Dinner at the Center of the Earth

by Nathan Englander

And once the invasion begins? There’s no knowing how and when, or even if, the bloodshed will ever end. Only that both sides will battle for justice, killing each other in the name of those freshly killed, honoring the men who died avenging those who, before them, died avenging.

You are to take your daily disappointments, your unmet expectations and private catastrophes, and know that they are worthy of shame.

There was no end to what a city could achieve without East or West, but thriving as a singular, vibrant whole.

“You’re beyond ignorant, my left-wing son, if you think the Palestinians needed the General to start that Intifada.” The guard laughs out loud at this. “Left-wing? Mother, I’m a secret prison guard, and a Golani soldier, and a Beitar fan. I listen to the Shadow on my iPhone and vote Likud every time.” “Your point?” “I’m only saying, the right has moved so far over that, from where you stand, I look left.”

Just picture it, the two of us in no-man’s-land, on the blurry line beneath neither country. Me and you, eating together between worlds. A dinner at the center of the earth.”