OTHER VIEWS

Stopping Bullets With Jewish Bodies

New York City
urely you heard about the
"violence [that] broke out
between an Arab and Israelis
at Los Angeles International
Airport" on the Fourth of July?
That was how a July 6 article in the
Los Angeles Times referred to the murder
of two Jews and the injuring of several
others by an Egyptian national who
approached LAX's El Al ticket counter
and proceeded to shoot people.
Here we were — silly us! — con-
vinced that Mohamed Hadayet,
armed with two handguns and a

S

Rabbi Avi Shafran is director of public
affairs for Agudath Israel of America. His
e-mail address is shafran@amechad.com

knife, had been exclusively to blame
for the carnage.
Apparently, though, we somehow
overlooked the fact that, in addition to
the young woman and the father of
five he killed and the several others he
wounded, Mr. Hadayet perished as
well, felled by a security guard's bullets.
"Violence between an Arab and
Israelis" — how else-would one put it?
Well, to be entirely truthful, I can
think of a few ways. "Arab violence
against Jews," for one. Or even "Anti-
Semitic Arab violence," for another.
Or just plain; old "Arab Jew-hatred."
One doesn't want to quibble but,
with all due respect to authorities
unable to immediately confirm that
Mr. Hadayet hated Jews (an Arab for-

of 1991, during which Jewish
met employee claims he did),
residents of that Brooklyn
those are perfectly fine, and
neighborhood cowered in fear
considerably more accurate
of rampaging hoodlums (who
descriptions. And one wonders
attacked Jewish residents of the
further: just what exactly. it
area, and one of whom brutal-
would it take for the media to
ly murdered a young -Jewish
call the cold-blooded murder
scholar), the paper-of-record
of Jews, the cold-blooded mur-
described the happenings as
der of Jews?
RAB BI AVI
"violence between blacks and
• Would the victims have to
SHAF RAN
Orthodox Jews."
present themselves to be killed?
Special
Would either Times, West
Would they have to smile at
Com
mentary
coast or East, ever describe a
the gunman, or take care not
rape as "violence between Mr.
to turn away or flee?
Smith and Ms. Jones" or a lynching as
Not long ago, the New York Times
"violence between blacks and whites"?
used a phrase similar to the one
When it comes to Jews, though,
employed by the Los Angeles Times in
being attacked is apparently the effec-
a different, yet not unrelated context.
tive equivalent of attacking. Stopping
Referring to the Crown Heights riots

Of Settlers And Settlements

Haifa

here was a time when heroic
settlers and pioneering set-
tlements created and assured
the borders of the state of
Israel despite the opposition of the
Arabs.
"To create new settlements at strategic
points in order to buttress political
demands ..."
"Despite the hostility of the neighbor-
ing Arabs, the settlers persisted and over-
came discouragement ..."
"Far, far back in the venerable history
of this village it was inhabited by Jews,

T

Carl Alpert is a U.S. native who
made aliyah in 1952. He's a former
leader of the Zionist Organization
of America. His e-mail address is
alpert@techunix.technion.ac.il

and then for certain hundreds of years it
was taken over by Arabs. Now it is
intended that it be Jewish again for
years, decades and centuries to come ..."
No, the above quotations, and we
have many more that are similar, have
nothing to do with Israeli settlements
in Judea and Samaria. They are taken
from the lexicon of the Zionist pio-
neering settlements in the days when
it was considered patriotic, and in the
true chalutzic spirit [referring to those
Eastern European immigrants who
moved to Palestine in the 1920s] to
set up kibbutzim and villages right in
the heart of an Arab population, thus
establishing a Jewish presence.
The first quotation cited above, "to
create new settlements at strategic
points ..." was descriptive of the great
national effort during the latter part

was responsible for ultimately
of the 1930s when courageous
opening up the whole of
colonists set up what were
Emek Yizreel (Jezreel Valley)
called "Watchtower and
to Jewish settlement.
Stockade" settlements. Hanita,
"Far, far back in the venera-
in 1938, surrounded by Arabs,
ble history of this village it was
became a symbol of pioneer-
CARL
inhabited by Jews ..." is not a
ing.
ALP
ERT
mystical religious chant of
The colonists were aware of
Sp ecial
Gush Emunim in reference to
the dangers from hostile Arabs,
entary Hebron or Shiloh or
Comm
but this did not deter them.
Shechem (Nablus). It is the
Indeed, the chalutzim [Zionist
expression used by the settlers them-
pioneers] of the left-wing youth
selves of the Hashomer Hatzair kib-
movement Hashomer Hatzair were
butz, Sasa, in the Galilee, when in
among the boldest and the most dar-
1949 they occupied an "abandoned"
ing in pitching their new sites precise-
Arab village on its mountaintop site.
ly where Jews previously had not
The tales are many. Does the fol-
dared to go.
"Despite the hostility of the neighboring lowing sound like an account of "irre-
sponsible" zealots sinking roots across
Arabs ..."is taken from a description of
the green line?
the settlement of Merhavia in 1911,
"The settlers had their eye on a partic-
and the presence of these chalutzim

Songs Reflect Israel's Dream Of Peace

Raanana

s the Israeli mother of two
sons, now 19 and 22, I
have attended a great many
ceremonies at school, camp
and now, the army.
My husband and I drove down to
the desert recently and sat in a
grandstand as my son and 128 other

A

Pnina Isseroff is a composer, writer and
actor born in the U.S. She now lives in
Ra'anana, Israel, near Tel Aviv. Her
e-mail address is pnina@israsrv.netil

7/19
2002

34

young men and women stood on the
parade ground in 105-degree heat to
receive their non-commissioned offi-
cer stripes in the artillery corps.
And once again, as always happens
at these events, we were struck by
one of the wonderful anomalies of
our "military" existence: the music.
Almost all the songs played while
the soldiers marched were songs
about ... peace. About the end of
war. About how glorious it will be
when we can take off our uniforms
and live in peace. About flowers in

pockets and gave a Palestinian
the barrels of our guns. About
family 2000 shekels to repair
using destroyers to transport
the hole they had to break in
oranges. About the•dove with
the wall of their house look-
the olive branch. About peace.
ing for terrorists.
This is why, when we hear
We know the guys who
international media reports of
PNI NA
rolled up the carpets and
massacres, we know who to
ISSER OFF
washed the floor of the house
believe.
Spec ial
they had to occupy, so they
We know how we have edu-
Coinni entag
could return it in good con-
cated our children from pre-
dition to its owners.
school. We know what songs
We know the soldiers who volunteered
they have been singing.
to give blood to help the Arab civilians
We know of the reservist guys who
that were wounded during a battle.
took up a collection from their own