More than 50 were injured and one woman — a British citizen — was killed by a bomb placed outside an Israeli bus station next to the International Convention Center in central Jerusalem yesterday. According to the Haaretz article, the bomb was hidden in a small bag situated next to a telephone pole; the victims were evacuated to the Hadassah Hospital. (Mention of the hospital brings back memories. My mom devoted her philanthropic efforts to that hospital while I was growing up.)
Giulio Meotti calls the bombing “a chilling reminder to us all.” A reminder of what? It is “a reminder to all of us that in the eyes of Islamists and terrorists, Israel itself is just one big settlement. The conflict is about Israel’s existence, not its size.” Thank you, Mr. Meotti.
The bombing occurred just hours after Gaza militants fired two Grad-type Katyusha rockets at the southern city of Be’er Sheva and a barrage of mortar shells on the western Negev and the Israeli retaliation against Hamas targets in Gaza on Thursday. Ynet News has a good account of these attacks. The tempo of operations against Israel appears to be picking up. Take a look at the weapons bound for Gaza from Iran intercepted by the Israeli Navy last week. (More here and here.)
Which side are we on? President Obama’s statement of condemnation is an antiseptic formulation divorced from the context of the war against Israel. Jennifer Rubin calls Obama’s statement a tour de force — “a tour de force of moral equivalence.” Obama’s statement is a chilling reminder all its own.
UPDATE: Reader Jeff James insists that I add Jeffrey Goldberg’s concise message to Reuters on its coverage of the bombing: “Dear Reuters, You must be kidding.”
JOHN adds: Lest our readers not follow the link, this is the Reuters outrage to which Goldberg refers:
Police said it was a “terrorist attack” — Israel’s term for a Palestinian strike. It was the first time Jerusalem had been hit by such a bomb since 2004.
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