Tractors in Jerusalem

July 23, 2008 - 9:53 AM by

At 2.30pm yesterday I got an email in my inbox from the government press office:

(GPO 1) TERRORIST ON TRACTOR SET OUT FROM CONSTRUCTION AREA IN JLEM YEMIN MOSHE NEIGHBORHOOD ON RAMPAGE TOWARD ‘GAN HAPA’AMON’ (CORNER OF KEREN HAYESOD ST. & KING DAVID ST.) & STRUCK SEVERAL VEHICLES, INCLUDING A #13 BUS, BEFORE BEING SHOT & KILLED BY BORDER POLICEMAN & CIVILIAN. JLEM POLICE CHIEF ILAN FRANCO REPORTS ONE PERSON MODERATELY-TO-SERIOUSLY WOUNDED & 4 OTHERS LIGHTLY WOUNDED. (COMM. BY GPO)

For a moment I was confused. Was this the terror attack from a couple of weeks ago? Were they sending out another press release by mistake? I clicked onto Ha’aretz and confirmed that yes, it was yet another terror attack by an East Jerusalem man on a tractor.

tractor t.jpg

This time the shock value was less, partly helped by the fact that no-one died. But still 24 were wounded, and for some of them, those wounds aren’t just a scratch on the arm, but a devastating life-changing injury that will scar them for life.

There have been five major terrorist attacks on Jerusalem since the start of the year, 12 people killed, dozens wounded. So what do you do?

What can you do? You go on. It’s the school holidays, the kids are out and they’re looking for fun, and they don’t need to know about terror attacks. Everything operates as normal. The beaches are busy, the cafes are full, the cinemas are bursting. So you get on with life, you go on as usual, and soon you push it aside and move on. And that’s exactly how it should be.

Still, it’ll take a while before I can see a tractor on the road and not wonder who exactly is behind the wheel. Nor can I help looking at other once innocuous work machines and wonder if they too have the potential to be turned into weapons.

And what about a word for all the decent, peaceful Israeli-Arabs living in Jerusalem. There’s talk now of banning them from working in construction in the city. It’s logical, and hardly surprising, but still it will take away livelihoods from some good people. But how do you know who’s a potential terrorist? That’s a problem the whole world faces.

Tags: , , • Category: A New Reality, General, Life, Politics, War 

Comments

3 Comments on Tractors in Jerusalem

  1. David-Joe on Thu, Jul 24th 2008 1:11 AM

    2. I do not have sympathy for the Arabs. They have brought this on themselves amd could end it, but they continue to strive for Israel’s destruction.

    They want jobs? Why dont they go to their brothers in the extremely rich oil states. Biggest mistake, was that Israel did not throw all the Arabs out in 1948 and continue to throw them out of Judea and Samaria.

    Its not pretty but this is a struggle by the Jewish people for their homeland and what would a person do to protect their people?

    The world loves Jewish victims its Jewish warriors that they cant stand. Rather be disliked by the world and be secure – David Ben Gurion.

  2. Dan on Thu, Jul 24th 2008 4:02 PM

    3. I’m attending the Israeli Arts and Science Academy in Jerusalem starting late August, all of the recent terrorist attacks are quite disheartening. =/

  3. lirun on Wed, Jul 30th 2008 10:59 AM

    4. david-joe

    you make it sound like the arabs are one single entity with a unified will..

    does that mean i get to blame you for everything anyone jewish does?

    like the shooting of the mother on the beach in batyam the other day..

    get real..

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