Response to Terror Attack in Tel Aviv

This week we witnessed yet another terror attack in Israel at the Sarona Market in Tel Aviv.  My brother, Gary, who lives in Israel wrote the following on his Facebook page following that attack:

I am waiting.
I am waiting for the day when the eery silence that follows the last round fired by low life terrorists in the heart of Tel Aviv will not be celebrated with fire crackers in Hebron. I am waiting for the evening when western journalists will cease to turn the ruthless, explosive terrorist attack on innocent java enthusiasts in Tel Aviv into just another shooting incident. I am waiting for the dawn when the teacher in a Palestinian elementary school will decide that this year's play will not feature children brandishing toy machine guns aimed at Israelis. I am waiting for that one Palestinian leader who will realize that fueling the hatred of the Jewish nation doesn't bring valuable meaning to the life of the Palestinian people. I continue to wait;

Even though we are thousands of miles away, living here in the heartland of America, my response to that horrific attack is the same as my brother’s.  I, however, am disturbed and saddened that our own local newspaper placed the report of that occurrence in Tel Aviv in a small sidebar column on the 10^th page of its main section of the paper in a column entitled “At a Glance.”  How do we let those who commit terroristic acts and those who condone such acts know that we find them reprehensible?  How do we give voice to those innocent victims of terrorism who attempted to live decent lives if we ignore their deaths, or if we say that some who have died at the hands of terrorism should be mourned by the world, when others are not even mentioned?  Yes, the Israeli newspapers gave it coverage, and so did the Times of Israel, but why not our own local newspaper?  Is it because the objectives of Al-Qaeda and other Radical Islamic groups seems apocalyptic to many who fear that it is designed to eliminate Western Civilization which is at odds with the goals of this kind of religious zealotry and that makes their victims more able to be mourned?  Is it because Palestinian terrorism is only seen as political game being played by those wanting a political solution and therefore all Israelis are legitimate targets of violence being perpetrated by those armed with guns, knives, and suicide belts?

I fear that when Jewish blood seems dispensable and when the media refuses to take note of the true pain that results from acts of terrorism even if it is in a marketplace in Israel, that decent citizens of all countries will not let their voices be heard and offer the rebuke that needs to be heard loud and clear.  I too wait….I hope I will live to see an end to such suffering and destruction in my lifetime.

Shabbat Shalom.