Sorry to bring down the conversation, but I knew you’d all want to know–and be devastated to know–that there was just a bombing in a mall in Netanya. This is the report from Hatzolah, which Chutzpah forwarded to me:

(6:40 Israel time), a bomb exploded in a Netanya Mall. Initial reports are about 30 wounded and a number of dead. Our prayers go out to the victims of this horrible crime.

The report in Ha’aretz:

At least two people were killed and 30 others wounded Tuesday evening when a suicide bomber blew himself up at the Hasharon mall at the entrance to the coastal town of Netanya.

Reuters news agency reported that Islamic Jihad had released a statement claiming responsibility for the attack, in a telephone call to the agency’s office in the West Bank city of Tul Karm.

According to initial reports, at least three bodies were found at the scene of the bombing, at the main entrance to the mall, including that of a suicide bomber.

And all we can do right now is to continue our prayers for peace.

About the author

Esther Kustanowitz

For more posts by Esther, see EstherK.com, MyUrbanKvetch.com and JDatersAnonymous.com.

22 Comments

  • I’m very close to Netanya, they’re evacuating some of the wounded to the city where I am.

    Having seen the security barrier outside Tulkarem (it’s a high wall with security towers), I’d be interested to know how the bomber made his way to Netanya. I would guess he wasn’t from Tulkarem, but I could be wrong. Anyway, the barrier needs to be finished and secured. Oh, and I’m reading CNN now and it says the Islamic Jihad said the bomber was from Atil.

    I wonder if this has anything to do with the Maccabiah games taking place near Netanya.

    And, of course, another empty condemnation from the PA, who wouldn’t do anything about Islamic terrorism even if it could.

    Blah.

  • I am devasted. It will never end, right! Theu ll just keep killing us. One bomb at a time, huh?!!
    I am lost. Can anyboody help?!

  • client, I wish I had the answers. To say that terrorism makes me sad, depressed and angry is an understatement that isn’t worth saying.

  • A unit of Palestinian militant group Islamic Jihad …

    …the coastal city of Netanya, a frequent target during a Palestinian uprising…

    …Palestinians fear the withdrawal plan will give them tiny, impoverished Gaza, while Israel strengthens its hold on much bigger West Bank settlements.

    © Reuters 2005. All Rights Reserved.

    few days later and all the terrorists are the freedom fighters again.

  • They were only terrorists in London, when the victims aren’t Israelis. Back here, the person who blows up people just getting some shopping done is, at best, a militant, and of course there must be an attempt to explain their rage at those sinister Israeli shoppers. Thanks, Reuters!

  • Tonight I was in the Malcha mall in Jerusalem, my first time shopping in a mall for months. Can’t shake the feeling that it could’ve been me . . . I was standing in line waiting to get into a mall tonight, too . . . .

  • When will Jews understand that until the arabs are thrown out of Israel this will continue
    -and get worse.

  • It may continue, but it will not get worse. It has already gotten much better and will continue to improve, especially once the fence is sealed. Stop giving these murderers what they want: your fear; attention; and especially the ability to dictate our reaction.

  • The fence is porous. I know, I guarded it.

    Tens of thousands of Palestinian workers pass through it everyday to get to work in Israel, most without ‘work visas’. I see them coming home every day as I travel in the same direction.

    client,
    the only way this is solved is when the Jews unite and return to their roots. There will be no reason to kick the Arabs out because they will have known that they lost and can’t beat us. They will simply pick up and leave. In fact, the trickle has already begun. About 10 000 leave every month and don’t come back. Go visit a foreign embassy and see the ratio of Arabs to Israelis, stand at the main exit point on the east side of Jericho. The busses leave full, they come back from the border almost empty.

  • Josh, the fence is porous until the day it’s sealed. How often do people get across the Jordanian border? And that fence is far less sophisticated than this one.

  • When this happens, I go through several scripts in my head. First i think that if Israel would bomb the entire village where this predator came from, that would help. The whole place, the school, kindergardens, wipe off the face of the earth. But this is not done. Would it work? I used to think so, but it becomes not a comfort to speculate.
    Another thought is to consider this tragedy of the victims primarily as if it were an earthquake or a car accident. For the victims, nothing no explanation or discussion will bring any comfort. Perhaps in the future they will create a memorial and well wishers will create a program to memorialize their loved one, this being all of their friends and relatives. THis seems to work well for some people.
    The pain for the onlookers, which is everyone else is different.
    It seems to me that this sort of event will be w/ us for a long time to come. It appears to be fairly exclusive to the Muslim population if I am not mistaken. But it is unfortunately part of a game. There will be retaliation but subdued, relative to my idea expressed at the outset. Others have commented that what is required is the complete destruction of Islam, but this is preposterous. They want the US to bomb Mecca.
    So we are left in a limbo. The easy way is to believe that the response should be on the level I described. But people do find this abhorant, to kill babies like that.

  • i know TM “reaction” to unprovoked murder is unreasonable.What we need is “moral high ground”,followed by ground thats six feet lower.Then you will be “extremely proud” of Israel despicable idiotic inability to protect its own citizens.i mean it sure as hell cant get any worse for those three people in Natanya. As soon as the fence gets less porous they will still be dead.

  • I’m 100 percent certain that wiping out villages would do the job.

  • Can we pray for the Mashiach and kick some major Arab ass at the same time?

    The only thing more disgusting than a suicide bomber, is the governement that sits by and watches, doing nothing.

  • BTW, this did not even make the news here in Seattle. I read Arutz Sheva online every day, as well as Jpost and Haaretz, and that’s when I found out. It’s been a slow news day here, and they’ve mostly been doing reruns of yesterday’s stories, and some “consumer tips”. Couldn’t be bothered with a little middle eastern inconvenience like a bombing.

  • sorry i just dont believe them. i dont believe we can by peace for land. few more jewish lives for few villages? or few months for few sq miles? c’mon this will not stop them. why would it? but we cant just say no and hold to what we ve got. the world wont let us. and dont tell me that we dont need the world. nomads dont need the world – the modern state does. so whichever way we go we r shtuped! it s very hard for me to see a solution brought about by a hand of man. we need some miracle. and while we waiting lets kick some ass!

    btw u know reuter was jewish so it really sad that his name has to sign news like this.

  • “Courtesy of the G8, proud sponsors of Palestinian terrorism.”

  • listen, apparently we jews rule the world including media, right? we re also most prolific nation under the sun – if u dont agree check ck anniversary stats.
    so i say we shud do smth w/ this double standarts in press. i think we shud coin a “better name” fo r suicide bomber and just popularize it.
    i saw debka calling them “suicidal killers” – this is much better but i dont think they deserve to be called suicides. i check wikipedia and they say – According to stricter definitions of suicide, to be considered suicide, the death must be a central component and intention of the act, not just a certain consequence; hence, suicide bombing is considered a kind of bombing rather than a kind of suicide…

    so anybody has a “good name” for them.

  • this is too much to believe…….what has been happening in Israel is like our worst nightmare come true, in a time like this where we are getting ready to mourn the destruction of our holy temple, which was destroyed because of baseless hatred between us, once again we are seeing a repeat of history…..what concerns me is what is left Chas Veshalom to be destroyed……..may Hashem forgive us and send us our salvation TODAY
    we are ONE with GUSH KATIF