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DESIGNS IN DECORATOR WOOD & LAMINATES, LTD.
Living Life
Former Detroiter hit on head while
leading tourists through Jerusalem.
Leah Bowman I Special to the Jewish News
Editor's Note: Leah Bean Bowman grew up
in West Bloomfield. She, her husband and
five children live in Jerusalem.
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36 December 10 2015
JN
•
•
onday, Nov. 2, was meant to be
a busy, but typical day in my
work as a tour guide in Israel.
I was scheduled to meet a couple at
Jaffa Gate for a three-hour tour of the Old
City starting with the new excavations in
the Tower of David Museum, then meet
up with another group to show them
around the Temple Institute in the Jewish
Quarter, and finish the day with an after-
school program for elementary school
girls who live in the Old City.
I met the couple — Jewish tourists
from New York named Stu and Corky —
and we started to talk about the history of
the area. A young man snuck up next to
me. He said in Hebrew, "Slichah," mean-
ing "excuse me:' as if he were about to ask
a question. I turned to him expecting he
wanted directions to the Western Wall, as
often happens. Instead,
he took a heavy glass
bottle and struck me
several times with it,
breaking it over my
head. By the second
blow, I fainted. I woke
up later bleeding on
A
111
the ground, realizing
Leah Bowman
what had happened.
I was able to walk, so I went around
the corner to the police station, assuming
that Stu and Corky had run away, and the
terrorist would not be caught. As soon as
I arrived, a van pulled up with "magavni-
kim" security personnel who are under
the auspices of the army and police and
serve in the Old City.
"We caught him! We caught him!" they
told me. I couldn't understand how they
knew who I was, but then I remembered
the blood on my head. Just after that,
Stu and Corky arrived. Amazingly, they
had actually fought off the attacker, a
22-year-old Arab from Jerusalem, and
chased him. Stu was a volunteer fire-
fighter and knew that chasing after him
yelling would help draw the attention of
the security forces, which it did. Corky,
who had taught more than 20 years in
New York, said she knew how to fight
back as well.
It turns out that the entire incident was
seen on camera; more than 300 cameras
throughout the Old City are monitored
24 hours a day. The ones watching the
cameras immediately contacted security
forces in the area, and the terrorist was
caught in moments.
Unfortunately, the rest of the day (my
Hebrew birthday) was spent getting a
CT scan and stitches in the hospital,
and speaking with police investigators.
I didn't make it to my scheduled plans.
But, thank God, I wasn't more seriously
injured. I follow the Jewish tradition of
married women covering their hair, and I
wear a scarf that is wrapped in a way that
has a good amount of padding on the
top — exactly where he hit me. After the
attack, the scarf also served as a bandage
until the ambulance arrived and they
were able to take care of the wound.
SAFE OR NOT?
But, of course, I was left with a dilemma:
I have been guiding in all areas of
Jerusalem for years, feeling safe to go
and explore — and loving it! What do
I do now? Should I continue to do this?
Thinking through everything, I realized
that actually the area is very safe with all
the police and army throughout the city
— and the cameras.
And more than that, I decided that I'm
not going to let terror keep me away from
what I love to do, and all the more so
from Jerusalem and guiding throughout
Israel. I will continue to learn, explore
and guide in every corner of the city and
the country: Gush Etzion, the Dead Sea,
Tel Aviv and, of course, in southern Israel,
showing visitors the inspiring history and
teaching about the security situation.
Learning about the history, archaeol-
ogy and biblical sources is very strength-
ening and empowering. With all of the
problems we are facing in Israel and
around the world, I think the healthiest
response is to take the opportunity to
strengthen ourselves in our knowledge,
our commitment to what we believe in
and in ourselves physically (and, yes,
I've signed up for an awesome program
of self-defense classes for women in
Jerusalem).
Just a week after the attack, I was back
in the exact same place giving a tour and
was able to say the blessing thanking God
for doing a miracle for me in this place;
and I can say that on my birthday, my life
was renewed for me. *
Leah Bowman, a licensed Israeli tour guide, special-
izes in guiding families around Israel. Visit
www.telavivwalkingtours.com .