“I distracted myself from the fear and terrorism by thinking about things like how the universe began and whether time travel is possible.” (Malala Yousafzai, Pakistani women activist and teacher) -
During the last month of terror not only in Israel, but in the world at large, I was mainly unable to write, felt disgusted and haunted by unbelievable, ultimate wickedness while desperately trying to come up with miracles to tell about in this blog. My thoughts jumped crisscross like disembodied dancers in a ghostly round, especially at nighttime, and I couldn’t hold on to any of these contorted figures, to transform it into a single bright, constructive thought that would cheer me up.
Only turning to automated occupations like washing dishes or playing a mobile farming game seemed to lull me into a void balance and neutral mood.
Untypically, I was ineloquent and lacking drive. But then it suddenly dawned on me that leading a somehow normal live despite the daily news of terrible acts can be seen as a miracle in itself! The constant tension and negativity, not only in our terror ridden country, but spreading to further places out of the Middle East and Africa to Europe, the merciless attacks carried out with more or less deadly outcome in the name of the same twisted interpretation of religion, is lingering like a heavy cloud over our heads.
Yet, the miracle drowses right here in this troublesome reality, we are getting on with our lives, we do what needs to be done, we love who deserves to be loved, we try not to fall for blind hatred but hold on to our life-affirming values, we take the risk of demonstrating in a crowd of people for a better tomorrow, only in a slightly adjusted alert and careful way. The currently scared inexperienced West can learn a lesson or two from us long time veterans of terror!
Yes, I walk the dog in our quiet community at nightfall, but if I hear someone’s walking behind me, I turn, take a good look at who it is, hold the dog very close and put my hand into the pocket, where the pepper spray is ready. I try never to turn my back on any potential danger. Remembering the car assaults on pedestrians in Jerusalem, I automatically look out for the nearest trees or lampposts, whenever I see headlights of a car coming towards me on the deserted asphalt path in our valley, try to make out other humans nearby, who could assist me in trouble. Although we live within the Green Line we are located close to the border and therefore we feel vulnerable. No more dreaming or texting on the way, I’m now alert like an Indian in the jungle.
In the back of our heads we tend to make daily floor plan decisions, whether taking the shortcut road passing by neighboring Arab villages is too risky, or if one should rather opt for the curved but safer road through the mountains, which can be so annoyingly time-consuming to get to otherwise close neighborhoods in town. Can one assume the weather is too rainy, freezing, foggy or maybe too hot and dusty for stones or explosives to be thrown at passing cars from the side of the road? Ironically, we currently treasure bad weather; it might have a dissuasive effect on potential misdemeanants! Can we trust there will be border police stationed on the way, or will everything be deserted and eerie? Better drive slow to avoid the full impact of a blow! Ah, and yes, shouldn’t we consider getting some re-enforcement for the car windows, this hostile situation might drag on for quite a long time!
Once in town, things get more complicated when it comes to keeping careful vigilance. The main roads in the center of Jerusalem, once crowded with a mixed crowd of Jews, Arabs and tourists going about their business seem to be a bit less populated and you notice a lot more police, army and security personal positioned in strategic places. This fact reminds you once more that times are not relaxed and you should stay alert, although the presence of your ‘friends and guardians’, who do an amazing job keeping us safe, gives a lot of reassurance.
Still, you often look inconspicuously who’s around you, especially when you have to wait in line in front of government buildings, the central bus station, shopping malls or restaurants, where every bag and pocket is checked by security guards before people are let in. Strolling in the Old City is not a pure enjoyment anymore. You rather avoid this area at the moment, if you can.
Once I walked down Jaffa Road close to the municipality, when I suddenly noticed behind me a figure dressed in a black and white Palestinian scarf, giving him the look of an adventurous, mummed ISIS fighter. Only a beard was missing! While my heart jumped and I immediately accelerated my steps, fingered the tear gas in my jacket and tried to make out, who on earth would want to walk around like this, I bumped into someone, who probably also had his eyes fixed on this suspicious culprit instead of the way ahead. The dressed up creature turned out to be an unsuspecting tourist proudly wearing his recent purchase from the Old City. During these tense times a naïve guy like this simply scares you out of your wits! Please, we ARE traumatized Israelis, don’t try to play a charade like this on us!
On another occasion I strolled rather absentmindedly towards a group of security guards while fumbling in the depth of my backpack for my sunglasses. They immediately took on an uneasy, straighter pose, probably thinking I might want to draw a huge butcher knife on them! It’s a known fact that various Palestinian women have been equally engaged in murderous knife attacks, regardless of the fact that the promised 72 virgins are not meant for enjoyment of female martyrs. Discrimination rules here, even if several women and recently 2 girls as young as 14 and 16 sought to ‘heroically’ establish the rule of Allah upon us like their male counterparts by stabbing an old man with scissors! Ironically, they stabbed a 70 year old Palestinan from Bethlehem, who they mistook in their blind hatred as a Jew!
Oh yes, over recent years we learned to drop everything at the onset of air raid sirens and sprint in a few seconds to concrete shelters. We stopped our cars on the side of the road and lay down glued to a protective wall with hands held over our heads. At school and at work we were drilled to run as a group into bomb shelters. At home, we collected family and pets into secured concrete rooms and waited in suspense for the notorious boom heard seconds after, sometimes vibrating beneath our feet, sometimes muffled far away. But not always there is a warning giving one some control over the situation. When a suicide bomber explodes on a bus or a knife is drawn in the vegetable market or tram, you can only hope for your guardian angel or good luck.
Suspicious objects are another cause for concern; in Israel you simply never leave your baggage unattended, if you don’t want to draw up a hysterical commotion. A backpack parked at a bus stop without anyone claiming ownership is an absolute No-No in our country! To your embarrassment security personal will be fingering through the contents of your handbag, opening and closing the sippers on thousand occasions until they are worn out and bust. When leaving the country you will be asked in length at the airport, where and with whom you were staying and if someone gave you a present to carry abroad. You will soon understand that this is done for your own good and not because these guards are especially interested in your toiletries and dirty handkerchiefs. You will accept that it is better to have a little less privacy than to foster nagging feelings of insecurity and doubt about who you will get on the plain with.
I have experienced Israel through 2 long periods of intifadas, several rocket wars from Gaza and worst, the Golf War in 1991, when missiles from Iraq rained into Israel for no reason. The current wave of intensified individual assaults is a new version of the old pointless hatred.
When still living in the center of Jerusalem we accompanied our kids to school during many months of unpredictable terror threats. Random car bombs and suicide bombers exploded in cafes, busses, synagogues, on pedestrian malls and open air markets. When our children needed clothes or shoes, I would often go out alone in order to not have them witness a potentially traumatizing incident.
During Saddam Hussein’s rule in Iraq we have learned to rush into sealed rooms that should spare us from potential chemical weapons, strap on gas masks, place crying babies into protective plastic tents and wait in suspense during the eerie sound of sirens all over the country. During the intifadas we lived almost daily with howling police cars, fire brigades and ambulances, keeping up our daily lives during many unpredictable weeks, constantly accompanied by notorious ‘breaking news’ slides on TV, which held us banned watching live events of fatal explosions as they developed. Staying sane during this time alone and the fact that my family remained unhurt is a huge miracle! Today, there’s nearly no Israeli, who wasn’t in some way close to or touched by terror or at least has known one of the countless victims personally. Going through such a terrifying ordeal is pretty unimaginable for most Americans and Europeans of my generation outside of Israel.
After the Israeli government returned Gaza to the Palestinians in a one sided move, we constantly had rockets coming from there, too, not to mention the ones from Lebanon, that caught my daughter during her army service in the Israeli Intelligence in the North. We were tantalized in various ways as long as I can remember, and believe me, this hasn’t just to do with Israel still occupying territory as a result of the Six Day War, but with the mere existence of the Jewish state in a very violent and undemocratic Arab Middle East.
Being an outpost of Western style democracy surrounded by despot states, we are still blamed by manipulative Arab narrative (joined by some Western press) for most of the chaos and violence going on around us, now even for the birth and horrible deeds of ISIS by the Swedish foreign minister, a retarded opinion that stems from her total ignorance of the historical facts leading to the Islamic State! Do you get how absurd all this is?
But since the world at large is threatened with terror stemming from various Islamist organizations, let me give you some advice for newcomers:
It is quite possible to go about your daily life under terror threats, and, let’s face it, there’s not much of any other choice. One simply needs to trust now that many obviously long known terror cells will be stirred up and defeated in time to prevent the next disaster. Negotiating with or ignoring ISIS is a naive illusion. Most European politicians have only woken up lately to the dangerous reality. The deaths in Paris were necessary to ultimately convince the blind, deaf and dumb.
As a prerequisite you have to realize that parts of this world are simply not conditioned in the rosy texture of your unswerving wishful thinking. Such extremist outlaws cannot be converted or ‘integrated’ into moderate and multi-cultured Western societies. The Italian essayist Umberto Eco wrote: 'People are never as completely and enthusiastically evil as when they act out of religious conviction'. In the case of ISIS we deal with a systematically designed, vicious, power hungry slaughter movement, fueled by a perverse interpretation of the Koran that doesn’t allow any other option, only submission. You will find the existence of this abyss hard to digest, but the violent swamp of Jihad is constantly spreading through incitement in social media and notorious mosques. They will not give up their twisted zeal voluntarily.
“The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it.” (Albert Einstein). The infamous tolerance of intolerance in Europe and elsewhere is exactly the reason, why ISIS’ ideology could spread and cause hundreds of radicalized Muslims from Europe to fight for the Islamic State and return with experience in warfare unhindered to their original countries to implement their wicked craft. As a result, European capitals find themselves surprised and unprotected from unpredictable time bombs worse than Israel, an absurd situation!
Meanwhile, as a civilian you will have to rely on wise decisions and actions of your political leaders and security forces. You have to gather the courage and strength to support the people close to you and continue constructive work, even when you sometimes think the world around you is going to pieces. You have to stay alert and not lose conviction that besides through military actions in some cases détente can be achieved by bold, courageous moves of political leaders. Our peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan are examples.
Unfortunatley, the Islamic State and affiliated Jihadist and fundamentalist terror organizations are another cup of tea. Also in Israel it took years of realization and adaption, before we were able to look this uncomfortable truth in the eye and take measures. Israeli genius developed very sophisticated intelligence, high-tech surveillance and innovative defense technologies, culminating in the invention of the Iron Dome, something unprecedented in the entire world.
Israel has a lot of knowledge and experience to share in fighting terrorism, but instead of accepting our assistance gratefully we are singled out by the boycott movement BDS as an Apartheid state that deserves all the menacing bloody atrocities because of its settlement policy. In their eyes our current terror here is quasi self-inflicted.
In my opinion terror should never be legitimized by excusing it. Saying that it stems from ‘frustration over a hopeless political situation or missing social perspective’ is being apologetic towards the most unbelievable atrocities. Criticism of Israel's settlement policy is of course justified and necessary, as it is obviously an obstacle for peace and a danger to the future of the Jewish State. But terror should never pay off; it is an unacceptable means of advancing one’s political agenda. In Israel this applies equally to Arab and Jewish terror and needs to be addressed in the same rigorous manner.
Now to my recommendations for staying balanced in a more and more radicalized environment. (I’m writing these points also a little bit for myself.)
There’s certainly danger of getting addicted to the non-stop real time TV reports broadcasted for days on end each time something terrible happens. You will get more and more immobilized and scared by this obstinate action spectacle featuring blood and destruction. In Israel we have months, when we already seem to ‘eagerly anticipate’ the next slaughter or disaster. Don’t let this ‘horror festival’ shown in constant loops on TV kill your mind. Close the news for a while, walk in nature, play music, do something relaxing with your friends or read. This will refresh your belief in the good things you have in life.
Another danger lies in seeing the world suddenly totally simplified in black and white, good and evil and darkness against light. There will be people, who even want to force this undifferentiated, generalized view forcefully upon you and draw you to early conclusions. Hateful acts can easily create an atmosphere of accelerated fanaticism, irrational conspiracy fantasies and tons of hate speech in the social media and elsewhere. Sudden marginalization of moderate forces, brainwash and prejudices against certain populations will gain ground. Of course you have to speak up against this, but indulging in endless talk backs and insulting discussions with dangerous fanatics will only get you down. Try to find your balance by occupying yourself as often as possible with the things you enjoy. Friends, hobbies, sports, art, gardening, science or philosophy will bring you better energy than pointless online quarrels.
It is necessary to get a broad spectrum of information and analysis in order to fully understand confusing events. Often biased journalism is a by-product of the hateful climate under violent circumstances. Israel has often been a victim of twisted truths and press manipulation, often giving us the blame for all ongoing conflicts. Do not fall for un-researched ‘facts’, gossip and undermining rumors. Stay always critical to what you are told; it very easily might be lies to serve a certain group’s interests. The constant flow of news and opinions is perplexing; you get thrown around with your feelings and lose insight of what is true or false, right or wrong, fact or fiction. Subjective narratives are dished out by politicians on both sides to incite or influence you in their respective direction of thought and action. Listen and think a lot before you draw your own conclusions.
Don’t be afraid of other people’s opinion of how you chose to protect yourself or overcome natural fear. Given you keep the law when equipping yourself with defense tools, you will find your own personal mode of vigilence that makes the most sense to you and gives you necessary protection and freedom to go on with daily cores. Some people turn to prayer, some carry guns, buy tear gas or bullet proof vests, some kids have reassuring blankets; it’s all a matter of individual constitution, profession and belief. If you treasure your own life and the lives of your loved ones, you will not do anything careless or act against security recommendations. Better safe than sorry!You will also not demonstratively put yourself into danger just to show off your dauntlessness. Remember, you might find yourself being used as a tool for proving someone else’s political point. Don’t let yourself be manipulated into taking stupid, unnecessary risks.
Under terror one’s feelings are prone to prejudice and generalizations, often towards singled out populations. It is important to keep your moderation and empathy, as the definition of good and bad gets blurred and depends on the perspective you look at things. Circumstances in the less privileged Arab countries struggling with intolerance, oppression and chaos are complicated and need to be carefully analyzed before one can draw conclusions and condemn the Israeli occupation for everything.
In summary, it would be sarcastic to wish everyone a good time despite the fear of terror, the danger is real and one should try to remain open eyed. The international forces must cooperate immediately to prevent more of the crushing tragedies promised by ISIS and Islamic jihad. The problem will not solve itself and Israel can be a helpful partner with vast experience. I even dare to believe that when taking minimal precautions, you can even now be relatively safe in our country compared with the uncontrolled time bomb ticking in Europe, the US, Africa and the rest of the Middle East. And THAT is another miracle!