1985-1986 Rothberg Yearbook

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L T T -T L n J
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A Perspective on Terrorism
In some way, either directly or indirectly, all people
living in Israel for any extended period o f tim e have to
come to terms with terrorism. Unfortunately OYPers are
no exception to the rule. v,.
I remember the beginning of the year one friend of
mine told me that every tim e she got on a bus she used to
imagine in very real terms that this bus ride was her last.
The last stop would be a fiery explosion in downtown
Jerusalem. She says now, “Of course I don’t even think
about the possibility except when I listen to the news and
som eone has been killed.”
Familiarity seemed to make the problem less traumatic,
for some even non-existent. But this calm is disrupted
when the “boom ” you hear is not another of the
frequent sonic boom s, but rather the bus stop across
from Goldsmith blowing up. Although statistically the
chances o f a Jew being harmed by violence in New York
are greater than in Israel due to terrorist actions, most
students, even after adjusting to the real situation felt a ,
greater fear of a PLO bomb in Mahane Yehuda than they 1
felt from a mugger in Brooklyn.
Whether people deal with terrorism through fantasy :
denial or belittlement, it influences our view regarding !
the issues that face Israel today. Therein lies the great j
tragedy and special evil of terrorism. It is not the deaths
that make terror special in its insidiousness, for death, as «
war, is an epidemic in this region. It is the deep soul !
rendering hatred which terror causes that stains it with a j
vileness far darker than war. Most Israelis as well as |
Israel’s supporters never ruled out negotiation with Egypt
even when engaged in war. But how many would agree to !
talk to the PLO today? The terrorists are reaping what {
they sow, and what they are planting is a hatred which
will grow in the hearts of all but the most resolute and
wary.
Victor Assal
wi