in stores and other aspects of daily life.

– Evgeniy Aronovich, let’s start with the most painful issue: the situation with the Israeli hostages and the losses that Israel suffered.

– We have a permanent display on the TV screen. Today is the 28th day of the war – 1423 dead (including victims of the terrorist attack), 543 wounded, 241 hostages. We see this all the time.

The hostage issue is a gaping wound for everyone. How to write about this? What can we say about this? It is a shame that the UN did not demand the immediate release of all hostages,

– Are there any of your acquaintances among those captured?

– No.

– Are rockets falling in your area – or are you relatively safe?

– A Qassam rocket (an unguided homemade solid-fuel rocket charge) fell nearby. – I.V.), near an Arab village in a vacant lot. They said it was just a pipe filled with gunpowder. You know, I served in the Soviet Army, I was at exercises at the Ashuluk training ground in the Astrakhan region, but I never heard such an explosion. It looked like it exploded near the house.

– Would it be premature to talk about returning to peaceful life in your city?

– Peaceful life is only in the center of the country – in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. Large cities were evacuated, in the south – Sderot, in the north – Kiryat Shmona. All people are removed from the shelling zone.

– Was your city empty after the start of the operation? Are there fewer young men? What about women? In general, how massive is the participation of your fellow citizens in hostilities? Do all citizens support their implementation?

– In the city, the absence of men is not felt, however, construction has stopped, many companies have closed – all at the front.

And regarding support, the joke says: three Jews always have four opinions. So now there is only one opinion: Victory is needed.

Israel does not need Gaza territory – the IDF is fighting terrorism. Soldiers operate in Gaza, destroying the “metro”, which is used for military attacks on Israeli territory. My grandchildren are participating in the war. The whole country has united – there is no coalition or opposition. They collect money and things, help everyone, don’t forget about the elderly, they recently called me and asked what kind of help they need.

Israel is a small country, smaller than the Moscow region, every person in our country is worth its weight in gold.

– What is the situation with prices?

– Food prices have risen, significantly for vegetables. The reason is that the population of the southern and some northern kibbutzim has been evacuated and there is no one to collect fruits and vegetables. Yesterday I saw huge deserted tomato plantations on our TV. Also, some large chains refused to purchase goods from Turkey due to the aggressive speech of the Turkish president.

Has Jerusalem changed much these days? Are there many people in cafes and restaurants, is there music playing from cars and house windows?

– Of course, there is no fun. People are sitting in cafes. But even there they constantly see reports, and the death of our soldier is tantamount to the death of a loved one. And everyone is preparing for difficult times.