Fix the Roof — Find Neutral Oversight
Plot Beats
The narrative micro-steps within this event
Josh reports to Leo that the Israelis consider repairs at the Church of the Nativity unsafe due to potential use of materials for bombs.
Leo tasks Josh with finding a neutral NGO or UN unit to oversee the roof repairs at the Church of the Nativity.
Who Was There
Characters present in this moment
Concerned and slightly apologetic; professional urgency layered over residual holiday/frayed fatigue.
Josh stands by Leo's desk and reports the Israelis' safety concern about a partially collapsed roof; he listens to Leo's narrowing of the problem and accepts the assignment to locate neutral oversight, then exits into the hallway where Toby confronts him.
- • Convey the Israeli security concern accurately to senior staff.
- • Secure a pragmatic route to allow immediate roof repairs (find a U.N. unit or NGO).
- • De-escalate political framing so an operational fix can proceed.
- • Technical problems can and should be solved pragmatically even amid political tensions.
- • The Israelis' security concerns are sincere and must be addressed to enable action.
- • Finding a neutral third-party will defuse accusations of weapons diversion.
Angry and reproachful on the surface; undercut by personal hurt and a need to mark boundaries.
Toby intercepts Josh in the hallway immediately after Josh leaves Leo's office, confronts him with sharp personal reproach over an earlier action (admitting Josh had done something Toby disliked), then turns away, leaving tension unresolved.
- • Hold Josh accountable for a prior personal/political transgression.
- • Signal disapproval without escalating into an open argument in the middle of crisis operations.
- • Certain personal lines within the staff should not be crossed even in a crisis.
- • Accountability matters and must be voiced, even if operational focus is paramount.
- • Maintaining professional order requires calling out missteps.
Objects Involved
Significant items in this scene
The partially collapsed Church of the Nativity roof is the focal problem Josh reports; it functions narratively as the concrete emergency whose repair is obstructed by security fears, and it catalyzes Leo's decision to seek neutral oversight rather than political solutions.
Hammers and nails are discussed as the necessary repair materials that trigger Israeli alarm; they serve as the narrative pivot between benign construction tools and perceived security threats, forcing the White House to consider neutral custodianship for supplies.
The 'feared bombs' are an implied object — the Israelis' worry that repair materials might be repurposed into weapons reframes benign supplies as potential armaments, and this fear is the obstacle Leo's workaround must neutralize.
Leo's cellphone (described in the canon) anchors his role as a crisis manager; though not spoken of explicitly in the lines, the cellphone is part of his operational posture as he types and issues orders, symbolizing his connectivity to other channels while he redirects Josh.
Location Details
Places and their significance in this event
The West Wing hallway functions as the immediate transitional space where the operational decision shifts into interpersonal fallout: Josh exits Leo's office into the hallway and is immediately confronted by Toby, turning a policy assignment into a personal confrontation.
The Church of the Nativity is the off-stage location that supplies the crisis: its damaged roof is the physical problem reported, and its cultural and religious resonance heightens the stakes of what would otherwise be a simple repair job.
Organizations Involved
Institutional presence and influence
Israel is the stakeholder raising the security objection that prevents immediate repairs; its concern that construction materials could be weaponized drives the need for a neutral third-party solution and sets the diplomatic constraint Leo seeks to work around.
The U.N. Relief and Recovery Unit is proposed by Leo as the ideal neutral third-party to oversee transport, storage and repair of the church roof materials; it is invoked as a practical institutional workaround to Israeli security objections and as a buffer against politicization.
Non-governmental organizations are suggested as an alternative neutral party to supervise transport and repairs; NGOs are positioned as nimble implementers who can operate in contested spaces without the political baggage of state actors.
Narrative Connections
How this event relates to others in the story
"Josh's suggestion to 'fix a roof' echoes Leo's earlier pragmatic directive about the Nativity Church, reinforcing the theme of focusing on achievable solutions."
"Josh's suggestion to 'fix a roof' echoes Leo's earlier pragmatic directive about the Nativity Church, reinforcing the theme of focusing on achievable solutions."
"Leo's announcement about the Church of the Nativity closure directly leads to Josh being tasked with finding a solution, setting up a key policy challenge."
"Leo's announcement about the Church of the Nativity closure directly leads to Josh being tasked with finding a solution, setting up a key policy challenge."
Key Dialogue
"JOSH: The Israelis say it's unsafe."
"LEO: See if you can find a U.N. relief and recovery unit anywhere around there, or an NGO that could serve as neutral-- God-- as a nuetral part to oversee transportation, storage and repair."