An eye for an eye, a bulldozer for a bulldozer?
What happened in Jerusalem today? A Palestinian with an East Jerusalem ID who is a frontloader (bulldozer) driver purposefully overturned a bus and smashed into cars and pedestrians on the crowded Jaffa Street, killing three and wounding 44. One of the dead is the mother of a 5-month old, who survived the attack as an orphan. The BBC’s short video and eyewitness account of the end of the attack, when an off-duty Israeli soldier used the handgun of another civilian to kill the driver, is chilling.
Immediately, according to Haaretz, Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert called for high-level talks on what kind of retribution/deterrent is appropriate for Israel to practice against Palestinians who are legal residents of Israel who perpetrate crimes against Israelis. Ehud Barak, former Prime Minister and current Defense Minister, answered promptly: house demolitions.
If politics were about poetic justice, I’d have to hand it to Mr. Barak. You take a bulldozer into our streets and kill civilians, we take a bulldozer to your home and leave your family on the street. But the person who perpetrated the attack is dead. Though three different groups have claimed responsibility for the attack, the motives of this 30-something remain unclear and he may have acted alone and without disclosing his plans. Should his wife and children and his neighbors be punished? In a democracy, a civil suit for damages may be brought against the estate of the perpetrator of a crime. This is a far cry from a bulldozer arriving at his door the following morning. The families of Yigal Amir (Rabin’s assassin) and Eden Natan Zada, two Jewish Israeli terrorists who murdered Israeli citizens, did not face home demolitions.
On my way to the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Anata in February, I heard two Palestinians in the bus with me talking about the Caterpillar bulldozer driving in front of us. “Man, I could really use one of those to help with my home renovation,” said one. “It would make the work go so much faster.” “My cousin knows a guy…” said the other.
I was startled at the light tone of this conversation, given the symbolism of the bulldozer for the Palestinian people since 1967. Today was not the first time this machine was used as an instrument of murder. A bulldozer killed Jamal Fayad of Jenin refugee camp in his home in 2002, and there are many more incidents of similar fatalities in the West Bank and Gaza. A bulldozer infamously killed Rachel Corrie, an American volunteer in Rafah in 2003.
B’Tselem and the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions document the use of bulldozers in violation of the human rights of Palestinians. House demolitions as retribution or as a deterrent are a form of collective punishment. This policy is therefore against international law, but has been used in the Occuped Palestinian Territories. The complexity of the issue of house demolitions was recently broken down for the novice by Seth Freedman in the Guardian. There have been many international calls to boycott the Caterpillar company for being complicit in the policies of an illegal occupation. Poetic justice may have become a bit too complex for the Defense Minister to handle.
The question posed by Prime Minister Olmert about Israel’s deterrence policy as it applies to East Jerusalemites, to demolish or not to demolish, brings up the much more complex issue that today’s attack has brought into high resolution: how does Israel feel about its Palestinian citizens and those whose ID cards allow them to move freely anywhere inside the Green Line?* Uncomfortable, uneasy. The phrase “fifth column” is often whispered and sometimes shouted. After I took a moment to pray for those who were injured or lost their lives today, my thoughts turned to my friends in East Jerusalem. Will they be able to go to work, to travel? Will students registered for summer camps or activities in West Jerusalem be able to attend? What additional security measures will they face? The Prime Minister of Israel today referred to the “potential terrorists” in their midst: will they be viewed with a renewed suspicion?
What happened in Jerusalem today? A nightmare. A bulldozer, the monster beneath the collective Palestinian-Israeli bed, came alive and turned on civilians. A horrific act of violence that is unjust, unpoetic. And so is the reaction of certain members of the Israeli government.
*The East Jerusalem ID and the regular Israeli ID differ slightly with regard to voting rights and international travel.
Join the Conversation
Dear Miriam,
I greatly enjoyed reading your article and am glad you posted about these events. I had a question for you, you point out that house demolition is not the right response, what in your opinion should the government of Israel do? Keeping in mind that not long ago there was the Yeshiva shooting and it appears that Jerusalem is once again becoming a center for attacks. What options do you suggest to curb the situation from escalating.
I might be wrong but I am fairly sure that the reason for the using house demolition is not at all related to the eye for a eye concept. I think the psychology (which I am not endorsing) is sending a message to the attacker that says your family will bear the consequences for your deeds even after you are dead.
I look forward to your response on what would be an appropriate response for such a deed.
Dear nl,
First the police should assemble all the facts about the attack…there are allegations that the perpetrator was a known drug user and could have acted out of derangement or for non-political reasons. In that case, he was just a crazy person with a bulldozer, not a crazy Palestinian with a bulldozer.
Secondly, even if this act was a premeditated political act of violence, even if the perpetator scouted out the area and route as did Eden Natan Zada in Shefaram, punishing his family is undemocratic and against their human rights. Simple as that. Regardless of whether house demolitions are effective as a deterrent.
Lastly, house demolitions are an active policy of the Israeli government and when used against those who carry East Jerusalem IDs, the government will be explicitly telling a large group of people with the right to travel freely in Israel that it considers them borderline enemies because someone from their community acted in an unforgivable and violent way. The government would be affirming that while the average citizen is responsible for his or her actions as an individual, Palestinians with East Jerusalem IDs are responsible for their whole community. This would be an unjust double standard.
Luckily Mani Mazoz, the legal advisor to the governement, has come to the same conclusion and has dissuaded Olmert and Barak from using house demolitions against legal residents. Here is the link in Hebrew, English not on their site yet:
http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/spages/998785.html
Miriam, I agree. This was an act of a man who seems to have snapped, just gone crazy. I read his ex-girl friend’s and brother’s comments today, and they seem puzzled, but sure that he did not do this for political reasons. It appears that he has for a long time had a very serious anger management problem and to become violent and enraged when upset. An individual committed a terrible murderous attack, and the whole community must not be blamed. I hope that his family will be allowed to grieve in their own way and to deal with this tragedy. It seems to be a time to show respect and compassion for his family, who seem truly horrified by his deranged actions.
Ones I had a talk with an elderly Palestinian man about how Jews demolish houses belonging to suspected “terrorists”. And not only their houses but also their brothers’ house and their sisters’ house and their donkey’s mates owners house just because of one suspected “terrorist”.
Then he said something interesting, he said that if you were to demolish the houses of the Jewish settlers who kill Palestinians, there won’t be any settlement left in Palestine.
Ohhh the irony…
When will people learn to hold those accountable accountable and not punish those that did nothing?
I think that Israel’s destruction of the man;s home is a form of terrorism, different from the other but terrorism nonetheless. When you punish innocent people because of the acts of another, then you are a terrorist. It’s the same principle that the terrorists use. They say, the Government of Israel stole their land, pushed their people out of their homes, killed their people and more, so their response is to “destroy the homes” of the Israelis.
Collective Punishment is terrorism.
Israel’s mistreatment of the Palestinians is based on this “we don’t know what else to do” except to hurt innocent people. Bomb all of Beirut to get back at Hezbollah. Starve the entire Gaza Strip to get back at Hamas. Destroy the home of the man who drove his tractor and killed the Israelis. I know not all Israelis are like that, but too many in their government are.
Ray Hanania
http://www.TheMediaOasis.com
I’m Jewish with a daughter living in Israel, and I agree with Ray and Jina that the practice of destroying the houses of anyone suspected of terrorism or committing terrorism is a negative practice and one that should end. I do understand the frustration with violent acts that target innocent people, but this does not help matters. I can understand restricting access to Israel due to acts of terrorism, however. I don’t understand though why Egypt has its borders closed to the people in Gaza. What is the reason for that? The political situation in the Middle East (everywhere, I guess) is very complex and hard to understand.
I too disagree with house demolitions because they hurt the innocent. However, I think that nl has a point. What are the appropriate measures to be taken when you are defending yourself?
Is it just possible, that when you defend yourself, you will invevitably end up hurting the innocent no matter what you do? We know that it is morally wrong to hurt the innocent, but is there any alternative? And the greater the risk to your safety, the more likely you are to hurt the innocent. Not because you want to, but because you have no choice. You eiter go down quietly, or you hurt others. That’s the deal.
So what’s the answer. The answer may be to switch your frame of reference. It’s not about defending yourself. It’s about defending the neighborhood in which you find yourself. With that frame of reference, you might be able to come up with policies that help you to defend yourself, even as you’re helping others to defend themselves as well. You make your struggle theirs, and vice versa.
We will have to fight against extremism. There is no choice. But becuase we have to fight, we will also have to invest. The willingness to invest in others will give us the credibility to sustain the fight, and will likely garner support from those who benefit from our willingess to invest. The innocent will still die, but there will be some semblance of moral clarity to the process, and in the end, justice and peace will come sooner if people begin to invest in one another, even as they continue to look out for themselves. In a very real sense, investing in others is investing in oursleves.
Miriam,
I’m really glad you posted this. I thought of writing about it myself. I completely agree with you – I know of no other country where they would practice a “justice” like this.
You quoted the Jewish terrorist of Shfaram. Let’s not forget Baruch Goldstein, the settler who killed 29 Muslims in Hebron and wounded countless others. Not only his (big) settler house is still standing, but his grave is a site for “pilgrimage”.
Another issue for me is the fact that when a Jewish Israeli (policeman or civilian) shoots/kills a terrorist to prevent him from continuing his act, he’s considered a hero. But the unarmed Arab Israelis who killed the Jewish terrorist in Shfaram to prevent him from continuing his slaughter are now facing court charges… Equality? Did someone say equality??
In the Arab world in general people still find it hard to believe that Jews and Israelis are amongst the most vocal critics of such deplorable actions in Israel, but I think this thread is a good example of that. It’s a sign of hope that Israelis start standing up for what’s right, instead of blindly justifying everything that happens in their name. In any case, this was an excellent post that highlights a real tragedy.
It would have been healthier when this horrific act took place for the PM or mayor of Jerusalem to address the arab public in arabic (thru a translator) with a little confidence that we Jews believe that the average arab in Israel does not condone such terror. I know everyone at the scene was in shock and it is hard to plan one’s reaction on live TV but we need to find ways to build trust and in fact, we really do co-exist day by day.
Esra, I completely agree with you that it is incumbent for all right thinking people to stand up for what is right, independent of family, individual, or nationalistic affiliations. Injustices should not be blindly justified. This practice of destroying the homes of those committing horrible acts and crimes is senseless —it is a crime also. The compassionate course should guide us in our actions.
Michelle, I agree. Communication is vital in building trust and confidence among people.