Jewish World Outraged by Recent Hebron Shootings

The Jewish world was outraged and saddened by the recent violence in the town of Hebron, in which an Israeli soldier opened fire on shoppers at the Palestinian market. We wish a complete and speedy recovery to all those injured in the attack.

We reiterate our unequivocal condemnation of violence and terrorism, particularly when it is designed to destroy the fragile trust that is being established between the Israelis and Palestinians. Although the perpetrator has a history of mental illness, we agree with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's condemnation of the attack as "criminal." Furthermore, such violence is diametrically opposed to everything for which the Jewish tradition stands. In the words of Education and Culture Minister Zevulun Hammer of the National Religious Party, "a person who thinks they have the right to kill someone in order to supposedly change history has no part in the Torah of Israel."

Additionally, we applaud the efforts of both Israeli and Palestinian forces to arrest the attacker and to prevent a potentially explosive situation from escalating. It is upon this sort of cooperation that peace can be built.

The attacker intended to sabotage efforts by Israeli and Palestinian officials to resolve disagreements about the control of Hebron. We have faith that this most recent terrorist act will not delay conclusion of these negotiations. And we hope and pray that Israelis and Palestinians will build on these agreements and make the dream of peace a reality, speedily and in our time. --David Andorsky '97, chair,   Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel;   Adam Kleinbaum '98, chair-elect,   Harvard-Radcliffe Hillel;   Yuval Segal '97, co-chair,   Harvard Students for Israel