Jewish in Israel Today

More of this Feature • Part 2: Hatred on the Streets  Join the Discussion "What does the Torah say about the use of violence?" Lisa   Related Resources • About Sukkot • Jewish in the World Today  From Other Guides • Is Middle East Peace Possible • Israel Today • The Peace Process • Voices of Anger, Voices of Reason

While making a paper chain for our Sukkah, my ten-year-old looks at me with her big brown eyes and asks, "Was that a bomb?" "Yes" I answer with as little emotion as possible, "that was a bomb. But it was in Ramallah, not here in Modiin (a city located 15 miles west of Ramallah, within the Green Line)."

My seven-year-old then perks up and says "We're going to show the Arabs." My stomach turns. How do you teach tolerance and non-violent ways to resolve conflicts to children who are surrounded by news of kidnapped soldiers (or "grown-napped" as my children refer to the soldiers' puzzling abduction), pictures of Israeli soldiers shooting at Arabs throwing stones, shooting guns, and burning tires, and now the horrendous story of the Ramallah lynch.

I tell the children that the bombs are not meant to hurt anyone. The Israeli army warned the Palestinians of the bombs three hours ago in an effort to avoid causalities. The helicopters flying over our heads and the bombs we are hearing are meant to stop the violence.

Barak's gesture at Camp David, Israel's retreat from Joseph's Tomb, and Israel's restrained response to the violence have been viewed by the Palestinians as signs of weakness. And their response to this weakness has been continued violence. Only when the tanks surrounded Palestinian cities and helicopters fired on Palestinian targets did the violence stop.

In preschool, a boy named Yoav used to hit my son. When I asked four-year-old Yoav why he hit Noam, he looked at me innocently and said, "because Noam doesn't hit back."

This is the way of the Middle East. Sink or swim. No mercy for the weak. Only the strong survive. Like Barak explained, we are not living in some North American or Western European neighborhood. Yoav will stop hitting when Noam hits back. Palestinian mobs will stop beating to death and mutilating the bodies of stranded Israelis when Israel responds with bombs.

My children and I go back to decorating our Sukkah, booths built by Jews each year as a reminder of our time in the desert during the exodus from Egypt. How little the world has changed. Only through a show of strength, once the plagues and now the bombs, can Jews defend their right to live in freedom in the land of Israel.

Next page > [Hatred on the Streets] > Page 1, 2

~ Lisa Katz

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