How One Israeli Family Could Have Become A Statistic

The tale of terror.

"...the big story reminds us of the painful truth that we strive so hard to deny: the Palestinians' culture of jihad, blood and death sucks its strength from our feebleness. The statistics clearly show that whenever 'peace' talks began, the curve of Jewish death and bereavement rose steeply."

"Identification, understanding and empathy – perceived as manifestations of enlightenment in Western culture – are seen by Muslim culture as proof of weakness and flaccidity, and invite another violent outburst."

" And thus did Oslo beget the Intifada, and so did the retreat from Lebanon and the Disengagement lead to the Second Lebanon War and and to the flareup in Gaza, and so, tragically, is the government of Israel now preparing the next explosion."

"We want to immerse ourselves in a fantasy of a new Middle East in which the wolves and the lambs play backgammon together and dip pitas in a common plate of hummous. But reality bites and brings us back down to its hard ground, to the coldness of details and the precision of facts. And the truth is simple: we live in a bad neighborhood, surrounded by real enemies. And if we do not wake up and make our stand we will not be able to survive here."