Editorial: Tell it to the orphans

turned out to be Kiryat Arba. Four people shot and injured. Then three

dead, CPR in progress on a fourth. Then four dead, one a pregnant

woman. More than half a dozen new orphans, and then the detail that could have

pushed anyone over the edge: the ZAKA volunteer who responded to the

scene to ensure the respectful burial of the dead, and discovered that

his wife was among the victims. Chills and tears revisit as the words

are typed.

Hebron spokesman David Wilder called  the attack “pure, unadulterated

barbarity” — an understatement considering that after shooting the car

the terrorists fired again at close range just to make sure the four

were dead. Wilder asked: “You know what it’s like to inform ten kids

that their parents aren’t coming home anymore, that they were killed

by terrorists an hour ago?”

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on his way to

Washington for “peace talks.” Various groups urged him to turn his

plane around and return to Israel, canceling his planned direct

negotiations with the powerless, duplicitous Palestinian president.

In the post-9-11 spirit of “Don’t let the terrorists win” we find it

difficult to say cancel peace talks, even over this tragedy. Why give

these cruel killers power over any event beyond the ones they create?

The real problem with these talks is how they were a fool’s errand to

begin with. How do you enter into serious negotiations with someone

who demonstrates — through his Arabic comments, through his failure to

rein in terrorism or anti-Israel school curricula, by honoring

terrorists with street signs — that he is not a true partner?

Why bother? Politics, US pressure and world opinion all factor into

the answer, of course.

These are terrible decisions that Israel’s leaders have to make.

Sitting in the seat of power, being pressured by the White House,

certainly means seeing a different view than the rest of us. As we

edge closer to Rosh Hashanah, day by day, we pray that G-d gives

Netanyahu and his advisers the guidance and wisdom they’ll need to

make the best decisions.