# 97 – Bulldozer

July 3, 2008

‘Jerusalem Arab kills three in bulldozer rampage’. Today’s headline in the Jerusalem Post.

Another: ‘Attacker lived with Jewish woman’….’he’s that last person you would think would do such a thing’.

What a bloody mess.

The right-wingers say we should stay strong.  Despite the ’truce’, rockets continue to be fired daily from Gaza. Such a tiny area, they say. Hamas is in charge, they say. But they don’t stop the rockets.

Yet we are negotiating with them.

We are negotiating with Hezbollah; we shall exchange convicted terrorists and murderers for the remains of 2 soldiers. And the Jews are known for being such good wheeler-dealers. (Well, it’s only 99% sure the soldiers are dead – in the 2 years since they were captured, we have no news of them. Great people we negotiate with).

We are negotiating with Syria. Why? Peace? We have peace with them. Well, the best peace we can accept under the circumstances. Come to Jerusalem, Mr. Assad. Be brave. Stand up for peace. Then we’ll start believing. (True, he’ll then be assassinated, like Sadat. So much for the power he has).

Everyone criticised the security fence Israel erected. Yet terrorist attacks almost stopped! I do not read all papers, but I am sure that, despite clear hindsight, very few journalists congratulate us on our defence of our people; they still criticise us on the disruption the fence causes to the Palestinians.  Sorry, rather their discomfort than my daughter’s death.

UN celebrated Refugee Day recently, obviously highlighting the plight of the Palestinians. It’s hard to separate the 2 words: Palestinian refugees. Over 60 years, their brother nations have actively prevented them from settling. Yet there were at least the same number of Jewish refugees from the Arab countries. ALL have settled; half in Israel, the rest spread around the World, accepted by their new homes, making efforts to be part of the new society.

We recently met a wonderful Algerian, now living in Switzerland. He told us of a close friend of his parents, who he says is the ‘only Jew in Algiers’, steadfastly looking after Jewish affairs, welcoming tourists who are interested in the history of Jewish culture in Algeria.

It may surprise many to discover that Jews were not only a strong part of Arab Middle East societies, but felt themselves to be full citizens. Like today’s African-American, the Jews of Iran,, Iraq, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Yemen etc. considered themselves Iranian, Iraqi, Moroccan, Tunisian, Libyan and Yemeni. Their language was Arabic, not Hebrew, Yiddish or Ladino.

These countries today are, in principle ‘Jew-free’. (Before I get letters, I am aware that the 2^nd largest Jewish community in the Middle East is in, of all places, Iran. But the majority of them are old, and are quietly avoiding being members of the mainstream population.

Don’t we see what’s happening?

Stephen