You Take London; I'll Take Tel Aviv
I watched a video yesterday, before Hurricane Irene moved in on New York, in which a Queens resident who had been instructed to evacuate explained his refusal to leave. He said that he had no idea how much police presence there was going to be in the immediate aftermath of the storm and could not risk leaving his store unprotected in case of looting. This obviously rang a bell in view of the recent violence in London, in which -- as Paul Rahe has discussed -- Turks and Kurds defended their persons and property with sticks and billiard cues, putting their own liberty at risk in the process. Dr. Rahe's more recent posting on the subject indicates that the British disease -- the willing sacrifice of the citizen's right to defend himself and his property -- has infected the American legal system.
God knows we have a lot on our plate here in Israel, but as I've argued many times before, I feel a fundamental sense of security here -- a security that appears to be evaporating rapidly in other, allegedly saner parts of the world. It's based on two fundamental principles: that the right of self-defense is non-negotiable, and that a defense force must have some teeth to be worth the name.
On the first point: steam usually pours out of my ears when the international community instructs us, as it so reliably does, to apologize for our effrontery in defending ourselves. The events in London have given me a new perspective on this. It's not just Jews or Israelis who are expected to submit to thug rule. Everyone is now expected to submit to thug rule. It's Robert Fisk's beating writ large: you'll take it and like it, because it's all your fault, anyway.
Here in Israel, we have never had the luxury of forgetting how to identify good and evil, or indeed of forgetting that there are, in fact, two such things. The stubbornness here of a basic, unfashionable moral code puts us into range of a lot of short-range fire (both metaphorical and literal), but gives us a strength that's more reassuring, in these frightening times, than I can adequately describe.
The second point -- that there are people nearby whose job is to protect me, and whom I can depend on to do their absolute best -- is brought home for me every time there is an attack, when our soldiers and police materialize out of nowhere to prevent greater harm to our citizens. A friend told me recently about the time she missed a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv literally by inches -- she had just turned a corner when a huge explosion took place. She was amazed by two things: the overall calm (no screaming, no swarms of people running in panic) and the "sea of green": the wave of soldiers who swept in almost instantly to secure the area.
Very early this morning, a 20-year-old resident of the West Bank city of Nablus carjacked a taxi in south Tel Aviv (stabbing the driver in the hand in the process) and plowed it into a police roadblock that had been set up to protect a nightclub, HaOman 17. After hitting several people with the taxi, the terrorist jumped out, screamed "Allahu Akbar," and started stabbing. He was wrestled to the ground by Border Police.
The suspect is believed to have targeted this particular nightclub because it was hosting an end-of-summer party for more than 2,000 Israeli teenagers, thus marking him as an old-school Palestinian terrorist (c.f. the Dolphinarium nightclub bombing, the Sbarro bombing, the ice cream store attacks, and so on). Not one of the kids inside the club was injured or even aware of what was happening until after it was all over. That none of those children's families is in an agony of grief this morning is due to the foresight, planning and heroism of the Border Police, who had been placed on high alert to protect the event.
Eight of the policemen were hurt, one critically, as they struggled to prevent the assailant from reaching the entrance to the club. Had the roadblock not been in place, and the policemen less determined, the headlines could be far worse today. This system is not foolproof by any means: we need look only as far back as a week and a half, to the infiltration and multi-pronged terror attack near Eilat to see the consequences of even a partial lapse. But of all the things there are to fear here, being left to fend for myself against the monsters -- and then being blamed for doing so -- is not one of them.
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Comments :
Sep '10
Re: You Take London; I'll Take Tel Aviv
Thank you Judith. As always, a compelling example of what does depends on an examined life by those in a position to do so.
Jun '10
Re: You Take London; I'll Take Tel Aviv
In 2005, I noticed that many of the Katrina Hurricane survivors, sitting on their roofs, waiting for a helicopter, could also look down at submerged cars--their own cars. Why didn't they leave? Because they didn't want their TV, appliances, and furniture stolen. In a lot of cases, that's the only reason they stayed. It's not because they didn't have a car to evacuate with, or couldn't afford five gallons of gas.
Re: You Take London; I'll Take Tel Aviv
Meanwhile, in the "No, they're not freedom fighters, they're terrorists" file, here's a story that will only be picked up in the European media--if it's noticed at all--because it happened in a tourist resort and injured Norwegians. There's no conclusive attribution yet, but since the PKK just declared its eagerness to target tourists, I think it's a safe bet. (Or possibly TAK, a splinter group.) Please tell me what to call an organization that detonates bombs among summer sunbathers if not a terrorist organization. Luckily no one was killed--but the intention was, obviously, to kill and to maim.
May '10
Re: You Take London; I'll Take Tel Aviv
"Barbarians" and "savages" also come to mind.
Sep '10
Re: You Take London; I'll Take Tel Aviv
It must be nice, Judith—and helpful given the barbarism relentlessly unleashed on your country from just beyond the horizon—to be of a similar mind with your neighbors when it comes to respecting the boundary between one person or group of persons and another. This is what wearies me most about America these days, people expecting more of strangers than of their own families or themselves, a vapid punditry that confuses critique with analysis and finds all individuals wanting, young people wanting to work for nonprofits as absolution for the capitalistic spirit enabling their very ability to care so much. We've become something out of a Dr. Seuss book, and I don't like pink. ... People ask me, where else is there to go? Apparently Tel Aviv. Or, maybe, Mars.
Jun '10
Re: You Take London; I'll Take Tel Aviv
This post dovetails nicely with Professor Rahe's essay further down the page. The right to defend life and property is fundamental for a healthy society. When government denies this right, the result is an emasculated and enfeebled citizenry. Israelis are used to seeing firearms in the hands of ordinary citizens. The psychological effect is crucially important. Not only is the citizen endowed with a means for self-defense, he understands that he is obliged to act when threatened.
Contrast the response of the passengers on Flight 93 during 9/11 with the response to Breivik's assault on a summer camp in Norway. The Americans fought back knowing that even if they didn't survive their sacrifice would save others. The Norwegians fled and were murdered anyway. A government that usurps the citizen's right to protect life and property reduces its citizenry to the level of livestock. Just one more reason to reject the tender embraces of the nanny-state.
Jan '11
Re: You Take London; I'll Take Tel Aviv
Judith I think you hit a key point here:
"Here in Israel, we have never had the luxury of forgetting how to identify good and evil, or indeed of forgetting that there are, in fact, two such things."
If I live in a safe neighborhood, have plenty of food, an easy commute to work, access to medical care, a good job that pays well, wish no harm to my neighbors or strangers, etc, it's easy assume that everyone lives this way. Protecting myself from evil isn't part of my experience. Also, acknowledging evil disturbs a peaceful life.
I actually grew up in a rough part of town & worked in rough neighborhoods so I know danger is out there. My parents taught their children to walk with purpose & pay attention. We walked to school, the library, etc. and for the most part avoided becoming thugs' victims.
Forgetting how to differentiate between good and evil is a dangerous luxury.
Re: You Take London; I'll Take Tel Aviv
I have visited Israel three times -- all in the last decade. On each occasion, I spent the better part of my time in Jerusalem; and, on each occasion, I was struck by the fact that the Israelis I met were admirable. I encountered no slackers; I met no one who was hopelessly naive -- and the men were all manly.
I found myself wondering whether the danger that the Israelis were in was not, in fact, good for them as human beings. It was as if it brought out in them and nourished in them qualities that our cousins in Europe now nearly all lack and that we in America are in grave danger of losing ourselves.
Sep '10
Re: You Take London; I'll Take Tel Aviv
It was as if it brought out in them and nourished in them qualities that our cousins in Europe now nearly all lack and that we in America are in grave danger of losing ourselves.
Given the tenuous size of Israel I think it likely that if their system of moral accountability gets too seriously out of whack, their bad idea may -- without a trace of irony when I say this -- blow up in their face. In Europe and the West in general there's a general trend to inflict bad ideas on people who you don't see everyday, such as lecturing California, New Mexico, Arizona and Texas about their need to be more tolerant of immigration.
Usually that's suggested from the comfort of Mr. Kristof's neighborhood Espresso bar.
Edited on Aug 29, 2011 at 12:24pmNov '10
Re: You Take London; I'll Take Tel Aviv
Judith Levy
Here in Israel, we have never had the luxury of forgetting how to identify good and evil, or indeed of forgetting that there are, in fact, two such things.
A quotable quote, indeed!