Monday, May 19, 2003
Lag Ba'Omer
Dear family and friends,
The fires tonight should be the joyous bonfires of the Lag Ba'Omer
holiday, not the melancholy flickering of memorial candles at the
scene of yet another terrorist outrage.
That was my thought this morning as we spent an hour stuck at an
army roadblock at the entrance to Jerusalem. A mix of Jewish and Arab
motorists frustratedly jockeyed between the slow moving lines of
vehicles which snaked back from the checkpoint.
Yesterday morning, only an hour or so after the Jerusalem bus
bombing, the lines at that very same roadblock had been short, traffic
moving through it at a regular pace, the routine checks just part of
the regular rhythm of life. Today the soldiers were more vigilant,
paying particular attention to drivers who looked like religious Jews,
the disguise used by two of the recent suicide bombers.
The sequence of events is familiar. In an effort to move towards
peace, Israel eases travel restrictions on Palestinians and allows
more of them to return to work in Israel. Terrorists take advantage of
the lifting of the closure to infiltrate Israel, and a new wave of
terror strikes Israeli cities.
This time, the restrictions were eased just a week ago during the
visit of Secretary of State Powell, as a gesture to the new
Palestinian prime minister. The result: over the last 48 hours, six
suicide bombers have attacked Israeli targets, killing two in a public
square in Hebron, seven on a bus in Jerusalem and three outside a
shopping center in Afula.
Afula, in northern Israel, was the site of this evening's murderous
attack. Fifty were wounded, thirteen seriously. Were it not for the
penchant of Palestinian terrorists to attack this remote small town,
few foreigners would probably have heard of it. Visitors to Israel
have little reason to stop there, at most passing through on the way
to somewhere else.
Its proximity to northern Samaria, just five kilometres from the
Palestinian town of Jenin, makes Afula a relatively easy target. It
sits right on the main east-west highway from the densely populated
coast through the rural Jezreel Valley towards the Jordan River.
Most of my visits to Afula have involved getting lost there while
driving through. Through these unintended detours, I've actually seen
quite a lot of the town. It's a typical provincial Israeli town, with
low-rise concrete apartment buildings and new suburbs with pretty
little cottages. Its shops, mall and hospital make it a regional
service centre.
Before terrorism brought it to the headlines, most Israelis
associated the town with two of our national snacks. It's the roasted
sunflower seed capital of Israel and home to a legendary falafel joint
where they toss the falafel balls in the air while making up your pita
bread sandwich. Oh, they catch them too. Afula's other claim to fame
is its starring role in an award-winning Israeli movie, Afula
Express, about a pair of ordinary Israelis trying to make the big
time.
Viewing Afula from above, it takes on surprising charm. Drive up
nearby Mount Gilboa and you'll see the whole Jezreel Valley spread out
before you in the mountain's shadow. In the middle of the valley sits
Afula, picturesque and serene in the golden late afternoon light,
nestled amongst the fields, glittering fish ponds and, of course, its
famous sunflowers.
Open the bible and you'll find that Afula rests in the middle of
one of the most momentous regions of the country. The fertile earth of
the Jezreel Valley made it the country's breadbasket in ancient
times. Today, after centuries of neglect, it is once again an
important agricultural centre. It was part of the heartland of the
biblical kingdom of northern Israel; for a period the nearby city of
Jezreel served as the Israelite capital and was later destroyed by the
Assyrians.
It was the setting of many historic battles, a natural route for
invading armies. Up on the Gilboa, King Saul fell upon his sword
rather than face mutilation and death at the hands of the Philistine
army.
In ancient Jezreel, the daughters of the Philistines rejoiced in
the slaughter of Israelis. Today, Palestinians revel in the killing of
modern Israelis in the very same lush valley. If they love this land
as much as they claim to, how can they destroy it so eagerly?
Leiah
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