By Tom Brennan
Jerusalem, city of peace sees more violence than almost any other city on earth. Most of it comes from acts of terror, mob attacks and other politically and hate- fueled acts by Palestinian supported and Muslim sponsored groups and lone wolf operators. Since israel moved to protect its citizens from Hamas and its tunnel borne rocket attacks in this past summer the number of incidents rose from 200 per month to over 5,000. The media almost always places some kind of blame on Israel. Recently the terrorists adopted new tactics, using cars as weapons and innocent persons as targets.Funerals for victims and perpetrators are examples of how two peoples look at death and life differently and how the world sees them portrayed.
On October 21, a lone Palestinian drove his car into a group of people waiting at a commuter stop for the Light Rail. Several adults were seriously injured and a 3 month old baby girl was killed. The terrorist tried to escape by running and was shot by police. The baby girl was an American citizen of dual citizenship parents. In the days that followed two funerals, damatically different from each other were held.
The baby was mourned by family and friends. It was a very sad event. An innocent child was violently cut off from life by the act of a man intent on causing death and pain to people waiting to ride a train. He did not know any of them, neither their names or ages mattered. Only his hatred of them as Jews concerned him and those who sent him on his death errand . He had been primed for his crime by hate-mongering imams, terrorist-politicians and others. He chose to or was told to use a car, something no one would notice or suspect. He struck suddenly and ran from the scene, perhaps to do the same thing again soon. Police shot him and he died.
In the days that followed two funerals, one for an innocent baby and one for a murderer were held. The media reported on them and photos tell the whole story. The baby girl’s family gatherers around the tiny bundle, intense sadness on their faces. You can feel tears in your own eyes as the loss of a child is seen in the faces of her family. The murderer is the centerpiece of a political demonstration, a funeral for a “martyr”. His parents state their pride in their son’s act. The crowd surges around the body, flags and arms and fists waving.There are intensely visible impressions in the differences in the two funerals. The baby’s funeral mourned the loss of an innocent life and physical injury to her loving parents. There was the dignity of the mourning process that Judaism provides for the family and friends. By Jewish tradition burial is within 24 hours. The mourning period folllows.The parents had hoped for a child for some time The grandfather had just arrived to see his new granddaughter.
What a contrast to the chanting crowds with fists raised at the murderer’s funeral rites . The funeral is a political rally to urge on more murders and murderers. The criminal is declared a hero, a martyr. He is after all, a nephew of a Hamas leader and bomb maker. The Palestinians manipulate the masses into a more threatening mob. The whole event is a distortion that the world accepts as a protest against Israel. This shows how far from truth and mercy the world of media and politics have gone.
One family mourned the loss of an innocent child. Another declared their criminal son to be a patriotic martyr and hero, the cause of a mob’s adulation, an inspiration to more murderers. What a difference. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem and for consolation for the loss of a baby girl.
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