An email that stood out.
Although a helpful friend has reduced our computer problems, my email is still a mess. I'm ashamed to admit that I have almost given up on it as a means of communication. However I belatedly spotted a familiar name when doing a mass delete and managed to pull this one out of the group earmarked for deletion. I am very glad I did. "Glad" in a specialised sense of the word; for it adds to the horror of a horrific story.
Alex Bensky writes:
I was living in Israel at the time of the Ma'alot massacre and I remember gathering in the kibbutz lounge along with other stunned and horrified people to watch the outcome on tv. Something was nagging at me while I did, something out of order, and it wasn't until the next day that I figured out what it was.
You could hear the order for the soldiers to assault the building, see them running towards it, and hear the rattle of gunfire. The soldiers weren't firing on the move, lest they hit the children. Although the gunfire was audible none of the soldiers were falling and you couldn't see dirt being kicked up by bullets. The reason was that the terrorists at that moment weren't shooting at the soldiers, but spraying the children with automatic fire, their goal not to stop the troops or defend themselves but kill as many children as they could.
My reaction, as I mentioned to Meryl Yourish recently, shows what a naive and innocent chap I was at that age, because the next morning I thought, "Well, at least now the world will see what Israel is up against and cut it some slack." After all, I thought, the terrorists had deliberately targeted children and gave up an opportunity to kill Israeli soldiers so they could massacre the greatest number of children. Surely this will cause worldwide revulsion.
I believed that. Of course, I also believed in the Tooth Fairy.
posted by Natalie at 10:54 AM
