I was reading the Jerusalem Post online edition today; what I found makes me realize I should have made this paper a daily read. A new feature, begun September 3, is a blog, updated daily, circumstances allowing, of the Deputy Managing Editor of the paper who is on miluim (reserve duty). Today's entry, to which I am linking, is fascinating. I haven't had time yet to go through his other entries (listed at the bottom of the last page) but I do plan to try and catch him daily.
I am just going to include a short quote from the article here, in case you haven't already gone over there and read the article.
A few minutes later, a taxi arrived with two men sitting inside and a large cardboard box on the back seat. "What's this?" "His child died in the hospital and we're taking it back to its mother," the driver explained. "But what's in the box?" "The child." I waved him on quickly. Afterwards, we speculated that it could have been a trick and something else could have been inside. But none of us said that we would have been willing to open and inspect the box.
Imagine having to make a decision like that; open the box and expose a pain that cuts deep into the soul of any parent. Allow it to go on and speculate, as they did, that it was something else. Do you check or not check? I can't imagine having to make that type of decision; one that could affect hundreds of lives.
Those men and women at the checkpoints are brave beyond belief. Any one of those trying to enter could have very evil intentions; they may also simply want to go into the city to shop. They don't wish to harm or disrespect or cause pain to tthose who want to enter; they also don't want to die, or to learn that if only they had looked or inspected more carefully, that car, that man or woman or child who seemed to have such a pressing need, lives would have been saved.
Kudos to them for being there.
Posted by Rachel Ann at September 19, 2004 10:08 PM