Scene of the shooting
Photo: ZAKA
We thought it was over
Jerusalem attack brings back images, sounds we managed to repress for two years
Some things are never forgotten; their absence from our life for a certain period of time does not erase the impression they made on us. We merely store them in some cursed file, and then, with one boom, they return to our consciousness as if they were there the whole time: The rows of bodies lying on benches; the names of people we never knew and will never know; the heart-breaking eulogies for boys who have not yet embarked on the journey of life; the traces of blood and ruin; the sounds of the emergency services’ sirens; the shock on the faces of the survivors.
And there, in one moment, we went back a year or two, because who counts the months of bliss, and we are back there again, with the sights, and sounds, and names. This bloody cycle, the story of our life, which for a moment appeared to have deviated from its path, is back.
Deadly Shooting
Aviram Zino
Jerusalem police chief says gunman who opened fire on yeshiva students shot by IDF officer, eight people reported killed
What were we thinking? How could we imagine that it was over? How did we repress what used to be our daily routine? How can we live a normal life in the center of the country, when the burns are still there in the north and when the country is burning in the south? As if there is no connection between Hizbullah in the north to Hamas in the south to the weak regime in the center which Hamas constantly threatens to take over.
As of Friday, we are repeatedly dealing with the following question: Are we facing a third Intifada? And immediately attention is diverted to a discussion on how to categorize the latest murderous incident. For some reason, we always have a need to categorize difficult incidents, give them a name. As if classifying them will help us deal with them.
Well, if the terror attack at the Mercaz Harav yeshiva is the beginning of a third Intifada, then we are talking about a process, rather than an anomaly. One first link in a long chain of terror attacks that we should prepare for, security-wise and mentally. Therefore, don’t be surprised if tomorrow morning there will also be an attack in Tel Aviv or Netanya. After all, we knew it would happen. We even gave it a name: The third Intifada.
Perhaps this is where the problem lies: this inflexible thinking whereby a surgical strike in Gaza leads to rocket fire on Sderot, which leads to a ground incursion and the killing of 120 Hamas men in Gaza, which leads to the detonation of an explosive device on the Gaza border, which guarantees the continued bombings in Gaza, which prompts the suicide attacker to embark on his murderous journey in Jerusalem.
International super nanny
It is impossible to exaggerate the dilemma currently faced by Israel’s leadership. Even if the prime minister repeats for the thousandth time that we achieved calm in the north, every child knows it’s a matter of time before that bubble bursts, not to mention the ongoing war in the south. And now, a new front was opened in the center of the country, a third Intifada, and who knows how long our partner, Mahmoud Abbas, will be able to survive with Hamas threatening its regime.Perhaps what we need here is new thinking. After all, a long time ago it was already proven that it would be a mistake to assume time works in our favor, just like it was proven that there is not much to the claim that “when force doesn’t work, we should use more force.”
Perhaps what we need here is a mediator. Some kind of international super nanny that would try to create some kind of agreement with Hamas: A ceasefire, a timeout, a lull in the fighting.
Military officials will say that a ceasefire would give Hamas an opportunity to arm. Diplomatic officials will explain that this would be tantamount to recognizing Hamas. Rightist elements will say that it would be a tragic mistake of Oslo proportions. The Left will complain that we will be eliminating the only partner we have, Abbas.
It is possible that all of them are right. But just between us, what do we have to lose?
