June 30th, 2014
I shall start from the end: after 18 days of extensive search for 3 missing Israeli teenagers, their bodies were found not far from the place where they were abducted. They were kidnapped by Hamas fighters in the occupied territories.
I shall start from the end: after 18 days of extensive search for 3 missing Israeli teenagers, their bodies were found not far from the place where they were abducted. They were kidnapped by Hamas fighters in the occupied territories.
As we learn about the events that led to the tragic end, it
transpires that their dramatic quality surpasses any fictional story. Thus no wonder that the
Israeli public became obsessed not only
with the fate of the three missing boys, but also with every detail of the abduction.
Naturally, each aspect of the story was also used as an opportunity to promote
political views by all sides.
First, the fact that the boys were catching a ride late at
night started a debate about the practice of hitchhiking in the occupied territories.
While the settlers argue that it is their home and as public transportation is sparse, the kids
have no choice but catching rides, the members of the left argue that even the
army does not allow soldiers to catch rides because of the danger of kidnapping.
Another cause for debate was the 911 emergency call (100 in Israel) that one of the boys made
after they had been kidnapped. We heard from the media that he whispered “I was
kidnapped,” and that there were shouts and
some unidentified sounds in the background. The dispatcher was not able
to get more information, then the line went dead. She tried to call back, 7
times. Finally after consulting with a supervisor, they decided that it was a
prank call and did not follow up.
This part of the
story was hard to take, and it caused a public outrage especially since the
first few hours are so crucial in such cases. There were many arguments in the media about the
incompetence and responsibility of the police. On the other hand, in Israel, in
contrast to other places in the world, cases of kidnapping are rare and the
dispatcher had no experience dealing with such a call. But some one had to pay
the price, thus even before the boys were found several police officers lost
their jobs.
After the boys were found and put to rest, another tragic
event happened: a Palestinian youth was found dead. The case is under
investigation, but it is very probable that he was killed by revengeful Israelis.
At this moment the situation is Israel seems hopeless, but I
believe that we could take a brave step in order to prevent more violence and
hopefully restore order. Since the boys were abducted and killed by Palestinian
terrorists, the Israelis regard their death as a national tragedy. I question
the merit of this approach.
This was such an unusual event, that even the 100
dispatcher and the supervisor did not
recognize the call as a genuine plea for
help. We could decide to regard the kidnapping as a horrible, yet private
crime. The boys stood at night in a dangerous area, took a risk getting into a
car, were kidnapped and then brutally murdered by two vicious criminals, and
they should be punished.
However, turning the tragedy into a national and political
affair would flare up the area even more and could benefit only the extremists
on both sides (or the politicians that thrive on the Middle East conflict). We
should not let them take away our future.
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