We'll Pump You Up at... T HE The Need To Counter Terror With Normalcy grte Retirement Community ghat 9-fas It 91f1 GARY ROSENBLATT SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS ow do Israelis deal with the daily threat of terrorism hanging over them? On some level, they don't. Instead, they choose to ignore the problem because it is unsolv- able. So you fight the insanity of bloodshed and violence by going about your daily routine here with a purposeful sense of normalcy. Doing things the way you have al- ways done them becomes a kind of internal therapy. A friend told me that the day after the suicide bombings at 1Vlachane Yehuda, she made it her business to shop there, davka (specifically) to make a point — as well as to find the best prices for fruits and vegetables. Indeed, 24 hours after the fa- tal explosions, the market was as busy as usiinlfor a Thursday, the big shopping day in the week. Israelis, unfortunately, have too much experience when it comes to terror. They have learned how to cope, and they go into a certain mode when such tragedies occur, calling family and friends, checking in and checking up, letting loved ones know they are all right and making sure everyone is accounted for. This is not a matter of courtesy or con- sideration; it is a serious ritual and those who forget to do so are berated. For the briefest of times, the country unites, sometimes with anger over the politics that led to this craziness and more often with softer words, acknowledging the pain an entire nation is feeling. But once the victims have been laid to rest, the pace of life re- sumes. Jewish tradition may call for seven days of mourning, but tragedy strikes Israel too fre- quently — and people are too in- tent on recovering their psychic equilibrium — to shut down their hearts or their offices for more than a day or two. H /— Thousands in Israel observed a moment of silence, before an im- portant soccer game, for the vic- tims of the bombings. Then the crowd cheered as the two teams went at it. Some observers said the game should have been post- poned, but most felt the tribute was fitting, recognizing the tragedy but showing that life must go on. A visitor to Israel feels caught between the passionate commit- ment of Israelis who insist on maintaining their daily routine and those Americans back home convinced that Israel is a highly dangerous place. Being in Israel, walking the streets of Jerusalem day or night and taking public transportation, I still feel safer than in New York. But I don't dis- miss the government warnings to take security precautions, either. Terror, like everything else in Israel, is political. So it may be statistically more likely that I will be a victim of a mugging in New York, but the notion of being blown up in Israel simply because one is a Jew is far more horrify- ing. I still have much to learn. about the Israeli psyche and soul. My most poignant inspiration comes from Dana Shimshon, a 22-year- old Jerusalemite who was so bad- ly burned in a bus bombing last year that she was taken for dead. Fortunately, with the love of her parents, boyfriend, family and friends, and the medical exper- tise of doctors at Hadassah Hos- pital, she is fully recovered, and not just physically. She says that despite the sometimes unbear- able pain and long convalescence, she is a better person for the ex- perience. "It helped me appreciate life in a new way," she told me the oth- er night. "I've learned to love even the little things, the routine things." And she says her relationship with her father, a storekeeper from India, has vastly improved. "We used to fight like cats and dogs," she smiles, "but after I saw how he took care of me every day in the hospital, we are very close now." A medic herself, Dana spent two days visiting victims of the latest bombings in the hospital, reassuring them and their fam- ilies that there is hope for the fu- ture. "I told them I know what they're going through, and look at me now, I'm laughing, living life." It shouldn't have to be that way, young people with the spe- cial wisdom of suffering offering comfort to the next round of vic- tims. But there is no bitterness in Dana, only a fatalism born of having been, in a sense, re-born. And a deep commitment to affirm life as a sign of faith. "We must remember the dead by making life go on," she says. "You can't die with them. You have to live every second." For Dana and many Israelis, living one's life to the fullest is the greatest revenge against those who wish you dead. ❑ New York Jewish Week For more information about The Trowbridge and our Fitness Programs Call The Leasing Office at (810) 352-0208 24111 Civic Center Drive ® Southfield, Michigan 48034 CC THERE'S A WORLD TO SEE WITH THE J.C.C. LAS VEGAS FLING • NOV. .30 DEC. 4 informational Meeting 7:00p.m. Monday, SEPT. 8th Pre-Season Sale NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DEC. 25-29 Hours: Tues.-Sat. 9:30a.m.- 5:30p.m. Jewish Heritage Trip for Adults, Children & Grandchildren (248) 642-1690 Capturing Your Finest Moments... ILIEC UNICII-111 MASTER OF David M. Deutsch end Karen Simmons 248 • 352 • 7030 Info. Meeting - Sunday, SEPT. 7, 2:30 p.m. REUNION LUNCH FOR ALL PAST PARTICIPANTS OF JCC WINTER GET-A-WAYS Thursday, SEPT. 11 11:00a.m. PROSPECTIVE PARTICIPANTS, JOIN US FOR DESSERT Thursday, SEPT. 11, 12:30 p.m. All meetings held at Maple/ Drake JCC RESERVATIONS A MUST! 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