Quote by Christopher Hitchens

During the Bosnian war in the late 1990s, I spent several days traveling around the country with Susan Sontag and her son, my dear friend David Rieff. On one occasion, we made a special detour to the town of Zenica, where there was reported to be a serious infiltration of outside Muslim extremists: a charge that was often used to slander the Bosnian government of the time. We found very little evidence of that, but the community itself was much riven as between Muslim, Croat, and Serb. No faction was strong enough to predominate, each was strong enough to veto the other's candidate for the chairmanship of the city council. Eventually, and in a way that was characteristically Bosnian, all three parties called on one of the town's few Jews and asked him to assume the job. We called on him, and found that he was also the resident intellectual, with a natural gift for synthesizing matters. After we left him, Susan began to chortle in the car. 'What do you think?' she asked. 'Do you think that the only dentist and the only shrink in Zenica are Jewish also?' It would be dense to have pretended not to see her joke.

Summary

In this quote, the speaker recounts their experience in Bosnia during the war. They visit the town of Zenica, known for its religious division between Muslims, Croats, and Serbs. None of these factions has enough power to prevail over others, leading to difficulties in appointing a city council chairman. Eventually, all three parties agree to choose a Jewish resident known for his intellectual abilities to assume the position. After meeting this individual, Susan Sontag, one of the travelers, humorously wonders if the town's only dentist and therapist are also Jewish. The quote highlights the irony in a war-torn and divided community finding unity and practicality through a shared appointment.