A few days ago a 42 year old man was killed while praying in a forrested area near his settlement. He was stabbed by two Palestinians, aged 18, who admitted that they had planned the attack for a while. While many expressed shock at this murder, many others immediately asked the question “what was he doing in the forest alone in an area that has many Arabs?” – implying that he was at fault himself. (He was praying in this area because that is the custom of many Breslov Ultra-Orthodox. They believe the best way to come close to G-d is to find a quiet area, alone, to pray).
I personally think that he had every right to be where he was, and that the full blame should be placed on the murderers. Is it ok to kill a black person who is found in an area that is all white? Of course not. Anyone claiming otherwise would be called a racist.
I do think, though, that those of us who are not restrained by “PC thinking” can look at the dangers realistically, and organize accordingly. Carrying a pistol in this situation would have been a smart thing to do. Would it have prevented the terrorists from murdering him? Don’t know. Does it take the blame off of them? Absolutely not.
This morning I read in the Jerusalem Post about a gang of Bedouins who have been raping Jewish women as “revenge” for supposed crimes against Arabs in Gaza. They grabbed women (and in one case a 13 year old girl) who were waiting at bus stops, forced them into a car and took them to isolated areas to rape them. DNA evidence was gathered and has been used to identify at least some of the gang.
Now I wonder if the same second guessing will go on. Were these women justified in waiting for a bus? Or will it be only in some areas that this is acceptable, and small, isolated areas with large Arab or Beduin populations will be considered too dangerous, and the blame will then fall on the victim?
West Bank Mama 
Feb 28, 2007 @ 09:30:10
Dear West Bank,
There is no doubt whatsoever there is an issue beyond the level of personal tragedy in these not unrelated cases of murder and rape. That is the intolerable fact that Jews are still not safe in “artzeinu kedosha”.
How does one remain aghast at the cold-blooded criminality of this murder and still suggest (without any intent to dishonor the memory of the victim or mitigate the horrendous culpability of the criminals!) that choosing that place in which to daven may not have been the most secheldik of choices?
Of course, he had every right to be there! There is no question of that! Only, given the current state of affairs, was it a good choice?
In the case of the women at the busstop, a public venue, my question is “Are the police stretched too thin to provide adequate protection?
In both cases, may the offenders be caught speedily and justice done swiftly!
I am,
Very Sincerely Yours,
Alan D. Busch
Feb 28, 2007 @ 13:56:16
Yes, the police are stretched too thin. Part of this is their own fault–too much reliance on volunteers and no insistence on excellence in pay and training.
No, that doesn’t excuse criminality.
Israel should reconsider its gun laws. An armed woman is much harder to kidnap and rape than an unarmed one.
And the penalty for rape should be increased with an additional penalty for “hate crime” motivation–if the woman was raped because she was Jewish (or because she was Arab) that’s a “hate crime” and should add substantially more time to the prison sentence.
Mar 01, 2007 @ 14:09:40
fantastic and important post
yaasher koach!
Aug 17, 2007 @ 06:19:07
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