Tolerating Terror

Yesterday I shared a picture of a bus stop that I frequent surrounded by slabs of cement. It seems every bus stop in Gush Etzion is now either a memorial, a bomb shelter or both. I captioned the photo by stating that I refuse to stand behind cement slabs when waiting for a bus. This is not the way to combat terror. It only creates a fictitious feeling of security.

Last night a friend of mine commented:

“What is the problem with cement? Obviously, there’s a problem that a few crazy Arabs have taken to using cars to run over people, and this is a sensible solution. Other than banning Arabs from having cars, I don’t see a better solution”

I asked that friend this morning: “Today there is a new problem. A few crazy Arabs have started using guns to shoot people, should we now start wearing bullet proof vests?”

The government has created a policy of making terror tolerable. They have built a country that assumes terror has in essence become something mundane and acceptable. They tell us terror is okay; we can live with it. We can accommodate their rage.

They throw rocks. That’s okay. We will secure our cars and busses with rock proof windows.

They kidnap? That’s okay. We will put security cameras.

They fire rockets. That’s okay. We will build an Iron dome and bomb shelters.

They run over pedestrians. That’s okay. We will turn our bus stops into bunkers.

They shoot us while we pray. That’s okay. We will put a security guard in every Shul.

The truth is though, they are terrorists and all is not okay.

We can no longer defend against terror; we must begin to fight against it.

They are terrorists and they must be crushed.