March 6, 2008

Gunman Kills 8 in Attack on Seminary in Jerusalem

A gunman entered a prominent Jewish seminary in Jerusalem tonight and began firing on students, killing at least eight and wounding at least nine others, The New York Times reported, citing police reports. The gunman killed two people at the entrance to the Mercaz Harav yeshiva and then fired on students in the library. The dead were thought to be mostly between 20 and 30 years of age.

The gunman, who has not been identified, was killed at the scene, and his motivation was unknown. In Gaza, the radical Islamic movement Hamas did not take responsibility for the attack, but said: “We bless the operation. It will not be the last.”

The yeshiva, an elite institution founded in 1924 by Rabbi Abraham Isaac Kook, has about 400 students. According to the Times, it is famous as a symbol of the national religious strain of Judaism that provides the backbone of the settler movement. —Charles Huckabee

Comments

1. More activists.

   — Larry    Mar 7, 02:01 AM    #

2. Make that one less activist.

   — Larry    Mar 7, 02:02 AM    #

3. Unfortunately, we will hear few words of condemnation of this atrocious act. Had this crime been committed by an Israeli on a group of Palestinian students, the condemnation would be very strong from around the world, and rightly so. It is hard to fathom any kind of peace in the region as long as Palestinian children are systemically taught to hate the Jews.

   — Sam    Mar 7, 06:04 AM    #

4. Although its been decades since Golda Meier’s statement, it still rings true- “Only when the Palestinians love their children more than they hate Israel, will there be peace.”

   — steven    Mar 7, 08:11 AM    #

5. This act condemns itself. We need less theater and knee jerk reactions to these atrocious human rights violations and more straight talk about the fact that the extremists on both sides are dictating the terms of the relationship between Israel and the Palestinians. Sam #3 above believes that there can be no peace until the hatred of Jews is no longer a staple in the diet of Palestinian children. True. But there has to be substantial work on the Israeli side, too. The NYtimes reported that after this horrific attack, students of the elite seminary stood at the police lines shouting, “death to the Palestinians.” This sounds like the foundation for another round of group guilt and the indiscriminate killing of innocents. Palestinian children may throw stones at Israeli tanks but they are all too often the victims of the inhumane actions of one of the world’s most powerful fighting forces. The same old emotions will lead the region back to another round of violence with the leaders on each side sounding like little children, “He hit me first!”

   — DAVID J. HARRIS    Mar 7, 08:15 AM    #

6. “The dead were thought to be mostly between 20 and 30 years of age.”

   It transpires that four of the eight were 16 or under.

   — Gustave    Mar 7, 08:53 AM    #

7. David (comment #5), I agree with you for the most part, but feel there is a difference between hatred arising from an immediately recent atrocity, and the systemic and purposeful teaching of hate to an entire generation of Palestinian children.

   — Sam    Mar 7, 09:52 AM    #

8. The wounds felt by the Palestinians towards Israel go back farther than just one generation, and account for the indoctrination of hate given the children. In their minds they were unjustly displaced as a nation and have had gradually more and more land taken from them. This, combined with unrelenting economic sanctions that make any semblance of quality of life practically unattainable, is fueling much of the hate perpetuated through the generations. Of course, Israel has its own understanding of events, but the fact remains that until the two peoples are open to the way each interprets the past, are willing to forgive and move towards a future of mutual respect and understanding, the violence will not cease.

   — thoughtful    Mar 7, 10:11 AM    #

9. It seems I have been fed a steady diet of killings on both sides for most of my life.

   I often wonder if Israel would not be better off if the U.S. offered to transport the entire population to, say, Nevada – where the climate is similar, and the people could prosper without daily fear of being killed.

   Just an old man’s musings.

   — Dr. J    Mar 7, 10:45 AM    #

10. Charging a man with murder in this place was like handing out speeding tickets at the Indy 500
    —-Apocalypse Now

    — marci    Mar 7, 11:20 AM    #

11. Last week Israel killed over 100 Palestinians. Most of the dead were civilians.

    — eli    Mar 7, 11:27 AM    #

12. Or, why not offer to transport the entire population of Palestine to Nevada? Wouldn’t that achieve the same end? Why not? Because most people wouldn’t want them here, and for good reason.

    Life in Palestine is certainly not easy, and even deadly, but the blame for that is not one we can simply lay at the feet of the Israelis, or the West.

    Aren’t there other players here? Players that would be just as happy to blow up casinos in Las Vegas (maybe more so), as they are to blow up synagogues in Jerusalem? Players that would find reasons for renewed angst and disappointment on a daily basis, capable of being assuaged only by bloodshed?

    — Tracy G.    Mar 7, 11:28 AM    #

13. This latest atrocity is part of the harvest of hate that most Muslims in the Middle East are being taught from the beginning of their lives. This is all the result of two or three generations being indoctrinated not to live productive lives but to hate and murder the only democracy that ever existed in the Middle East. Israel, of course, will be condemned for any retaliatory action by the morally bankrupt United Nations and The New York Times, but has every right to defend its citizens. Taking out the Hamas leadership would be a step in the right direction.

    — Marty    Mar 7, 01:59 PM    #

14. Bubba speaks- just think all this trouble could have been avoided if Abraham hadn’t screwed around with Hagar..

    — Bubba    Mar 7, 02:08 PM    #

15. Eli,
    The loss of civilian Palestinian lives is very regrettable. Unlike the Israelis who do not purposely target civilians, that is precisely what Hamas does when they fire rockets into Israel. If you were an Israeli leader, what would you to protect your citizens do to respond to the daily rocket attacks?

    — Sam    Mar 7, 04:31 PM    #

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