‘Fear of Unknown’ Enters Pop Culture

By Tom Tugend
Published on September 4, 2005

This Sunday, as America commemorates the fourth anniversary of the World Trade Center attack, films, television, plays and books are just beginning to grapple seriously with the phenomena of suicide bombings and terrorism.

The lag time between a cataclysmic experience and its absorption into the popular culture is hardly surprising.

Bombing Creates Quandary for All

By Leslie Susser
Published on March 3, 2005

The late February suicide bombing in Tel Aviv shattered a three-month lull in terror and brought key Israeli-Palestinian peacemaking issues into sharp relief.

The terror attack, which came just three weeks after Israeli and Palestinian leaders declared an end to more than four years of hostilities, forced both sides to define their new relationship more clearly.

It enabled Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to clarify his policy toward the Palestinians, finger Syria and the Hezbollah as potential spoilers, and re-emphasize his view that there can be no real peacemaking until the Palestinians dismantle their armed terrorists.

Briefs

Published on February 3, 2005

With the charred remains of Israeli Bus No. 19 as a backdrop, about 700 Angelenos gathered Jan. 30 at the Museum of Tolerance to take a stand against suicide bombings.

Writer Confronts Intifada Lethargy

By Michal Lemberger
Published on October 14, 2004

From Durban to Beersheba

By Harold Brackman
Published on September 2, 2004

The horrid bus bombings in Beersheba on Tuesday, which claimed the lives of 16 Israelis, including a 3-year-old boy, are grim reminders that the war on terror continues to rage in Israel.

Fear or Fury?

By Rabbi N. Daniel Korobkin
Published on September 2, 2004

It's hard to believe that a whole year has passed. Almost one year ago to the day, Dr. David Appelbaum and his daughter, Nava, were murdered when a suicide bomber exploded himself at Cafe Hillel in Jerusalem. Dr. Appelbaum, 50, was the head of emergency medicine at Shaarei Tzedek Hospital, and was a rabbinical scholar to boot. He had treated countless victims of terror, Jewish and Arab patients alike. Nava, 20, was to be wed the next day. Alas, she never made it to her chuppah.

These are painful memories that we are tempted to shelve into the recesses of our distant memories. Yet we dare not, just as we dare not forget the holy martyrs of the Shoah and all other martyrs of our people's past.

Israeli Fest Crowd Feels the Heat

By David Finnigan
Published on May 6, 2004

Brutal heat was the dominant feature of the May 2 Israel Independence Day Festival in Van Nuys, as 99-degree temperatures kept thousands indoors and away from the sprawling Woodley Park celebration.

Will Sheik’s Assassination Bring Stability?

By Leslie Susser
Published on March 25, 2004

No one believes Israel is a safer place just after the assassination of Sheik Ahmad Yassin, leader of the terrorist group Hamas.

The question is whether the assassination and continued Israeli pressure on Hamas will contribute to stability over time.

U.S. Should Support Right to Build Fence

By Rep. Henry Waxman
Published on February 12, 2004

Attacks on Israel are escalating again. With another deadly suicide bombing in the heart of Jerusalem, the race to thwart the infiltration of terrorists is up against yet another rush: to condemn Israel at the United Nations.

If We Don’t Cry Over Carnage, Who Will?

By Yechezkel Chezi Goldberg
Published on February 12, 2004

Yechezkel Chezi Goldberg, a Jerusalem-based counselor for adolescents and families at risk, wrote the following essay in 2001. On Jan. 29, Goldberg was murdered in a Jerusalem bus bombing.

Israel Addresses Fence Concerns

By Ron Kampeas
Published on October 16, 2003

Israel is plotting each meter of its security fence with great care and consideration, Israeli officials say -- not just to keep terrorists out, but to keep the United States on Israel's side.

Our Heroes and Theirs

By Jonathan Medved
Published on September 11, 2003

Last night's terror struck close to home. The boom of the blast at Cafe Hillel on Emek Refaim shook the windows of our house and left no doubt that we were hit again -- this time in our own neighborhood. Our son, Yossi, was on the phone with his brother, Momo, asking when he would be back so they could watch another DVD episode of "24," the addictive series about terrorism. Momo was crossing Emek Refaim, which is two blocks from our house, and they both heard the blast. Momo, 16, a trained paramedic with Magen David Adom, took out his plastic gloves, which he keeps in his school backpack, and began to run the block to the cafe to help with the injured. Yossi ran out the door with my wife, Jane, to go get Momo. (For more on the bombing, see page 24.)

How the Other Half Lives

By Naomi Pfefferman
Published on September 11, 2003

Call it "Trading Places." In Shakir Yusif Farsakh's surreal "Convergence," an Israeli commander and a Palestinian suicide bomb squad leader dream about the pain their acts inflict.

Both Sides Need to Stay on the Path

By Daniel Sokatch
Published on August 21, 2003

The terrorist who blew himself up on a crowded Jerusalem bus Tuesday night did more than murder 20 Israelis and injure more than 100 others.

Suicide Bombings Threaten Cease-Fire

By Gil Sedan
Published on August 14, 2003

The suicide bombings that hit Israel this week shattered the relative calm that had taken hold in Israel and the West Bank this summer. How they will affect the cease-fire declared by Palestinian terrorist groups and implementation of the "road map" peace plan is anybody's guess.

Bombing Shatters Lives, Peace Moves

By Naomi Segal
Published on June 12, 2003

The fragile peace efforts launched a week ago at the Middle East summit in Aqaba, Jordan, appeared to be unraveling at a dizzying pace this week, as Israel and the Palestinians were drawn back into a familiar and bloody pattern of violence and retaliation.

Rules of Engagement

By Rob Eshman
Published on May 30, 2002

The return of suicide bombings following Israel's military campaign in the West Bank demonstrates, among other things, that Israel and its supporters are in this struggle for the long haul.

And as the time span increases, so does the chance of dissension within the Jewish community.

Last week in Los Angeles, the inevitable crack turned into something more like a compound fracture. An article written by Middle East commentator Avi Davis and posted on the Web site standwithus.org took issue with UCLA Hillel Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller's statements and actions regarding Israel's current crisis.

Banners Unfurled

By Marlene Adler Marks
Published on May 30, 2002

Generals, it is said, are always preparing to fight the last war, and so it also may be for American Jews.

Middle East terror and Palestinian suicide bombings have roused us to action. The torpor is receding. Except, we can't quite agree on which last war we expect to be fighting: World War II or Vietnam.

Light One Candle

By Marlene Adler Marks
Published on December 6, 2001

By rights, this should be a one-candle Chanukah.

Islam Hijacked

By Reuven Firestone
Published on September 27, 2001

The queries have come in steadily since the great increase in suicide bombings by Muslim Palestinians during the past year, but since Sept. 11, they have come virtually non-stop.