Helen Freedman is Executive Director, Americans For A Safe Israel/AFSI. She co-hosts, along with Charlie Bernhaut, a Manhattan Cable TV show every Monday night at 8:30 P.M. entitled "Israel Update." Helen Freedman can be reached at afsi@rcn.com.
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Another example of "normal" in Israel was illustrated in my visit to the home of good friends, Ora and David Wilder, at Beit Hadassah in Hebron. Their lovely third floor apartment might just as well be underground since it barely sees the light of day. Every window but one is completely sandbagged from top to bottom against the daily threats of Arab sniper bullets coming from the hills that loom over the apartment complex both in front and in back. This doesn't deter David from going about his daily activities as spokesman for the Hebron community. Nor does it prevent Ora from carrying on with her work, raising their seven children, two of whom barely escaped bullets shot into the apartment before the sandbag level was raised to the very top of the windows. My reaction was to suggest to the Wilders that Prime Minister Sharon and his cabinet be invited to view the apartment. It says it all. All the dancing around the subject of Arafat's "relevance" becomes irrelevant when one sees how Israel fails to protect its citizens from being human targets. The war the Arabs are waging against that community has become the norm, and it is not stopped. I am at a loss to understand why.

However, true normalcy does exist. A visit to the Ulpana Girls Academy of Kiryat Arba, guided by Rabbi Avraham Groff, director of development, showed us a fully functioning school where 500 students compete for and earn the Education Achievement award. The award is given to the school that has the highest percentage of earned high school matriculation certificates and the lowest dropout rate in the country. This would be something to be proud of under any circumstances, but certainly, the staff and students of the Ulpana, working under stressful conditions, deserve a special commendation for their achievement.

David Wilder gave us a special treat in introducing us to Neve Abraham, a Regional Child Development Treatment Center created by his mother-in-law, Chaviva Tzachor. She responded to the need for a local facility that would provide all the varied services required for children, from newborn to 12 years, who have developmental disabilities. As the Center approaches its bar-mitzvah year, 13, it is proud of the over 1200 graduates whose difficulties have been alleviated through the loving and devoted work of Chaviva, Ora, and the professional staff.

The picture of true normalcy in Israel is underscored by so many of the lovely activities in which I took part during my December 2001 visit. Shortly after I arrived in the country, on a gloriously sunny day, I was walking on the beach in Tel Aviv, admiring the surfers, children playing in the sand, and a few walkers like me. How tranquil and beautiful was the moment! As we lit the Chanukah menorah that night, joining the millions in Israel who were doing the same thing, one couldn't help but reflect on the victory of the few righteous Maccabees over the might of the Syrian Greek army. Surely it is time for the righteous to prevail in Israel today.

In Jerusalem the next day, we visited the Israel Museum to be treated to a remarkable display by a troupe of Chinese acrobats. The audience was made up of hundreds of families, bringing their vacationing school children to view the amazing talents of the acrobats. I understood their need to participate in such a normal activity. This need enabled them to overcome any fears of coming to such a public place, with this large crowd, and to take a chance that the morning would not be marred by a Ben Yehuda or Sbarro-style terrorist attack. Happily, all went well, and following the performance there was a tempting feast of kosher Chinese foods, laid out beautifully in a specially erected tent.

Shabbat in Jerusalem brought the normal rush of an early winter Kabbalat Shabbat. This time it also meant lighting the Chanukah candles. The glow from all the windows was heartwarming. Saturday meant synagogue, study, lunch with friends, seudah shleesheet with other friends, and walking happily through the Jerusalem streets admiring the beautiful neighborhoods.

That evening we were off to a concert at the Inbal Hotel. It was called, "A Festival of Lights - A Chanukah Celebration for the heroes who make Jerusalem great." It had originally been dedicated to eight unique individuals whose contribution to life in Jerusalem was outstanding. But the bandleader, Aaron Razel, took the microphone and extended the dedication to all the victims of the most recent terrorist attacks. The sober note of reality was struck, but then the music started and it took only a few moments for the boys and girls in the audience to begin dancing joyously. I sat near the boys' section and tears filled my eyes as I watched the rapturous dancers, many with tallit fringes flying, some carrying small children on their shoulders, moving rhythmically with the music. There was no projection of fear anywhere in the auditorium. Life was continuing - normally.

Our two-day trip through the Negev began Sunday morning when we joined Stephanie Dishal's Mei Mabuah group. It was my first experience actually staying and hiking through the Negev, and I was overcome by the majesty of it all. This is Israel's version of the American Southwest and it is magnificent. We visited the Midreshet Ben Gurion Solar Energy Center. Then on to Avdat National Park, Mitzpe Ramon, and Makhtesh Ramon, Israel's Grand Canyon. We rose early to watch the sunrise, saw the sunsets, hiked in the crater, marveled at the multicolored mountains, and had a thoroughly wonderful experience soaking in the Negev magic of solitude and serenity. Was this the normal Negev experience? We heard rumors of Bedouin-related problems, but nothing happened to destroy the illusion of peace.

Back in Jerusalem the rains came, as is normal in Israel's winter, and although people shivered and ran for cover, everyone was thankful that the Kinneret might benefit. That evening I attended a very lovely reception for the Ambassador from El Salvador who explained his country's reason for being one of two countries, along with Costa Rica, that has kept its embassy in Jerusalem. His country believes that a sovereign nation like Israel has the right to choose its capital city. He explained that if Rehovot were declared the capital, they would place their embassy there. Since the capital is Jerusalem, El Salvador's embassy must be in Jerusalem. It all seemed so logical. Why wouldn't any unbiased country see it the same way? Why shouldn't the United States, which constantly professes its friendship with Israel, honor its own 1995 Jerusalem Embassy Act and move the U.S. embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem? Why does the Israeli government recognize the embassies that are located in Tel-Aviv? Only in Israel is it "normal" to have foreign countries question Israel's right to determine its own capital city.

A dear friend had asked me to visit the Alyn Hospital in Jerusalem, a pediatric and adolescent rehabilitation center. Like Neve Abraham in Hebron, it's one of the unique service-providing institutions that function regardless of the terrorist tensions swirling around. Arab patients are treated here along with Jews. The hospital is too remarkable to describe adequately here. Suffice it to say that one of its residents, who has been there for twelve years, is confined to a wheelchair, dependent on a ventilator to breathe, and has no control over his muscles from the neck down, is now a student at the Bezalel School of Arts and Design. Introduced to art at Alyn five years ago, Shlomo Amuyel holds a paintbrush in his mouth, and executes paintings that won him admission to Bezalel without the admission committee knowing about his handicaps. There's nothing "normal" here. Everything is miraculous.

A visit to the Kotel, the Western Wall, is mandatory when in Jerusalem. I was surprised to see that the plaza was quite empty, and there were very few people at the Wall. Were these the new "normal" conditions for what had once been a bustling, crowded area? I took the opportunity to get close to the ancient stones, to say my prayers, and to place my little scraps of paper in the crevices. My next stop was a visit to Yossi Baumol, director of Ateret Cohanim, whose office is inside the Old City. At the entrance I was stopped by security guards and realized that it is "normal" for Jewish schools, homes and offices in the Old City to be targets of terrorism, requiring security precautions. After passing inspection, I met with Yossi and learned about the organization's progress in buying property and bringing as many Jewish families into the Old City as possible. It's an admirable and critically important task they perform on a routine, daily basis, disregarding the obvious dangers.

Being so close to the Temple Mount, I couldn't resist visiting the new Ophel Archaeological Garden and Museum just to the right of the opening to the plaza leading to the Dung Gate. The restorations of materials that trace the history of the Temple Mount are awe-inspiring. There are also brief films within the small museum that help to explain the influences of the Roman, Byzantine, Early Muslim, Crusader, Mamluk and Ottoman periods on the Temple Mount area following the destruction of the Second Temple. At this crucial time in the history of the Mount, we tremble to think of the damage that is being done on a daily basis to the archaeological treasures contained within the area as we watch the Arab excavations continue unabated. Despite the pleas and petitions of learned professors and archeologists to the Israeli government to stop the desecration by the Arabs, there seems little will on the part of the Israeli officials to act. Is it "normal" for a sovereign nation to be so servile in the face of threats and demonstrations that its holiest site is threatened with destruction?

Another Shabbat was arriving, this time requiring a bus trip to Tel-Aviv. We joined the Friday morning travelers at the modern Central Bus Station who seemed accustomed to the additional security of having one's luggage scanned, as in an airport, when boarding a bus. This is just another "normal" activity for Israeli travelers.

Lots of Shabbat pleasure marked the weekend. There was wonderful hospitality at the beautiful home of our very gracious hostess. There was lots of good learning, good company, good food, lovely walks on the beach, warm sunshine, and compelling conversation. The next day, as we walked along the Tel-Aviv promenade, my friend pointed out the location of the Dolphinarium, the disco where so many young Israeli lives were lost and maimed in a deadly suicide bombing. Directly across the street was a beautifully restored mosque. I cringed at the thought that the bomber might have taken safe haven there, waiting for the right moment to attack. Israel is so proud of its "democracy." It will tolerate the enemy in its midst even if it means death and destruction to its citizens. Is this "normal?"

The tug of Jerusalem took hold and we were back on Monday for shopping on Ben Yehuda. All signs of the Dec. 3 suicide bombing had just about disappeared as workmen completed repairs to the street. Pedestrians were following their normal routines, paying slight attention to the repair work and its meaning. Shopkeepers were manning their stores. Life continued. People were there. Terrorist acts were not barricading people in their homes.

A visit to Yeshivat Beit Orot in Jewish east Jerusalem, on the Mount of Olives, was a must for me. As the beacon of light in east Jerusalem, the efforts of founder Tourism Minister Rabbi Benny Elon and director, Chaim Silberstein and his staff, are singularly important. They, along with Dr. Henry Moskowitz, are restoring Jewish presence by planning Jewish neighborhoods in historic, biblical Jerusalem. Beit Orot, Ir David, Nachalat Shimon, Shimon HaTzaddik and Maaleh HaZeitim are the major building projects. They will bring thousands of Jewish residents back into Jewish east Jerusalem to reclaim the land that had belonged to Jews before 1948, and to encourage Arab squatter families to leave. It was heartwarming to see the energy and determination in the planning. Despite the fact that it is "normal" for Beit Orot to get firebombed on a regular basis, with the government doing nothing to stop the attackers, and it is "normal" for armed guards to stand at the entrance, the developers of Jewish east Jerusalem remain undaunted.

And so we come full circle to where I began. Israel is a beautiful, wonderful, enchanting country, with marvelous people, determined to go on with their lives in as normal a way as possible. The problem is that much that is "normal" in Israel would be totally abnormal anywhere else. September 11 occurred in the United States, permanently shattering America's normalcy. The attack on the Twin Towers taught Americans the nature of the terrorism that has threatened Israel for years. President Bush has taken the normal and correct path, rallying Americans to fight not only the terrorists, but also those who support terrorism. Israel must follow the same path. There are no longer any self-delusions possible about Arafat. He is an unrepentant terrorist who supports the worst kind of terrorism in his constantly repeated goal to destroy all of Israel. Is it "normal" to consider any kind of continued talk of concessions? Is it "normal" to offer a "Palestinian" state to this self-proclaimed enemy of Israel? Is it "normal" to speak of the giveaway of Jewish land to someone who will create an enemy state on that land? All of this is blasphemous and perfidious.

Prime Minister Sharon must take this opportunity, at this moment in time, to save Israel from its enemies. He must follow America's example in rooting out the enemy and his forces and destroying them. Nothing less is acceptable.

Views expressed by the author do not necessarily reflect those of israelinsider.

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