THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 5, 1996 TAG: 9603050188
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY PAUL CLANCY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 141 lines
In a joyful mood on a terrible Monday, children from local Hebrew congregations paraded in costumes and twirled noisemakers to frighten off wicked enemies.
At Temple Beth El in Norfolk, dozens of youngsters, dressed as princesses and beggars, pirates and clowns, witches and ballerinas, paraded on stage and sang funny songs.
Like those in synagogues around the world, they sang of joy in the face of unutterable sadness as earlier in the day another terrorist bomber struck Israel, this time in Tel Aviv.
The attack coincided with Purim, the observance of the deliverance of the Jews of ancient Persia from a plot to slaughter them.
``They can't stop our holidays, they can't stop our children and they can't stop the state of Israel,'' Rabbi Arthur Ruberg told his congregation.
Around the world, many celebrations were muted or canceled, but not Temple Beth El's.
``We will not be deterred from this celebration,'' said Ruberg, who is chairman of the Hampton Roads Board of Rabbis.
``This is not the first time that Jews have had to celebrate in the face of oppression,'' he said. ``It's the Jewish peoples' way of saying this has happened before, that there have been intractable enemies who have set out to kill innocent Jewish people, but what we are saying is that we will not be stopped. We will make every effort to rejoice.''
Still, hearts were heavy among Jews and Palestinians in the region.
``We're distraught,'' said Betsy Karotkin, director of human resource development at the United Jewish Federation of Tidewater. ``It's hard for us to function in this situation. Our hearts are with the Israelis.''
Said Rabbi Israel Zoberman of Congregation Beth Chaverim, in Virginia Beach, ``It's very hard to celebrate when there are those who are determined to turn our celebration into a nightmare.''
He said he believes that Israelis and Palestinians will realize that the bond already created between them ought to be fortified because so much is at stake.
``In the midst of suffering and agony without measure, we have to remember to hold onto the spark of hope because those who have perpetrated these ghastly crimes will accomplish their goal if we give up on the goal of shalom for all the Middle East,'' Zoberman said.
Karotkin said the bombings ``must be just as devastating to most Palestinians who are just as anxious for peace and progress as are the Israelis.''
Ali Abed, a Palestinian who teaches in Newport News, voiced concern that the bombings would halt the peace process and ``invite more horror'' for Palestinians.
Ahmed Noor, director of the Hampton Branch of the Foundation for Islamic Knowledge, stressed, ``The sanctity of life is one of the fundamental principles of Islam. There is no believer in the principles of Islam that can justify in any way the killing of innocent civilians.''
``I certainly hope that people will not act on their emotions, but look at their long-term interests. I think there are rational people who will go above the emotions that surround tragedies like this.''
Even so, there was little doubt that Israeli reaction would be swift. Or that terrorist actions would continue.
``The difficulty is trying to figure out which of these bombings will be the straw that breaks the camel's back,'' said Steve Yetiv, an Israeli native and Middle East expert at Old Dominion University.
``The greater the number of these attacks, the more likely the peace process will falter,'' he said. But he added, ``At a time of tragedy like this, I think it's important not to make any sweeping predictions. Indeed, Israel has suffered many such tragedies, but the peace process has proved resilient.''
Hopes for peace were also tempered with feelings that swift action must be taken to halt terrorist acts.
``We feel desperately for our brothers and sisters in Israel right now and we support whatever Israel feels is necessary to deal with this situation,'' said Joel Rubin, chairman of the Community Relations Council of the United Jewish Federation.
Purim, Rabbi Lawrence A. Forman said, is a ``topsy-turvy holiday'' that ``turns bigotry and oppression and prejudice away and bids each one of us, whether we're Jewish or Persian or American, to see how ridiculous it is.''
``Every Jewish holiday has an underlying ethical, universal theme that applies to all people. Purim is a celebration where goodness and decency and human love triumph. We need to carry that message with us all the time in our hearts.'' MEMO: CHRONOLGY
1947: United Nations partitions Palestine into Jewish and Arab
independent states, with the city of Jerusalem included in a zone of
internationally administered territory. The plan is rejected by the
Palestinians.
1948: Jewish settlers in Palestine declare the foundation of the state
of Israel. In a subsequent war with its Arab neighbors, Israel annexes
territory set aside for the Arab Palestinian state, leaving only East
Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza Strip in Arab hands.
1950: Jordan annexes the West Bank and East Jerusalem.
1964: The Palestine Liberation Organization is formed ``to mobilize the
Palestinian people to recover their usurped homes.''
1967: Israel launches pre-emptive strikes on Egypt, Jordan and Syria,
capturing the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, and driving thousands
of Palestinian refugees out of what became known as the occupied
territories. Israel also takes the Sinai and the Golan Heights.
1973: Egypt and Syria attack Israeli forces in the inconclusive Yom
Kippur War in the Sinai and Golan.
1978: Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Begin sign the U.S.-brokered Camp David accords backing limited
autonomy for Palestinians in the occupied territories. PLO rejects the
pact.
1979: Sadat and Begin sign an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty. Israel
returns the Sinai to Egypt but keeps the Gaza Strip.
1982-83: Israel invades Lebanon in a bid to eradicate PLO guerrillas
based there.
1987: Rioting in the Gaza Strip heralds the beginning of the intifadeh,
a prolonged Palestinian uprising against Israeli rule in the occupied
territories.
1993: PLO leader Yasser Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin
reach a landmark accord providing for interim, limited Palestinian
self-rule in the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
1994: Israel and Jordan sign a treaty ending 46 years of war and
mistrust.
1995: Rabin is assassinated by a Jewish religious extremist.
1996: Four suicide bombings in nine days kill at least 60 people in
Israel. The militant Muslim group Hamas claims responsibility. Prime
Minister Shimon Peres declares war on Hamas and suspends peace talks
with Syria.
Compiled by Bill Sizemore
ILLUSTRATION: RICHARD L. DUNSTON
The Virginian-Pilot
Lauren Amy Preiser, 5, was one of dozens of youngsters who
celebrated Purim on Monday at Beth El Temple in Norfolk. She and her
father, Jonathan Preiser, are from Chesapeake.
by CNB