Sinai beach
צילום: גיא צברי
Forget about Sinai
Anat Meidan slams irresponsible Israelis who ignore repeated terror warnings
For months now, officials kept on warning us to stay away from Sinai; for months they’ve been talking about the danger of abduction faced by Israelis, yet it’s as though nothing had been said. Displaying a blatant sense of irresponsibility, Israelis pack their bags and head to Sinai en masse.
Over the recent Passover holiday, the beaches in Sinai were crowded with Israeli families; they will also celebrate the upcoming Independence Day in a similar fashion. In between these holidays, the beachfront huts are full as well.
The Israelis are expressing their views via their actions, while the warnings fall on deaf ears and are perceived by vacationers as lacking any substance and detached from reality. However, on Tuesday the Counter-Terrorism Bureau’s advisory went a step up, warning of a genuine threat to abduct Israelis. The warning was drafted unequivocally, incisively, and using brief sentences: Leave Sinai, return to Israel – immediately.
The imperative style, the decisiveness, and the sense of taking control apparently made some people angry; some of them say that this was yet another panicky statement that has no place in the tranquil huts dotting the beaches.
Others will disparage and get upset at the Israeli paranoia that made its way to the relaxed Sinai space, dismiss the warning’s urgency, and claim that it amounts to fear-mongering. Other travelers will immediately reject the warning, saying it’s merely meant to prepare an excuse in case something does happen – these people will empty another bottle of beer, feeling that nothing can happen to them.
Don’t say we didn’t warn you
Yet it’s also possible that the people who issued the warning are responsible and professional individuals who closely examined the available data and issued the statement on the basis of concrete intelligence information, and not based on a desire to ruin someone’s vacation in Sinai.
It is possible that the lives of Israeli vacationers were indeed in danger, and the choice to remain on the beaches as though nothing was happening is both cheeky and reckless.
Indeed, any person has the right to assume responsibility for his own life and vacations. However, should the Counter-Terrorism Bureau’s warnings materialize, heaven forbid, don’t say we didn’t warn you, don’t ask that we do everything in order to release you, don’t talk to us about the question of price worth paying for your liberty, and don’t ask us to enlist for your cause in the name of national solidarity.
So take responsibility, pack up your bags, get out of Sinai, and spare us all the need to deal with the next Gilad Shalit.
