If We Don't Remember, Who Will?
By Toni Thrasher
Submitted to a newspaper in my town
Today marks the second year and eleventh month since the horrific bombing at Sbarro Pizza in Jerusalem that left fifteen people dead. On August 9, 2001, a hot summer day, a suicide bomber from Nablus walked into Sbarro Pizza at about 2:00 p.m. with a guitar case full of explosives. A short time later, he detonated himself, killing fifteen people, including a family of five, and injuring many more.
I became a Zionist (someone who believes that the state of Israel should exist) in January of 2002, when I was twelve, after seeing and understanding my first footage of a suicide bombing in the same city, and I learned quickly that a lot of people I know don't understand the magnitude of the terrorism in Israel. When I became a Zionist, people tried to change me. My peers tried to change me; some people said that I was abandoning America and thus was a traitor. I stood my ground, though, for almost three years, and am still a Zionist today.
Why am I telling you this? I believe that, as a town, we should all take a stand for Israel during her time of crisis. We shouldn't dismiss a suicide bombing, as I've seen too many people do, sadly, and say: 'At least it didn't happen to us.', or 'It's not our issue.' We've been taking the horror, and the threat, of a suicide bombing far too lenient, and we should give the terrorism in Israel more consideration, because it could be the terrorism in America. The next restaurant that meets the same fate as Sbarro Pizza could be in our country, perhaps right here in our town, and that's why suicide bombings are everyone's issue. Not Israel's issue, not a Jewish issue. Everyone's issue.
A month after Sbarro Pizza was bombed, it was reopened. Everything is different inside now, but one reminder remains, a reminder of the horrible events of August 9, 2001. A memorial plaque hangs on the wall behind the counter, and in front of it a flame is constantly burning, to remember the fifteen people that were killed that day, the day when all they wanted was a slice of pizza. If we don't remember, it will surely happen again. If we don't remember, who will?
* This year, the Sbarro restaurant that was bombed was closed, because of a lack of business. It has reopened in a new location.
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