Like many other Americans who awoke Tuesday morning to the news of terrorist attacks in New York, Washington, D.C., and western Pennsylvania, Chronicle staff struggled to continue work while calling friends and family in New York to ensure that they were okay. Members of the staff who have lived in Israel felt a terrible sense of deja vu as feelings of helplessness and outrage alternated. Anticipation at concluding weeks of preparation for this special Rosh HaShanah issue turned quickly into somber reflection on the loss of life.
It is difficult to refrain from jumping to suspicions about who committed the attacks, but we must do so and wait for credible evidence. Yes, this was obviously a deliberate attack; three airplane crashes in one morning into significant structures — the two World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon — were a nearly incredible feat of sophisticated planning. Yes, today suicide bombing is a favorite tactic of Arab and Muslim terror groups, and the people who commandeered those airplanes clearly were willing to kill themselves to harm others.
But in the name of justice, we must remember: Not all Muslims and Arabs are terrorists; and plenty of people other than Arabs and Muslims, abroad and at home, have been and today may be willing to sacrifice themselves to harm those they believe are enemies.
Nevertheless, there are some things we can say. First, our fellow American citizens have paid an horrific price to reach perhaps a deeper understanding of and empathy with what other citizens of the world, including Israelis, have had to live with for decades. We hope Americans will respond as Israelis have — by continuing normal life and refusing to allow the perpetrators the satisfaction of making us afraid.
Second, though normal life should not be curtailed unnecessarily, American citizens can no longer ignore the reality that we are vulnerable to terrorism. Security in public places, especially airports, will have to be tightened. That will inconvenience many of us and curtail some of the freedoms we have enjoyed and are so proud of. But as Israelis well know, one of the highest forms of freedom is the recognition that some rights must be given up to protect it.
Third, we must do whatever we can for the surviving victims and the families and friends of those who died, to help heal their physical and psychological wounds by giving blood, money, statements of support through prayer or otherwise. Our thoughts are with them at this hour and will be when we go to worship services at what probably will be the saddest Rosh HaShanah the American Jewish community has known in a very long time.
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