ALIYAH COMMITTEE
AMTON Newsletter
December 2001

A MESSAGE FROM THE FRONT
By Jonathan Berg

Judging by how the Middle East is covered in the international press, I suppose that viewed from the U.S., Israel looks like a war zone — bombs, shootings, mortars, tanks. But the truth is that life goes on — maybe not completely as normal, but pretty close to it.

Shopping malls are still packed on Saturday nights, restaurants and cafes still fill up on the weekends. We still go to concerts and plays. We still have traffic jams at least twice a day on every major artery. And we still have to put up with a variety of labor disputes (at least half a dozen strikes at the moment).

All this despite what has become known as hamatzav "the situation." That's why when you ask us how we are, a common reply these days is, "By me, personally? — Fine."

My point is, don't be scared off by all the horrible news you hear. Of course, every single death is a terrible tragedy, and the daily news can be very depressing and painful. But despite all the dreadful news, Israel has NOT become an especially dangerous place.

A person in Israel is still much more likely to be the victim of a motorist, rather than a terrorist. You run a far greater risk of dying from falling down in the U.S. than from a terrorist attack in Israel.

Of course, that's not what the terrorists want you to think. They're called "terrorists" because their aim is to instill terror — far beyond what is actually warranted by the direct damage they cause. The success of terrorism lies in its producing a disproportionate amount of fear. But recognizing this is the key to understanding how each and every one of us can personally do something to fight terrorism. For even though there's not much we can do to prevent the terrorist acts themselves, we can nevertheless fight terrorism, each of us personally, simply by not letting the terrorists dupe us into harboring unwarranted fears.

So, don't fall for the mistaken belief that Israel has become a dangerous place! That's exactly what they want you to think. But you can fight terrorism by resisting the false conclusions the terrorists want you to draw.

Understand that you're probably just as safe in Israel as you are at home. And then, show that you understand, by coming to see us in Israel, more than ever before. This is the one thing everyone can do to fight terrorism — show by your very presence in Israel that you won't be fooled!

Jonathan Berg made aliyah from California eighteen years ago and teaches logic in the Department of Philosophy at the University of Haifa. He and his wife Sharon have three children, ages 14-21. They are active members of Congregation Moriah in Haifa.

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