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EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

•Its not.

Iron Will, Iron Wall

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stand.

dent is a columnist in the Southfield office of Bloomberg News.
ahmoud Hamedan's fervent wish was to kill
Jews. The 22-year-old Palestinian even spent
"It doesn't exactly come as news to me that vicious hatred
time in an Israeli prison for plotting to be a
towards Jews and Israelis is being translated into murderous
action by extreme groups like Islamic Jihad," he said.
suicide bomber. He was freed in an ill-fated
gesture of good will.
"This is one more awful example."
On erev Rosh Hashanah, he got his wish.
What a way to welcome 5764.
Infiltrating the West Bank settlement of Negohot in the
In the West Bank town of Nablus on Rosh Hashanah,
Hebron Hills of Judea through an unfenced area, he knocked
thousands of Palestinians burned an effigy of the Egged bus
on the door of a house. It was about 9 p.m. Sept. 26.
blown up by a suicide bomber on Aug. 19. Faces of Jews and
Hamedan was counting on the residents being home for their
Stars of David were visible on the side of the bus model. A
holiday dinner
model of an Israeli fighter jet also was torched. If that wasn't
enough, Reuters reported, Nablus Gov. Mahmoud Aloul
When Eyal Yeberbaum, 27, opened the
door a crack, pistol in hand, Hamedan shot
whipped the crowd into frenzy by declaring, "We come here
him twice with an assault rifle. Yeberbaum
to show our determination to continue the intifada until we
achieve freedom."
struggled long enough to force Hamedan
back.
Negohot is east of the Green Line, the pre-1967
The gunman proceeded to spray
Israeli border. The name derives from the Hebrew
word noga, which means bright light. The settlement
the neighborhood of prefabricated
homes. One bullet penetrated a wall
sits atop a hill with a westward view of the
fg;
of Yeberbaum's house, killing 7-
Mediterranean Sea and Tel Aviv's towers.
ROBERT A. month-old Shaked Avraham who
I was shocked. when Jonathan Peled of the Israeli
SKLAR
was seated in her swing. Only
Foreign Ministry qualified the Negohot barbarity by
Editor
recently had she started to crawl, said
saying it "raises a question about whether we have a
her parents, Shira and Shai.
partner on the other side."
Baby Shak ed
Reserve soldiers shot the gunman dead.
There's no question in my mind.
The Zionist Organization of America quoted Israel
There is no partner ... period.
Radio as saying Hamedan was freed after the Bush
administration urged Israel to release imprisoned terrorists as a
•
At The Core
gesture to then-Palestinian Authority Prime Minister
Levin served in the Israel Defense Forces from 1973 to 1976.
Mahmoud Abbas. Hamedan was released two months ago
He's not a fan of Jewish settlements in the disputed territories,
after serving 14 months.
but doesn't think the terror would end if every settlement sud-
So in a cruel twist of fate, Israel was unwittingly tied to the
denly dissipated.
Negohot attack.
A NEW MUSICALtt',.A8BA
"Let's not forget," he said, "that Arabs have been
Its unfathomable to think terrorists wouldn't return
trying to murder Israelis for the entire history of the
to what they consider a glorious calling: killing Jews
state and before. These murders aren't happening as a
to satisfy Allah. And many do kill again, confirms the
consequence of the settlement policy."
Shin Bet, the Israeli security service.
He's right, of course. Take away the settlements and
S
Islamic Jihad proudly took responsibility for the
the Palestinians would aim their M-16s at seeking the
Negohot terror; the carnage was its badge of honor.
ke,
"right of return" for the Palestinian refugees of 1948,
How sick, I thought. The terrorists were strutting
or at changing the path of the security fence snaking
their stuff on the Jewish New Year to mark the end of
along the West Bank.
Fisher Theater
a three-year killing spree that began Sept. 29, 2000.
Levin piqued my interest in a Yediot Ahamnot inter-
Levin
They seek to wipe out the Jewish state.
Sunday, Nov. 2
view last week with Ben-Tzion Netanyahu, an Israeli
The violence against Israel has claimed at least 870
historian and the father of Minister of Finance
1:30 pm & 7:30 pm •
people. The injury toll from nearly 19,000 terrorist attacks is
Benjamin Netanyahu.
more than 5,800.
Tickets at www.jarc.org •
Netanyahu pitched the belief that Israel's only hope for
Of 2,354 Palestinians who have died in the intifada, 127
peace "is the understanding by the Arab world that before it
or (248) 538-8810 x418
were suicide bombers, reports the Israeli daily Yediot Aharonot
stands a wall of iron that can't be knocked down, no matter
There's no doubt that Palestinian Authority President Yasser
S
how much horror it tries to inflict."
You11.
5
,
Arafat, though confined to his Mukata government com-
The notion of a wall of iron is intriguing. Based on Levin's
S
pound in Ramallah, is tarnished by the stain of ordering or
( Ages 21 to 40 )
eyewitness account of the current mood in Israel, it even
S
supporting suicide attacks as a cover for his political inepti-
sounds plausible.
Mamma's VIP Lounge 5-7 pm
tude.
.. Levin and his wife, Adina, a Hebrew teacher at Hillel Day
Fisher Building
In his new book The Case for Israeb Harvard University law
School of Metropolitan Detroit, visited Israel this summer.
professor Alan Dershowitz writes: "These bombings were a
She's also a native Israeli.
carefully calculated attempt by Palestinian extremists to shift
"Believe me," he said, "Israelis are depressed, angry, frustrat-
blame away from Yasser Arafat for walking away from the
ed and tired — maybe more so than at any time in the history
generous peace offer made by former Israeli Prime Minister
of the state. Many are looking for a way out; I have no doubt
Ehud Barak and former American President Bill Clinton at
that some, perhaps many, will leave."
Camp David [in 2000] and Taba in 2001."
Never one to whitewash his feelings, he gave me reason to
believe.
Bright Light Dimmed
"But there is a core," he added. "It's madeup of iron and
isn't surrendering. The radical Palestinians will never defeat
I called Doron Levin, a friend and Israeli native to get his take
Israel, which in some ways seems stronger and more stubborn
on the Rosh Hashanah bloodshed. The West Bloomfield resi-
that I've ever seen it." ❑
For 34 years, helping people with
disabilities be fully included
in community life

of holp ► rl

pooplo

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JARC'S 23rd Annual
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10/ 3

2003

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