Koby Mandell of Blessed Memory
Koby Mandell and Yosef Ishran, two young Israeli teenagers, aged 13 and 14 resided with their families in the Israeli town of Tekoa, in Gush Ezion, Israel. On May 8th, 2001, they skipped school and went on a hike in the Judean desert. Once the boys did not return home, their parents informed the authorities and a wide search ensued. Sadly, their two bodies were found the next day in a cave near their home. Both boys were brutally murdered up to a point of no recognition, the walls of the cave covered with their blood. It was reported that the bodies were so badly disfigured that dental records had to be used for positive identification.
Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat responded by blaming Israel for "victimizing Palestinian children”. Others chose to report the heinous crime by pointing out that the children were “settlers” and that their families chose to live in the West Bank, thus risking their lives by implication. Excuses all around, yet no hint of responsibility.
Such justifications for Palestinian terror is nothing new and follows a well trodden path, asserting - for example - that Palestinian suicide bombers made their way to martyrdom as a result of experiencing “social problems” with their families and immediate surroundings. In their distorted world view, the path to public acceptance could only be achieved through christening themselves in innocent Jewish blood. Only then, they felt, will their sins be washed away and unto the heavens they shall march, leaving behind a trail of death.
A few days ago Israelis fell victim once more to Palestinian homicidal terror. This time the coward murderer, who held a permit to work in Israel and had gone through proper security screening, waited until the three young Israelis turned their backs on him before cold-bloodedly murdering them. Solomon Gavriyah (20), Youssef Ottman (25) and Or Arish, 25, of Blessed Memory, lost their lives on that awful morning, defending their people and their country. Where was the international outcry and condemnation? We have become all too accustomed to witnessing the spilling of Israeli blood, yet could you imagine the reaction had it been the other way around?!
And indeed, lo and behold, no sooner had the dust settled on their fresh graves, than the choir of apologists started singing: “It wasn’t an act of terror”, they proclaimed. “The terrorist had issues at home, a violent husband whose wife ran away from him”, hence he committee those murders. Others, especially in the international community, rushed to place the blame on the victims’ shoulders: it’s the “occupation”, they told us, and “a direct result of Palestinian desperation”, as if Jews were not massacred en-masse before 1967 and as if no Palestinian today is living under the Palestinian Authority’s rule.
Not surprisingly, the Palestinian Authority itself was quick to hail the abominable terrorist as a “hero” and a “martyr”, while Hamas in Gaza - jumping with joy at the sight of Israeli blood - was hoping to use this incident to ignite yet another deadly round of violence between Israelis and Palestinians. Hamas, and this much we know well, views its own people as “bargaining chips”, quick to offer their sacrifice to achieve its own political goals, whether in times of relative quiet or in times of war, going as far as using them as “human shields”.
It’s time we say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH. No more justifications for Jewish and Israeli blood. No more making excuses for Palestinian violence and terror. No more patronizing Palestinians by excusing their behavior and justifying their mistakes. It is time we call the child by it’s name: Palestinian continued education for hatred against Israel is the cause, that and no other, for the de-humanization of Israel and cheapening of Israeli blood. Palestinians proclaim on every stage and floor that independence is their goal and a state is what they seek, yet with sovereignty comes accountability and with governance comes responsibility. Palestinians must be made accountable for their misdeeds, including for funding terror directly and indirectly as well as nurturing hatred and anti-Semitism in their midst, in their schools and media outlets. As long as the choir insists on “manufacturing excuses” for them in various forms, there will never be hope for a real change, one which would benefit first and foremost the Palestinians themselves.
In Israel and all around the Jewish world, these are days of reflection and deep introspection. We are in the midst of the first ten days of the Hebrew month of Tishrei, between Rosh HaShana (the Jewish New Year) and Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement), called “Ten Days Of Repentance”, as they hold a special meaning in Judaism. It is a time of divine judgment and inscription, time to ask questions of what has been and chart a path for what’s to come. It is a time to look inside one’s soul and observe one’s existence in the world. It represents a unique moment in time when one can avert being inscribed in the Book of Death, and get another chance at change. Correction - not one which only looks back at what was - but rather forward looking, is at stake. What was does not have to be. We have a chance to atone for the past, while creating a new future.
On this Day of Atonement, Palestinians should take a leaf out of the Jewish book. It is time for them to do some soul-searching themselves, together with those who make excuses for them, so that the year to come could really be better than the one we’ve had and that for once, the Book of Life shall be open for all.