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By Ira Sharkansky
 JERUSALEM—The dog days of August. Here the season of cucumbers.
Can they possibly be relevant for God's Holy City, on the border of contending civilizations, where the intensely religious and political have wrestled on and off for 3,000 years?
Here in the Judean mountains at 800 meters (2,500 feet) it is much better than Faulkner's Mississippi. It seldom goes much above 30C (86F) and humidity is usually close to 30 percent. The middle of the day is for mad dogs, Englishmen, and other tourists who feel they must get the most out of their trip. Early morning and evenings are delightful.
There was a drive by shooting a few kilometers to the north of here, with minor injuries to Israelis.
It is the period of vacation for religious academies, and usual cases of children and parents not used to nature who get into trouble. Along with tourists from overseas they provide work for the regional rescue teams, police and military helicopter crews who go after individuals who wander into the desert without enough water or the right kind of shoes, fall from narrow paths into deep canyons, or do not read maps and lose their way.
There has been another flurry of reports that negotiations about Gilad Shalit, the Israeli held captive, are warming up toward a decision. This peak came along with the family's public celebration of the third anniversary he has spent somewhere in Gaza. Again individuals speaking for Hamas and the Israeli government have denied the reports about progress. This government, like the last one, is divided between those committed to rescuing a soldier from the enemy, and those unwilling to pay the price demanded by Hamas. This prime minister, like the last, has expressed himself on both sides of the quarrel.
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There are verbal confrontations along the northern border. It is not clear if the first threats came from Hizbollah, the Lebanese government, Israeli generals, or politicians. They have all issued warnings. We have heard about Hizbollah missiles, Israel's war plans, and Arabs who do not want their families divided if part of their village ever goes back to Lebanon or Syria. A comment meant to be calming is that: Middle Eastern armies do not fight in the heat of summer. ("In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army." II Samuel 11). That campaign was about love or lust, and was not David's greatest moment.
Swine flu is competing for headlines with things more overtly political. We get daily reports about new infections and serious cases, and know that the president of Costa Rica has contracted the illness. Israeli officials are debating how much to spend on medications that some conclude lessen the impact of the flu, while others say have side effects; and how many doses of vaccination to buy, when it is not clear how much protection they will provide, or if they will be available in advance of the winter flu season. If indeed this flu behaves like others and peaks along with cold weather.
Barack Obama has not amassed any credits for his efforts about Israel-Palestine, Iraq, Afghanistan or Pakistan. There are signs that he began in the wrong directions, is quiet, and trying to dampen expectations. He may have taken another heroic misstep at a meeting with the president of Mexico and the Canadian prime minister, when he talked about embarking on a humane reform of immigration. Whatever he proposes will excite the same Neanderthals trying to crucify him on health.
"After the holidays" is when things are expected to be more serious. This year Rosh Hashanah begins on the evening before September 19th, and Simchat Torah ends with sundown on October 11th.
May the quiet continue. In the meantime, it is tempting to write about the nothing that prevails among cucumbers in August.
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