Opinion

3 times in 3 months. Why did this happen?

Posted

How could this happen yet again? We know the answer — we are Jews, that’s why it happened. That’s the sole reason terror attacks happen in Israel.

The Dee sisters — Maia, 20, and Rina, 15 — murdered with their mother Lucy enroute to a Pesach celebration with extended family, is the third set of siblings lost in a terror attack within the last three months. Twenty bullet casings were found near their car.

We have been fighting for peace for a very long time.

All we want to do is live our lives peacefully, without having to fear that our brothers and sisters in Israel are being killed. I guess that’s too much to ask for, but it is not something that we are going to stop doing. No one should be killed based on the fact that they are Jewish.

In February, the Paley brothers — Yaakov Yisrael, 6, and Asher Menahem, 8 — were slain while traveling home for Shabbos. As they were waiting at a bus stop with their father, one of the boys was instantly killed while his brother and father were injured. These children will never have the opportunities of going to school, of seeing their friends and family again, of becoming bar mitzvah, of growing up and getting married and having families of their own — all because someone decided to kill them.

Two weeks later, the Yaniv brothers — Yagel, 19, and Hallel, 21 — were murdered at the Einabus Junction near the village of Huwara, while driving on Highway 60.

Each terror attack — on the Paley brothers, on the Yaniv brothers, and on the Dee sisters — pained all of us. Each of the three sets of siblings were traveling in Israel when they were killed. Whether they were heading home for Shabbos, anticipating a vacation or just making it through a regular day, no one should die this way, and no one should suffer learning that a loved one will not come home.

Enough! These attacks must stop. We need to do something about them, and staying silent is NOT an option.

Whether it’s posting on social media, speaking with friends and colleagues, reaching out to news outlets and writing a column — no matter what, awareness and education on this topic needs to be told. Speak up!

Do something and take action. Attend pro-Israel events. Show your support in anyway that you can. Prevent antisemitism from spreading.

It’s time to fight back. Staying silent proves nothing other than we are okay with this happening, which is far from the truth.