A Land of History and Monuments -- A Land of Modern Day Violence


BY LIZA BERGER
KENOSHA NEWS


While I learned about Israel of old from the ancient ruins and monuments, I learned a lot about Israel today from my experience at the Moment Cafe. I went there my last night in Jerusalem and sipped drinks with three Americans from the trip. We met up with some Israelis.

The bar had recently been rebuilt and was made, someone told me, the same way as the old bar. Before we entered, there was a gate in front where a guard searched people. There was also a memorial plaque listing the names of the people who died. I was nervous before going, but someone told me that it probably made sense to go there. Who would bomb the same place twice?

We spent an enjoyable night socializing. It was pleasant -- until we walked out.

Protesters outside were carrying signs and wearing shirts with pictures of people who died in the blast. The mother of a girl who was killed there was yelling at passing cars.

I took some pictures, until I heard someone yelling to me, ``run, run!'' Not knowing what to do, I ran across the street. A man in the group with a dog, which appeared to be a Rottweiler, was following me. He took my camera and dropped it to the ground. I ran away, caring more about the possibility of losing my leg to a Rottweiler than losing my camera.

We learned later that the man had lost someone close to him in the attack and did not want his picture taken.

Our group was shaken as we drove home, but the experience taught me more about what Israel is like today -- fragile, shaken.

We actually discovered that fact earlier in the trip when our group visited the Park Hotel in Netanya, site of the Passover Massacre in March in which 21 people were killed. Netanya is located just north of Tel Aviv on the Mediter ranean Sea. It was haunting to visit the site of a suicide bombing. The setting of the hotel is quiet and calm and it was hard to believe such a violent act occurred there just months before.

The only remnants of the former banquet hall are mirrors on the wall and some loose electrical wiring. As a chilling reminder of the incident, a knife sticks out of the ceiling, indicating the force of the blast.

We heard here from people at the hotel who know about violence firsthand.

``I want to be a regular, normal 22year-old, but I can't because I live here,'' said Shira Mizrahi, who recently got out of the military. She explained to our group what it is like to live as a young person in Israel.

``It's an indescribable feeling to feel that you live every day not knowing what's going to take place,'' Mizrahi said, adding that she has told her family what songs she wants played at her funeral.

``We live with death every day here,'' she said.

On her shoulders, she said, she carries a ``big bag of sadness.''

``In Israel you learn that life is short,'' said tour guide Gili Hammer, also 22. ``I mean you really learn that life is short.''

One of our most emotionally difficult stops was to Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem. Here, we heard from people injured in suicide bombing attacks and the now-world famous Dr. Avi Rivkind, who treats victims of bombing attacks. He is considered a miracle worker because of his ability to help people who are close to death.

One young patient showed our group the scars on his stomach. What does he want to do now? He wants to enjoy life.

Another woman who was injured in a suicide bombing attack near a bus stop in Jerusalem on April 12, was also a patient of Rivkind.

Gila Weiss, 31, suffered damage to her eardrums and now wears a hearing aid. She also was hit with shrapnel and lost part of an eyelid. She had reconstructive surgery performed on her eye.

Weiss had been out shopping and was waiting for a bus when the explosion occurred.

``All I was thinking was, `Oh, I was in a suicide bombing,rquote'' she said.

While she said she gets nervous once in a while if she is in a coffee shop, for the most part she is the same person that she was before. She said she is trying to return to her life before the attack.

``Now I'm trying to switch from being a victim to being a normal person with a job,'' said Weiss, who works with an accounting firm.

The daily fear has taken its toll, according to Ester Kristoffersen, a psychologist that I met on the steps leading down to the Western Wall in the Old City of Jerusalem. Kristoffersen, who is from Oslo, Norway, was studying the effects of suicide attacks for a research project.

Kristoffersen said she has discovered that post traumatic stress disorder, a psychological illness, is a profound problem for survivors of suicide bombings as well as others in the population.

This illness, which was prevalent among soldiers in Vietnam, is growing to a ``huge level over the population'' she said.

``You cannot count only the dead people (as victims). There are so many others who cannot function anymore,'' she said.

Kristoffersen said one 20-year-old who was injured in the suicide bombing on April 12 shows signs of the disorder. While he was not badly injured physically, he is troubled emotionally.

``This is a very big part of the trauma,'' Kristoffersen said.

The young man can't concentrate on his studies and feels responsible for not stopping the attack. On the day of the bombing he saw the bomber, clothed as a conservative Jewish woman. He noticed that she spoke Arabic to someone and did not walk straight, but instead was wandering erratically. While he thought that was strange he did not think seriously about her behavior. She was just a few steps away from him when the bomb exploded.

Six people died and 70 were injured.

``He thinks it is punishment for him to be alive,'' Kristoffersen said.

The violence has not only altered people's views of the world, it has affected their finances. My guide, Asher Ashkenazi, one of the most popular guides in Israel, said he is lucky to be working. Some guides he knows have not worked in two years.

Still, he is happy for any group that comes. When our group left, he had a lull for a couple weeks and planned to work his other jobs, as a lifeguard and swimming teacher.

One visibly missing group in Israel right now is American tourists. According to a June 17 story on MSNBC, since September of 2000, the number of tourists is down by half, to 1.2 million people a year. Tourism revenues have shrunk proportionately.

I did not see many Americans. Tourist shops that are usually busy were empty.

People I talked to understood why Americans aren't coming. Who would want to come to a country with such violence?

They also thanked me for coming and pointed out: See? Life here isn't that bad.

It wasn't so bad.

I am so glad I went. Not only did I see a beautiful country with fascinating history I saw that a lead story in a newspaper does not tell the whole story. (That's good for a newspaper reporter to keep in mind.)

While it is easy to perceive Israel as a battle zone the reality is that people are not dying every moment. Life still goes on.