by Sari Krosinsky
Daily Lobo Columnist
On July 31, a bomb went off in a cafeteria at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. It wasn't the usual suicide bombing, but a bomb planted and set off remotely by a cell phone.
Bad jokes about cell phones really being deadly aside, a comment from a friend drew me to look farther into this particular situation.
First, why was it done? The suspects are four Israeli-Arab Jerusalem residents connected with Hamas. One may presume they were hoping to further attempts to end the occupation of Palestine. So why this particular target?
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Hebrew University has directly supported the Israeli military in recent months, both through public statements and by giving financial aid to students called into combat. The bombing could have been done to send a message to the university itself.
Additionally, the university has a large international student program. In fact, five Americans were among those killed by the bomb. So the intention could have been to frighten off other nations from supporting Israel. Hindsight doesn't seem to have been applied much here.
But there is the other side. Hebrew University houses a number of programs geared towards peace. These include partnering Israeli and Palestinian middle schools, training Arab and Jewish ambulance drivers to deal with communication and working across the sharp ethnic divisions in Jerusalem, promoting dialogue between Palestinians and Jews in the West Bank, and several programs aimed at understanding the common heritage of Jews and Palestinians. Given those efforts, the university seems like a misdirected target. Of course, the Palestinians who are interested in non-violent peace efforts are probably not the ones planting bombs.
Yet there is another point more puzzling. In addition to its large number of international students, the university also has a significant number of Palestinian and Israeli-Arab students. The people who planted that bomb were risking the lives of people they might consider their own.
As is my usual egocentric way, reading all this led me to reflect on myself. I've spent the past week preparing for Yom Kippur, trying to identify my missed marks and to figure out how to right my aim and mend any feet I've accidentally shot. I even talked with my "rabbi" - though she's not technically a rabbi - to gain guidance on this quest.
In learning more about this particular bombing, I realized that my own missed marks have followed about the same pattern. Thankfully, none of my missing has been of a scale to leave anyone dead. But the overall scenario is the same.
I'd make such-and-such a decision, and do such-and-such a thing, because I believed at the time that it was the best thing for myself and all concerned. Then, in my reflections, I discovered that in fact I was hurting or at least being unfair to the people I was supposedly trying to protect. Much as I'm sure those bombers probably felt that they were doing the best thing for all Palestinians, even if a few had to die in the process.
More than that, my actions stemmed at least in part from reaction to my own distress, though I'd held that distress hidden from myself. Much as the bombers were probably holding onto anger, unwittingly blinding themselves to any possibility of another solution.
It is my good fortune that - there being no one actually dead - I'm granted the opportunity to mend scars and try to do better next time.
But it's too bad that nations and organizations geared up for war - including our own - have no real equivalent for Yom Kippur, no time to reflect on past missed marks and future aim. When a nation aims wrong, there's too much that can't be made right.
Reflections can be sent to Sari Krosinsky at michal_kro@hotmail.com.