The entire country is in need of mercy

Nicole Gouch
Period 5


Citation:
‘The entire country is in need of mercy’
Jerusalem Post
3/7/2008
http://www.unitedjerusalem.com/index2.asp?id=1041948



Summary:
On the night of March 6, 2008, eight people were killed in a terror attack in Jerusalem. The next morning, thousands of people gathered to talk about the event. A rabbi spoke and said that the terrorists did this in remembrance of the 1929 Hebron Massacre. During this massacre, many Jews were killed by Arabs. He says that the tension from this massacre has been going on for too long, and it’s time for the people to change, and for the city to have stronger leadership. He says the country needs mercy and prayers. Another rabbi spoke next and said that this mourning was for more than just the families of the victims. It was for all the people of Israel. Finally, the mayor of Jerusalem spoke. He says that their enemies have been trying to destroy them for years. He believes that the murderers weren’t targeting only the eight people they killed, but rather the entire city of Jerusalem.

Reactions:
-This article relates to the theme of ‘Development and transformation of social structures’ because there is a lot of religious and cultural tension between different groups of people.
-This article talks about the 1929 Hebron Massacre. This was a mass murder of Jews. It was done by the Arabs, because of false rumors that Jews were massacring Arabs in Jerusalem, and that they were trying to seize control of Muslim holy places. The survivors were forced to leave the city and had their property taken by Arabs. This event had a deep impact on the Jewish community.
-This article was written by the staff of the Jerusalem Post, so they are most likely from Jerusalem.
- The author’s point of view impacts the way the issue was reported. Since the people who were murdered are from the same country as the writers of this article, they have more sympathy for the victims than the killers. They tried to emphasize the fact that this was a terror attack, and how much it hurt the entire city of Jerusalem.
-A point of view missing from this article is from a family member of one of the murder victims. After seeing how bad the mayor and rabbis feel about this, it’s hard to imagine how bad a family member or close friend would feel about it. Another point of view missing is from one of the murderers, or at least someone of the same nationality as them. We could see what their reason for killing was, and if it was because of the massacre, like the rabbi thinks it is.
- I think this article was written very well, and it really gets through the fact that this event hurt the entire city of Jerusalem, not just the families and friends of the victims. It shows how serious racism is and how badly it is affecting peoples’ lives. Things need to change, because events like this are happening all the time and it can’t afford to get any worse.