Breaking: Terrorist attack in Jerusalem

Posted By Blake Hounshell Thursday, March 6, 2008 - 3:34 PM Share

A few commenters asked why, in yesterday's post about Mahmoud Abbas, I didn't note that Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert may have his own political reasons (i.e., the rockets) for not wanting to negotiate with the Palestinians right now. My answer: It's different, since Abbas is clearly not responsible for Hamas's rocket fire, yet Olmert is responsible for the decision to send the IDF into Gaza. In any case, it may be a moot point now. The gloves are about to come off:

Several people were killed Thursday evening when terrorists infiltrated the Merkaz Harav yeshiva Jerusalem and opened fire, a senior police official said.

It was unclear exactly many assailants were involved, but according to various reports, one or two terrorists infiltrated the yeshiva, and may be armed with explosive belts.

Some reports suggested the terrorists were shot and killed, while other reports from the scene said the incident was ongoing and shots were still being fired.

A large number of police and emergency medical personnel had either arrived or were en route to the scene, with some 20-30 ambulances involved.

EXPLORE:MIDDLE EAST, ISRAEL/PALESTINE, TERRORISM
 

KIDZIB

4:41 PM ET

March 6, 2008

An Additional Note...

From the New York Times: "The seminar is the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in the Kiryat Moshe quarter at the entrance of Jerusalem, a well-known center of Jewish studies identified with the leadership of the Jewish settlement movement in the West Bank."

Just wanted to point out that this attack shows clear signs of discrimination (unlike the bus bombings of yesteryear)...

 

HAGGAI

4:55 PM ET

March 6, 2008

So I guess some terrorism is more acceptable than others...

...according to you. Glad we're getting that cleared that up.

 

HAGGAI

4:58 PM ET

March 6, 2008

Er...

Awkward grammar there. The subject should have read "some terrorist attacks" as opposed to "some terrorism."

 

KIDZIB

5:28 PM ET

March 6, 2008

ummm what?

I really don't understand what point you're trying to make. All I was saying is that the attack shows signs of discrimination, and all attacks should be judged on the basis of proportionality and discrimination. Whether an attack is legitimate or not is entirely up to you to decide; I'm certainly not making any value judgments here.

 

HAGGAI

5:40 PM ET

March 6, 2008

Killing people at random shows "discrimination"?

In what way? Murdering people at random who are more likely to be supportive of settlers (and did you interview every single dead victim to *make sure* about their views? Did the attacker?) is a sign of a "discriminating" terrorist?

I'm also not sure why you say that terrorist attacks "should be judged" on the basis of "discrimination" while simultaneously claiming that you're "not making any value judgments."

 

KIDZIB

7:59 PM ET

March 6, 2008

take a deep breath, Haggai

I understand this is a very emotional issue for you, but there's no point in hurling false accusations and insinuations and intentionally missing the point I made.

To repeat that point: this attack shows signs of discrimination, meaning that it is not "random," as you claim. It doesn't matter whether or not every student that was attacked and/or killed today supported the objectives of the settler movement; what matters is that an institution with strong links to the settler movement was targeted. This is important to note because it differs from past attacks and could signal a possible change in strategy for Palestinian militants.

All attacks, not just "terrorist attacks," should be judged according to proportionality and discrimination. This is standard in international relations. Note that during the IDF-Hizballah conflict in 2006 the international community continually said that Israel's attacks in Lebanon were "disproportional" and Hizballah's rocket attacks "failed to discriminate." This is just standard language.

Violence is abhorrent and always unfortunate - whether it's Israel or a Palestinian militant carrying it out. 12 Israelis and 138 Palestinians have died this week, so let's pray for peace and sanity to prevail.

 

HAGGAI

9:42 PM ET

March 6, 2008

Your point is foolish and indefensible

Hizballah's attacks "failed to discriminate" between CIVILIAN and MILITARY targets. THAT'S what the international community was talking about. Your assertion that the murder of teenagers in a settler-friendly academy "shows signs of discrimination" makes about as much sense as someone claiming that for Israel to drop a bomb on a Hamas-run high school in Gaza, or on a Hizballah-run school in Lebanon, would "show signs of discrimination." It's absurd.

And such an attack would therefore be...what? Laudatory? Encouraging as a sign of different strategy for attacks in the future? Bad, but not as bad as dropping a bomb on a secular high school not associated with any militant groups? None of those conclusions would be defensible in any way, shape, or form.

I suppose your twisted attempt at logic is rooted in a belief that Israeli settlers (and, in an appallingly immoral step, even anyone SYMPATHETIC to them) are legitimate (or in some sense understandable) targets of vigilante violence. This contravenes all accepted international law, which clearly discriminates between combatants and non-combatants--and yes, this includes non-combatants who live in settlements that can themselves be classified as illegal under international law.

 

HAGGAI

4:57 PM ET

March 6, 2008

Initial Israeli government response

There'll certainly be internal pressure to step up military operations in the West Bank now, but the initial statement from the Foreign Ministry is an attempt to provide cover for more talks with Abbas:

Israel said Thursday it would continue with U.S.-backed peace talks with the Palestinians despite a terrorist attack at a Jerusalem yeshiva that killed eight people.

"These terrorists are trying to destroy the chances of peace but we certainly will continue the peace talks," Foreign Ministry spokesman Arye Mekel said.

http://haaretz.com/hasen/spages/961705.html

 

SASHENKA

6:11 PM ET

March 6, 2008

I have to jump in on the

I have to jump in on the random vs. discriminate discussion here. First of all, if people are being killed because someone thinks they are likely to support a particularly policy, than it's not random.

That shows a purpose, a strategy, and rationale for the target - and that's the point I believe kidzib is trying to make. If you're looking at any form of conflict it's important to take note of the trends, of the actors and their motivations. If people are being singled out for their perceived views, then in understanding and dealing with the perpetrators it's an important distinction to make in contrast to killing anyone anywhere simply for the sake of drawing attention. It's not about legitimiacy or illegitimacy (both inherently subjective terms anyway).

 

AJLONGINI

7:53 PM ET

March 6, 2008

Sashenka-- If it's not about

Sashenka--

If it's not about legitimacy or illegitimacy then I suppose that since February 27 the deaths of 100+ Palestinians at the hands of the Israeli army are justified, since they "are likely to support a particular policy" -- that is, firing rockets into Israel.

We should recognize that terrorism is unacceptable from both sides.

 

JGARZIK

2:48 AM ET

March 7, 2008

Don't feed the trolls

It's sad to see the Israel-Palestine conflict play out in the blog comments, each time a news tidbit from that region appears here.

 

RAMOUSH

7:49 AM ET

March 9, 2008

What Next??

In Fact What happened In western Jerusalem Very dangerous And A tragic accident
In Paestine,Some oF are trying to justify What Happend On basis that They are religious youths And They Would join in the IDF after several oF years, As We Know This is a religious school And The education in Jewish religious schools it based on racism rules ,Such as, we must expel the Arabs from the West Bank To Jordan,,We Must Expel The Arabs From Gaza-Strip To Egypt,We Must Expel The Arab -Israelis And The List Goes on
This is not impressions But this is the fact,And Every day we hear these statements that come from members of the Israeli Knesset!
Hamas also Act from the same ideology,Such ideological of historic Palestine, and the expulsion Jews to the sea, and other Islamic ideologies!
So, there is extremism on both sides
Again, There is no justification for Jerusalem attack,But we must remember the act and re-act
We must remember that before the attack of Jerusalem, Israel has killed about 120 Palestinians only during 5 days
70% of these victims are civilians
Personally,I Think That there is there no military solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict
For justice, for peace, for the future generations, United States must play an important role To return The Palestinians and Israelis to the Negotiations table to achieves the security, peace, and love for the future generations...

Rami Abu Ghalyion
Ain-Sham University
Cairo

 

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