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When is Terror
not Terror? The July Fourth attack was spun very quickly through our nation's instant news cycle. In just a few days, it was gone from the headlines and even the back of the newspaper. An Egyptian national was shown to have gone to the El Al counter at LAX, and calmly murdered two people: a young woman working for the airline, and a father of eight who had brought some friends to the airport. But for the heroic actions of Israeli security agents, the man could have gone on killing. The story disappeared quickly because the U.S. government officials promptly made the pronouncement that the event was not thought to be terrorism, but rather an "isolated incident." The Fourth of July was to remain safe for us all, unstained by a terrorist incident. In Israel, half a world away, the same events were seen very differently. The El Al officials were reminded of the attacks that had been made on El Al facilities in the 1960s and 1970s and saw the murderous attack for what it was: terrorism. Whether it is a bomb at a café or on a bus, or a shooting attack against a settlement or people waiting on line, the result is the same. Timothy McVeigh was the perpetrator of an "isolated incident." Would anyone dare say that the Oklahoma City bombing was not terrorism? There has been similar verbal timidity in the face of the ongoing terror attacks in Israel over the last two years. Our media make frequent reports on "Palestinian militants," and "suicide attacks," while actively avoiding the use of the words "terrorist" and " terrorism." Hundreds die and are wounded in unspeakable ways, yet the reports do not mention the "T-word." Why is it that what is seen so clearly standing on the street in Haifa is obscured from our side of the Atlantic? There is no doubt that words have power. Once they have been let out, words cannot be reclaimed. Offenses can't be undone, and diplomatic fallout can be enormous. Perhaps this is why the American media and many of our public officials have been reluctant to call what transpires with sickening regularity inside Israel "terrorism." It makes the lines too clear between those our President has said are "either with us or against us." The moral clarity that many thought we had gained in the days after September 11 has been muddied by the necessities of diplomacy. We now have two categories of attacks that occur: those that come against America and those that leave behind dead Israelis. We are a people that believes in the sanctity of each life. We equate each soul with an entire world. Our people's lives are worth no less than any others. Our blood is just as red, and the pain of those left behind is just as real. We have to demand more from our news organizations and leaders. Call terrorism by its real name and recognize where and with whom America stands in the world. Only then can we expect to see the kind of action necessary to avoid a repetition of the July Fourth terrorist attack in Los Angeles, USA. Rabbi David Freelund |
