Saturday, July 23, 2011

Norway and Israel's Island of Peace Massacre

I went to sleep last night and woke up this morning seeing black, after reading about the bomb explosion in the Norwegian government building and the island shooting attack, which together left at least 92 people dead.

Many of us in Israel have personally experienced terror of this kind, and just reading about this attack in distant Scandinavia brought out all my repressed anger and deep-seated concern for the welfare of my own children.

What immediately came to mind was the 1997 Island of Peace Massacre, in which a Jordanian soldier opened fire on a group of Israeli school children who had come to visit an Israeli-Jordanian park at the confluence of the Jordan and Yarmouk Rivers. Seven 11-year-old girls were murdered in the incident.

Of all the countries in Europe, perhaps Norway is least friendly to Israel. There are even those who belong to Norway's Socialist Left Party, the junior partner in the Norwegian government, who have called for military action against Israel is it acts against Hamas, notwithstanding the incessant targeting of Israeli civilian targets by Hamas (see: http://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2011/03/norwegian-socialists-to-vote-on-bombing-israel/). Perhaps this senseless act of terror in Norway will lead to better understanding of the constant threat of terror with which Israel lives.

My deepest condolences to the people of Norway, particularly to those who have lost loved ones.

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