This Week
Special Report
Cycle Of
HARRY KIRS BAUM
Stair Writer
T
o David Roet, the term
cycle of violence" does not
apply to Israel.
"There is no cycle of vio-
lence just like there is no cycle of vio-
lence in Afghanistan," said Roet,
Chicago-based deputy consul general of
Israel in the Midwest, to 50 members of
the Zionist Organization of America,
Michigan Region March 11. "There is
no excuse for suicide bombers."
He said he sees the television media as
misinformed and biased against Israel.
"This is our own fight against terror-
ism — contrary to what some try to
report that we are trying to take out the
Palestinians," he said. "Israel sees no mil-
itary solution to this. If and when the
Palestinians will be willing to negotiate
for peaCe, there will be a member of the
Israel government willing to negotiate in
good faith."
The day before
his ZOA talk, Roet
opened the "Israel
Under the Lens"
conference, a one-
day event in Ann
Arbor organized by
three pro-Israel
campus organiza-
tions and the
University of
Michigan Hillel.
David Roet
The next day, he
spoke with local
media in Detroit.
"We believe that we should both be
speaking to the converted and the non-
converted," he told the Jewish News
"
Israel deputy consul general blasts
media coverage of Mideast violence.
prior to addressing the ZOA.
He said he was satisfied with the
attendance of the March 10 Ann Arbor
conference, but was concerned about the
student's level of knowledge.
"For some reason, we don't always see
this dedication and willingness to-come,
up and make a statement," he said.
"The Palestinian and the Muslim_ associ-
ations in the universities are mostly sec-
ond generation. They know their histo-
ry, they know what they're doing and
what they believe in. They want to be
active and they're willing to take the
danger.
"Our kids are less connected," he said.
"They might have less knowledge. They
support Israel; they don't always know
why. And Israel has not been calling out
for help in their lifetime."
As for the current situation in the
Mideast, Roet said he appreciates the
role the Bush administration has taken.
"I understand there is a change in the
decision by America to be more involved
.
in terms of standing by [U.S. Mideast
Envoy Anthony] Zinni and [Vice
President Dick] Cheney, and we see this
as positive," he said.
He cited three concessions made by
Israel — allowing Palestinian Authority
leader Yasser Arafat to leave his com-
pound, forgoing the seven days of no
violence and allowing American
observers.
"Unfortunately, the answer was terror-
ism," he said.
At the luncheon, he told of the coffee
shop 200 meters from his parents home
in Jerusalem that was recently bombed.
"I can honestly say I've never drunk
more coffee from any other shop than
that one," he said. "Two days ago, in
another place I can honestly say that
I've never drunk more beer in, the
Moment Cafe in Jerusalem, 11 people
were killed for just going to a restau-
rant."
The CNN headline "Tit for Tat" and
the linking of Israeli and Palestinian .
killed angered him, he said.
Roet said he was upset that in recent
weeks, terror attacks in Israel didn't war-
rant "Breaking News" headlines on
CNN or other cable news networks.
"We should not let terror become a
normal thing," he said.
According to a recent poll, overall
American support of Israel has dipped
to 43 percent from a high of 55 percent
three months ago, he said. Palestinian
support has remained at 14 percent.
He said that the' numbers shouldn't be
cause for panic, but something must be
done.
"We should go beyond the cocoon of
our day-to-day lives in the Jewish com-
munity and we should speak to our
neighbors," he said. "People are not
understanding what is going on in the
area."
There is no military solution to the
problem, but there is also not much new
in the Saudi plan, he said. "Yet I am
hopeful that this will start the ball
rolling."
Julian Cohen of Detroit, who attend-
ed the ZOA speech, said the Israelis
shouldn't have started to give away land
in the first place.
"They started giving away the Sinai,
then the Gaza Strip, so the Arabs are just
waiting," he said. "They just keep argu-
ing and fighting and they'll give some-
thing else away."
Arthur Sugarman of Southfield said
American Jews should "answer with a
single voice."
"Our duty is to support the decisions
made by the people who put themselves
on the front line rather than those who
write editorials," he said. "We're here to
support them." ❑
ewish Telegraphic Agency
Last weekend's deadly attacks in
Jerusalem and Netanya were the
latest chapter in a long series of
terrorism launched by
Palestinians against Israeli
targets. Following is a timeline
of some of the major attacks that
occurred since the start of 2002:
3/15
2002
14
Jan. 15 — Palestinian gunmen kill an elderly
Israeli-American who drives into the Bethlehem
area. After he is kidnapped at a Palestinian check-
point, his bullet-ridden body is later found in Beit
Sahur. Also that day, an Israeli woman is shot and
killed at the entrance to Givat Ze'ev, a settlement
near Jerusalem.
Jan. 17 — Six Israelis are killed and 33 injured
when a Palestinian terrorist with an assault rifle
attacks guests at a bat mitzvah celebration in
Hadera. The gunman is shot and killed by police.
Jan. 22 — A Palestinian terrorist opens fire in
downtown Jerusalem, killing two women and
wounding dozens of others, before being shot and
killed by police.
Jan. 25 — A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates
explosives in a pedestrian shopping mall in Tel Aviv.
The bomber kills himself and wounds 24
bystanders.
Jan. 27 — A woman bomber strikes in Jerusalem,
killing one man and wounding more than 100 peo-
ple.
Feb 6 — A mother and her
11-year-old daughter are mur-
dered in their Jordan Valley
home. The terrorist is killed by
IDF forces.
Feb. 16 — A suicide bomber
kills three teen-agers and
wounds 27 people in an attack
Right: Shoes from a
nearby shop lie in
shattered glass near the. (AP Photo/Jacqueline Larma)
site of a suicide bombing in downtown Jerusalem
Jan. 27. A suicide bomber detonated explosives in
downtown Jerusalem just after midday, killing one
bystander on a busy street that has been the scene
of several previous attacks.
Below: An unidentified woman, whose condition is
not known, arrives at the hos- 1
pital in the northern Israeli
town of Hadera Jan. 18, after
she was wounded in an attack
at a banquet in Hadera. A
_Palestinian gunman opened
fire with an assault rifle, Israeli
police said.