Terror here and there
I usually sit in the comfort and safety of my home in Paramus and listen to the heinous terrorist acts occurring in Israel. But last week I was sitting in the comfort and safety of a rented apartment in Modiin, Israel, listening to the horror of senseless, brutal terrorism going on in Boston, Mass. We listened to the reports every day until the capture of the wounded terrorist.
On Friday, I read a wonderful editorial in the Jerusalem Post, “Responding to terror,” ending with the sentence: “But terrorists fail to see that it is precisely this [love of] freedom which makes America – and Israel – so great and so resilient to the threat of terrorism.” We arrived home Sunday and I read the articles in the Jewish Standard about the Boston tragedy.
My reaction to these vile acts of terrorism is not revenge, not punishment, not understanding the mind of the terrorist. My priority is prevention. I am pleased that the second terrorist was captured alive. Hopefully, his interrogation will help the authorities prevent other acts of terrorism and the capture of co-conspirators. Israeli security on my flight to and from Israel used profiling to prevent hijacking of airliners. The profiling was very polite and friendly. Perhaps some form of profiling should be considered to improve America’s method of terrorism prevention. I believe that the older brother was investigated and cleared of suspicious behavior. The authorities must review their procedures to further improve the prevention of terrorist acts. Obviously, the use of video cameras helped in the apprehension of the brothers but not in the prevention of the act.
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Americans and Israelis are resilient people. I would rather not have to display our resiliency. After 9/11, we improved our methods of preventing acts of terrorism. We must do so again.
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