Blood, Sweat and Tears for the Long Haul

It is a sad day when the bond between America and Israel is a shared experience like senseless hate and violence.

We in Jerusalem know too well the fear, pain, anxiety and loss that come with an apparent act of terror like that which Boston just experienced in the marathon. Our thoughts and prayers go to the dead and injured and their families whose lives will never again be the same.

I say apparent, because this is still being investigated. But the Israeli in me, by now hardened with a certain cynicism regarding random very public acts of violence, senses what many would recognize as an eerie familiarity with the event.

And, perhaps not so coincidentally, it is Independence Day in Israel. We will celebrate our survival against all odds, if subdued by this event. Unlike others, according to the press after other attacks of terror, we will not be passing out candy and shooting from the rooftops in celebration of violence.

Perhaps unwittingly, whoever is responsible for this tragedy could not have picked a more symbolic event than the Boston Marathon: the birthplace of the American Revolution, the test of stamina, endurance, dedication and personal achievement. Whatever twisted goals may have existed in the mind(s?) of the perpetrator(s?), it will be these qualities that will persevere.

We are with you Boston, in pain, in loss, and in getting back up and dusting yourself off. We know.

Blood, sweat and tears. Another year on the frontlines. Chag Sameach, 65th Yom Ha’atzmaut.