Posted on Wed, Aug. 07, 2002
'No other place I would
rather be,' terror victim wrote
BY MARLA BENNETT
Special to The Jewish Star Times
The following column was written by Marla Bennett, the San Diego woman who was one of the victims of the July 31 terrorist attack at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. She wrote this piece in May for the Avi Chai Bookshelf, a project for participants of Birthright Israel.
Each morning when I leave my apartment building, I have an important question to contemplate: Should I turn left or should I turn right?
This question may seem inconsequential, but the events of the past few months in Israel have led me to believe that each small decision I make -- by which route to walk to school, whether or not to go out to dinner -- may have life-threatening consequences.
I have been living in Israel for a year and a half; I arrived just a month before the current wave of violence and horror began. And for about that same period of time, I have been receiving calls each week from various friends and family members who subtly, or less than subtly, suggest I think about coming home.
My friends and family talk about how dangerous it is here, and I have to agree with them. It is dangerous.
But I remain unconvinced that the rest of the world is such a safe place.
At least if I am here I can take an active role in attempting to put back together all that has broken. I can volunteer in the homes of Israelis affected by terrorism, I can put food in collection baskets for Palestinian families, I can see what goes on with my own eyes, instead of with the eyes of CNN.
Beyond all of the brutality, in most places in Israel, life goes on.
During Pesach, while terror attacks within Israel were a nearly daily occurrence, an acquaintance of mine pointed out that though she does not always feel safe going out to public places in Jerusalem, she still feels safe to walk alone on the streets at one in the morning. I question which way I will walk to school in the morning, but I too feel secure walking the streets of Jerusalem alone at night, even the small side streets I frequent now to avoid the popular thoroughfares. I never felt safe enough to do that while I lived in the United States.
Friends and family in are right when they call and ask me to come home because it is dangerous. I appreciate their concern, but there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be right now.
I have a front-row seat for the history of the Jewish people. I am a part of the struggle for Israel's survival.
This piece was distributed
in partnership with Jewish Family & Life ( www.jflmedia.com).