Dori Bisk: In Israel, We Just Keep Walking
‘I just hate terrorist attacks’ the thin nurse says to the older one ‘Want some gum?’
In a single sentence, legendary Etgar Keret manages to depict life in Israel.
If you grew up here, or have lived here long enough, chances are you know someone, or are close with, a person who has faced an attack.
I know three such people.
An ex-boyfriends’ sister, whose body was identified by the engagement ring on her finger, a mere month after she married.
A childhood friend blown to bits and pieces on a beach in Sinai in front of his European girlfriend.
A co-worker who happened to be at the same beach and survived, but was physically and emotionally scarred for life.
Two nights ago, an armed gunman walked into a popular Tel-Aviv bar, spraying bullets in every direction. Three young beautiful men in their late twenties, were killed. Many more were injured. In what’s beginning to feel catastrophically like a domino effect, this is the fourth attack in the past couple of weeks.
It’s been a while since we have seen so much blood shed on our streets.
This morning, I went for a long leisurely walk on the beach.
Like on any given sunny Saturday, the boardwalk was full of people.
Older couples out for a stroll.
Children on skateboards.
Young couples pushing strollers and chasing their toddlers.
Teenagers on bikes.
People walking their dogs.
People out for a run.
People sitting on a bench and catching some sun.
As I am writing this on my friend’s balcony, overlooking the Mediterranean, a beautiful husky is barking furiously at a snowwhite cat down below.
She stares him down, refusing to budge.
Angrily, he keeps barking.
Safe in some strong internal indescribable knowledge, she stands her ground.
Finally, he gives up and runs off.
The people of Israel are not disillusioned.
We don’t believe in a utopian magical world where terror ceases to exist, and we all live happily ever after.
But we also refuse to give in.
We will keep going to the beach and enjoy the sun.
Not because we’re heroes.
But because we don’t have a choice.
We know, perhaps more than anyone, how fleeting life can be.
We all hate terrorist attacks
But we keep walking.
