mion

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Blessing Life

Dry Bones

mid the rubble of a Jerusalem
wedding hall that had crumbled
from apparently shoddy con-
struction, killing 23 people and
injuring at least 300 more, the
Jewish ideal of pikuach nefesh
(saving a life) resonated.
The outpouring of help creat-
ed a deluge at Magen David Adom's blood
collection center. Within moments of the
collapse of the third-story dance floor at
the Versailles wedding hall, despite rumors
terrorists had struck again, the line of
potential blood donors stretched to more
than 1,000.
It was the day before Shabbat, Shavuot
was three days away, suicide bombings
were on the rise and concern was growing
that the Palestinians would stop at nothing
to "send a message" to their "enemies," the
Israelis.
All that seemed so distan' . however,
when the call for blood donations came
over Israel Radio. The call was answered,
in a big way, seemingly without regard
for personal safety. It was such a mitz-

A

vah.
It turned out that the blood center
had only six beds, so could handle only
24 donations per hour. People with type
"0" blood were asked to stay to
meet demand. Others were told
that more centers would be set
up by morning; at daybreak,
hundreds returned.
Meanwhile, hearing the cries of peo-
ple trapped when the concrete dance
floor gave way, rescue workers kept at it
until all victims were accounted for.
They did so despite the risk they faced
digging between the weakened walls of
the 15-year-old building — designed
presumably to fulfill, not shatter,
dreams.
The rescue continued into Shabbat
because pikuach nefesh supersedes the
commandment to rest on this holiest of
days on the Jewish calendar; observant
workers received rabbinic dispensation to
stay on the job.
It was the worst civilian disaster in
Israel's 53-year history. But it prompted a
typical Jewish response: instant outreach to
people in desperate need.

EDITO RIAL

Related coverage: page 30

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AGAIN

Deadly Important

T

he obituary that has been written for a
strengthened federal handgun
control law this year may hap-
pily be a bit premature.
Sens. John McCain, R-Ariz., and Joe
Lieberman, D-Conn., have introduced a bill calling
for background checks on individuals who buy guns
at gun shows — exactly the same sort of check that
would be required if they bought the gun at a store.

President George W. Bush, in announcing his
public safety proposals, endorsed closing
the gun-showloophole along with steps
to enforce existing gun laws more effec-
tively.
It is true that this is a small step corn-
pared with other ideas, such as licensing handgun
owners, registering handguns or limiting the number
of guns someone can buy each month. But it is a

sensible step, one that would move us toward a more
secure society.
Gun control obviously isn't "a Jewish issue." But
it is a matter of compelling importance to the safety
of our children and our neighborhoods. That's good
enough for us. Send your senator and representative
a letter or e-mail and let them know that you want
to take this small step toward ending America's
infatuation with handguns for all.

lives of 469 Palestinians and 84 Israelis
Only an outside presence can let Israeli Prime
Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian
Authority leader Yasser Arafat save enough
face to be able to deal with their domestic
political realities.
A more active American role is not a magic wand
that, when waved, automatically guarantees both
sides will lay down their arms and resume meaning-
ful negotiations on a long-term peace. Camp David
made that clear last fall. But Powell and his envoy
do have a reasonable blueprint for dealing with cur-

rent conditions: the Mitchell Commission report
that calls for stopping the shooting, for freezing
Israeli settlement-building in the territories and for
the Palestinians to jail their terrorists.
It is easy to understand why the Bush administra-
tion wanted to stay out of the Palestinian-Israeli
morass. But as the world's last superpower, it really
- has no choice but to be engaged.
When a brushfire threatens to become a forest
fire, you don't just leave it burning. And the Middle
East has become one of those fires that will never go
out all by itself.

EDIT ORIAL

Back In The Game

T

he United States is wise to get back into
a more active and visible role as a media-
tor between Israel, the Palestini-
ans and the Arab states.
It is, admittedly, only a small step —
the nominee for assistant secretary of state
for Near Eastern affairs will visit the region and Sec-
retary of State Colin Powell may go later to see what
could calm the violence.
But it is painfully clear that on their own the two
sides cannot get beyond the fruitless pattern of
strike and retaliate that by last weekend had taken

EDIT ORIAL

*IN

6/1
2001

