Terrorism and shooting yourself in the proverbial foot

The terror attack on July 2nd in downtown Jerusalem shook me to the core; just as I was getting comfortable living in Jerusalem. That morning I told my mother-in-law in Australia that I was just getting used to life here, which was why I didn't think it was smart to just pick up and move to Australia, especially without having ever been there first. After hanging up with her, I turned the radio on while doing some last minute things around the house before getting ready for work. When the news came on in Hebrew, I heard that there was some major traffic in the heart of town which is exactly where I needed to go to catch my second bus to work. I listened a bit closer because I wasn't sure if the announcer said traffic or accident since both words in Hebrew are very similar to each other. I figured I'd just leave for work a bit earlier. I called my husband just to touch base which we usually do before I leave for work. I heard my husband ask someone next to him what exactly was going on downtown and calmly asked the person if it was terrorism. My heart froze. "How can he say that so calmly?" I thought to myself. Terrorism isn't normal! but the sad reality here is that it is normal, especially for people like my husband who lived through the second intifada, seeing things no one should ever have to see, so I guess he's somewhat hardened to these sort of things.

Before calling my husband I called my co-worker to give her a heads up on the traffic situation since we catch the same buses. She left right after I called her. After talking with my husband I listened to the radio again. When I heard the word terrorist in Hebrew I had to remind myself to breathe, especially after hearing bus 13, the bus I take everyday, was involved. I called my husband again to find out exactly what was going on. My co-worker who I had called earlier was now walking through the carnage in downtown Jerusalem. I felt terrible. She kept insisting she was fine but that what she was seeing, crushed cars etc. was really bad. Finally we all got to work. Needless to say our morning meeting was very subdued. I had a very hard time working in the first part of the day, wishing the Americans I was calling and selling to a happy 4th. My stomach was in knots and I felt like the whole world just turned upside down, mostly because bus 13, which was knocked over, was the bus I take down Jaffa Road every day, twice day, and just the day before I had been on a bus at that time down that road on the way to meet friends at the Central Bus Station for lunch. As hard as it was, work we did and at the end of the night we had an office party for July 4th since a majority of us working in that office are Americans.

What struck me as amazing is that the city and its people went back to normal so quickly. On the way home in a cab I saw that buses were full, people were out etc. When I walked our dog Doggie that night, I stopped by the 24-hour market to pick up some milk for coffee the following morning. The people around me were having normal conversations like nothing happened. Me? I'm walking around still in shock and nervous as hell. I felt like shouting "How can you be having normal conversations after what happened today?" The calm and comfort I felt was just completely shattered. I realized again that terrorism is part of life here. It happens, you clean up and move on.

My fear and sadness turned to anger when I learned that Wednesday's attacker was an Arab-Israeli living in east Jerusalem and that he was the holder of a blue Israeli ID card.
A blue ID card means that he was an Israeli resident who had full rights, freedom of movement and insurance like every other Israeli. He was also working on the construction site for Jerusalem's Light Rail, which is why he was driving the tractor. Why Israel gives Arabs blue ID cards is beyond me. I don't care if they agree to live under Israeli rules etc. and yes it's conflicting when I see Arab women walking around Jerusalem dressed nicely with their kids etc. Some of them are actually very nice but you just never know. I notice that Arabs like climbing trees or jumping between trees while tied to a rope. I see this all the time in the park when I'm walking Doggie, often it's for a child's birthday party. The first thought on my mind is usually that I hope they break a bone. But when I take a closer look, I see they look like they just genuinely want to have a good time etc. who knows? The bottom line is that this construction worker/attacker was an Arab and I wouldn't trust an Arab as far as I could throw them. I think they all want Jews dead.

Four months ago the terrorist who killed eight yeshiva students was also the holder of a blue ID card. Palestinians have a green ID card. Reading the paper this weekend only infuriated me more. Israel is basically shooting themselves in the foot. There was an article on the issue of ID cards. There's a preliminary bill in the Knesset that would prohibit Arabs connected with terrorism from having a blue ID card. Great, so take it away from a select few and not the rest?! Evidently, the guy who carried out Wednesday's attack acted alone. If this bill goes into law then people like him will continue to work and live with complete freedom and attacks will continue. I don't understand this government. No Arab should be given free reign! I don't care how delicate the issue is or for how long Arabs have lived here. The proof is in the pudding. Another article was about whether or not the government could demolish the terrorist's home. The attacker's aunt was singing his praises afterward in their home and the Israeli's saw it! If that's not reason enough to knock that house down I don't know what is, but they won't do it because of Arabs rights and what humanitarian groups etc. would say. So basically the Israeli government is saying our hands are tied. Sorry. Say sorry to the three people who were crushed to death and to the 5-month old baby whose mother threw her out of the car window realizing that if she wasn't going to make it, at least her baby would. The baby's mother was killed after the attacker was apprehended by a security officer, but not shot. The attacker still had his foot on the gas pedal and he crushed the 33- year old mother to death. What the officer was waiting for is beyond me. From what I've read, the officer was worried about activists reaction etc. Thank god for the off-duty soldier who grabbed the security guard's gun and shot the son of a bitch a few times in the head to make sure he was good and dead. Ironically, it turns out that this off-duty soldier was the cousin of the baby's mother and the brother-in-law of the other off-duty soldier who shot and killed the yeshiva attacker in March. I have a feeling that even though the issue of ID cards is being raised now it will die down soon and nothing will be done. Again, Israel is shooting themselves in the foot. What's worse is that there hasn't been security on buses in months. Why? Because there hasn't been an attack on a bus in years. God forbid a bus gets blown up, what's the government going to say? Oops? Furthermore, Israel agreed to a prisoner swap for 2 soldiers kidnapped during the Lebanon War. Even though it's highly likely the soldiers are dead, Israel is agreeing to release a terrorist mastermind and a number of Palestinians. I don't understand that. I always used to hear people in the US say "Oh the Israelis suffer so much etc" True, but now that I live here and I'm seeing things up close and personal I think that a majority of Israel's suffering is their own doing. They just don't have the guts that they used to; this government definitely doesn't anyway.