Deadly Solitudes
In Jerusalem a funeral was held for eight young people, some of them barely verging on adulthood. Teen-age children for whom studying the Torah was paramount in their lives. Their families will long mourn them, their community will grieve their loss, their country will never forget. The oldest was 26; a 19-year-old; two 18-year-olds; and two 16, and 15-year-old boys, studying at their yeshiveh and the adjoining high school.Ten young students wounded, seven still in hospital, undergoing a series of life-saving operations. A large crowd of stricken Israelis attended the funerals to mourn with and give support to their families. During the first eulogy, delivered by the head of the yeshiva, memories evoked of the "eight sons that we have lost in one day". A calamity anywhere it might occur; a sin against humanity, a blot on the conscience of those who might care but do not.
The nation shocked, disbelieving, but knowing it to be inevitable, that such atrocities have occurred and will occur. Until such time as they no longer will. And it's just as well that humankind is universally imbued with the spirit of hope for the future. The pious believers at the yeshiva believe this was in the master plan of the Master of the Universe; they mourn, they shed tears of grief, but they will not rail helplessly against what it is they can not understand; if G-d so ordained it, who then is to blame?
Their assailant came from a middle-class Jerusalem Palestinian family, and lacked for no material advantages. He was destined shortly to marry. His family suspected nothing. At no time, they insisted, did the 25-year-old express opinions or desires that might lead them to feel he might embark upon such a mission. His mother is disconsolate with grief. Friends, and other family members attempt to comfort her, telling her to be proud of her son, the martyr.
As is its custom, Israeli security forces razed the family home of the murderer. His family erected a mourners' tent there, hung with Hamas flags. The man who had set out to kill as many Israelis as his determined offensive permitted him to had been a driver, taking children to and from their schools and had on occasion even worked for the yeshiva. His van was discovered outside the yeshiva, post-attack, full of ammunition.
Israel's foreign ministry issued a statement underlining the country's position: "Tonight's murder of yeshiva students during a religious event expresses at its most deplorable the fundamentalist-extremist foundations, in the name of which Palestinian terrorism operates. Israel will never allow terrorism to achieve its goals. Such abominable terrorist attacks must strengthen the free world's understanding of the nature of the terrorist threat. A clear, decisive and uncompromising stand is necessary against such threats."
News was released that a warning had been received of an impending terrorist attack. In response to which police set up checkpoints to halt the entry of any suspicious would-be suicide bomber, never realizing that the threat came from within, from a local resident, one who held an Israeli identity card. Security services have been successful in halting many potential deadly attacks; this one eluded them.
Mahmoud Abbas's spokesperson announced the condemnation of the Palestinian Authority chairman of the attack, denouncing "all attacks that target civilians, whether Arabs or Israelis" In a statement to the media, a Hamas spokesperson elaborated on the general theme: "We bless the [Jerusalem] operation. It will not be the last."
In Gaza, jubilant gunfire blasted in the streets, as jihadist members handed out candies. Congratulatory messages rang out from mosque loudspeakers.
Labels: Israel, Political Realities, Terrorism
posted by Pieface @ Friday, March 07, 2008
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