Meirav was two

Originally published on May 5, 2004

Meirav was two

This is Rebecca. She is two years old. I see her frequently, usually every Thursday. Sarah and the twins and I run errands in the morning and have lunch in the afternoon. This picture was taken at one of our favorite spots in the West End of Richmond.

There are a few more pictures of Rebecca sprinkled throughout this weblog.

Meirav was two. She and Rebecca have something in common. They’re both Jewish. Meirav lived in a town in the Gaza Strip with her three sisters. Rebecca lives here in central Virginia with her three brothers. Rebecca giggles a lot, and dances a lot. I’ll bet that Meirav giggled and danced, too.

Meirav was two. She was killed by palestinian terrorists while strapped in her carseat in the back of her mother’s car. Meirav’s body was riddled with bullets. The terrorists shot Meirav, her nine-months-pregnant mother, and her three sisters at close range. Then they ran up to the car and shot each of them in the head—to make certain they were dead.

Meirav was two. She is dead because she was a Jew who dared to live in “palestinian land.” Amnesty International has condemned the murders. The United Nations has not. This lukewarm statement by the president of the EU sounds like it was written by Yasser Arafat’s speechwriter.

“The killing of children does not serve any legitimate cause and degrades any purpose which it purports to advance,” said Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen, speaking for the 25-nation bloc.

Meirav was two. Her father has lost his wife, four daughters, and the son he and his wife were going to welcome this month.

When Hatuel heard of the attack, he left the school and headed for home. When he arrived at the Yad Mordechai junction, his father-in-law, Shlomo Malka, stopped him and told him the horrible news. Hatuel was unable to speak since he heard of the attack, and the grandfather kept crying, “Tehila, Hadar, Roni, Meirav, where are you?”

Meirav was two. PA radio hailed her murderers as “heroic martyrs.”

Meirav was two. The palestinians celebrated throughout Gaza and the West Bank. Worse still, the murderers brought a video camera and recorded the deaths of the mother and children.

This is why I loathe them. This is why I don’t believe they want peace. This is why I have slowly but surely lost any sympathy I once had for the palestinians.

Rebecca is two. She is Jewish. If she were living in Gaza or the West Bank, she would be considered a legitimate target by the palestinians.

Meirav was two.