http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/24/opinion/24OREN.htmlThe bombing of the No. 14 bus here on Sunday began like many others: first the boom, then the sirens and finally the phone calls. This time the calls were particularly harrowing because our children and many of their friends regularly ride that line. We soon heard that two of their classmates were killed by the blast and eight others wounded. After the surge of rage, helplessness and sorrow, the next stage quickly followed. We returned to our routines.
Israelis are proud of their ability to carry on in the face of terrorism. The determination with which buses keep running and cafes serve brunch only minutes after an attack has been widely lauded, even by Israel's critics. Over the past three years, since the Palestinian bombings began, Israelis have had hundreds of opportunities to perfect that skill. Whereas once the explosion of a bus or a restaurant would send the country into paroxysms of sadness and rage, with mournful music pouring out of the radio and politicians vowing revenge, today even the bloodiest atrocities recede from memory in a matter of days, if not hours. The government now issues some indeterminate warning. Our radios keep playing U2.
Israel's resilience seems to suggest that terror, like conventional military power, has its limits. If suicide bombers stop terrorizing their targets, then, by definition, suicide bombings no longer constitute terrorism. This is an important lesson for the United States and other nations grappling with Al Qaeda and its offshoots. By steeling itself to pain and horror, a society can deprive its enemies of their most potent weapon — fear — and help ensure its security and, ultimately, its survival.
Yet what if Israelis have not grown inured to terrorism but have rather become numbed by it? What if, instead of showing resolve, they have merely lapsed into a state of shock so deep that assaults on their national existence cannot stir them? The lesson, then, would be much different: subjected to prolonged and relentless terrorism, even the most robust society is in danger of crumbling.
Israel's goal must be to maintain a balance between steadfastness and indifference. True, we have not allowed terror to dominate our lives, to drive us either indoors or to abandon our homes — to determine who we are. We have been striking back to the degree that is politically and morally permissible, erecting barriers to hinder terrorists even as we work to eliminate the conditions that create them. At the same time, however, we must never lose sight of the suffering that terrorism causes, the reality of dismembered bodies, the anguish of families bereaved.
Printer-friendly format
Email this thread to a friend
Bookmark this thread
(1000+ posts)
Send PM |
Profile |
Ignore
