Israel: Life In The Shadow Of Terror

by Shraga Simmons and Nechemia Coopersmith

Book Overview

Personal accounts and perspectives on the courage, faith and pivotal issues related to the last three tumultuous years in Israel, featuring all your favorite Aish.com writers. "Israel: Life in the... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568712375
• ISBN13: 9781568712376
• Release Date: November 2003
• Publisher: Targum Pr
• Length: 416 Pages
• Weight: 2.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.5" x 1.5" x 6.5"

Customer Reviews

Disturbing and heartbreaking but ultimately uplifting

This moving book contains an impressive selection of essays on Israel. These deal with all angles of life, history and politics, like the reality of living with terror on a daily basis, the Mideast War and the question of immigrating to Israel. Above all, it provides a stirring portrait of ordinary people going about their business, and then frames these accounts into a bigger picture of world history. There are some prominent names amongst the contributors, like Elie Wiesel, Natan Sharansky, Benjamin Netanyahu, Jeff Jacoby, Ken Spiro, Jack Kemp and Jeanne Kirkpatrick. The first part, Living With Terror, deals more specifically with eyewitness accounts of terrorist incidents up to 2003. This section can be quite harrowing and might be very disturbing to sensitive readers. Still it is important to know since the mass media hardly ever reports on the suffering of Israelis. The dignity and courage of the survivors of such attacks are remarkable. Part Two: Israel Perspectives, includes a powerful essay by Sharansky plus many more fascinating pieces by Wiesel, Sarah Rigler and Rabbi Wein. The most memorable chapters include thoughts on Israel's independence day, the Zionist Dream and the Holy Land as a home for the soul. It concludes with the illuminating chapter Why Jerusalem Matters by Rabbis Braverman and Shraga Simmons. Part Three: Israel Diaries, contains more accounts of experiences with terror in Israel and a chapter on Anti-Semitism on a campus in the USA. Amongst the most chilling are the essays Coffee With My Enemies by Sarah Shapiro and Insidious Palestinian Television by Sue Tedmon. Part Four: The Mideast Conflict, contains insightful articles on the root cause of terrorism, Jewish and Muslim claims on Jerusalem, anti-globalisation and Anti-Semitism, and dishonest reporting. This is a most revealing section of the book as it uncovers the lack of media objectivity and the downright lies, like the supposed Jenin massacre where nothing of the kind ever took place. The history of the land is discussed and the facts about the various wars since 1948 are clearly provided. This part includes discussions of the Jewish and Arab refuges since 1948 and concludes with Ephraim Shore's 15 Things I Don't Understand About The Peace Process. The final section: Coming Home, talks about the choice faced by Diaspora Jews to return to Israel, to make 'Aliyah' to their ancient homeland. It includes a chapter on practical ways of supporting Israel, called Fifty-five Ways To Help Israel. The book concludes with a memorable essay by Sara Rigler: Loving The Land Of Israel. She concludes that the land of Israel is the place that God has designated for His rendezvous with the Jewish people. How could they spurn this opportunity now? This book has deeply moved me as a non-Jew, and I now understand the complex situation much better. Those who wish to know the truth about the Mideast conflict will find more than enough verifiable facts here. Moreover, a lot of t

Hope and Courage

This finely crafted treasure, edited by Rabbi Nechemia Coopersmith and Rabbi Shraga Simmons portrays life in Israel today , and the trials and tribulations faced by Israel and it's people. It shows you what a prejudiced media will not dare to let you see, because their agenda is to prepare the world for genocide of the Jews of Israel, through a monstrous propaganda machine, never seen since Goebbels and Der Sterner paved the way for the holocaust. The book is dedicated to the victims of Arab terror , and the first of four sections is a harrowing and heartwrenching portrait of the horrific terror faced by the people of Israel, since Yasser Arafat launched a war of genocide against the Israeli people In this he has been fully backed , in his evil plans , by the international media, world academia,the international left, the United Nations and other powerful global interests. This part of this phenomenal work shows you that victims of terror are real, that the suffering of the people of Israel is real, no less so because they are ignored by the media and universities. It deals with the trauma of the familes of those who where murdered by Arab terror , and the pain and courage of those who survived. As we read throught the case histories of some of the +- 1000 Jews killed and tens of thousands injured in the last five years of terror, we are astounded by how resilient are the people of Israel in the face of this onslaught , as well as how cold-blooded and savage her loathsome enemies are: "All I see in my mind's eye is a woman shrieking as she turns to see her two-year old daughter , in her stroller , engulfed in flames. She reaches to pull her daughter out of the fire-but can't because the explosion that has sheathed the carriage in flames has blown off her own arm below the elbow. She can't pull her daughter out of the burning carriage because she no longer has two hands." A few of the cases covered: Thousands of Israeli Jewish men, women and children have died from bombs, bullets or knife attacks, and thousands of others have been maimed, blinded, orphaned, widowed and terrorized. Two years ago on the eve of the Jewish New Year, seven month old Shaked Abraham was shot dead in her crib by an Arab murderer who forced his way into her parent's house as the family was celebrating the New Year. A ten-month-old Jewish baby, Shalhevet Pass, was shot in her father's arms by an Arab sniper in 2001. The following year, a five-year-old girl, Danielle Shefi, was shot to death at point blank range by an Arab killer, while cowering under her parents' bed. That same year, two boys, four- and five-years old, where shot dead together with their mother as she read them a bedtime story, in a left-wing kibbutz, by Arab terrorists. Over 25% percent of Jewish children living in Israel do not have enough food to eat as a result of the Intifada (war of extermination) waged by Yasser Arafat, along with the economic boycotts initiated by sympathizers of the

A stunning portrayal of Israeli society at war with terror

Have you been bombarded with news about the terrorist attacks on Israel? If so, what viewpoint do you get to see? Perhaps sympathetic stories about the terrorists and their families? Along with explanations that the main problem is "Israeli greed?" And Israel's "illegal theft of Arab land?" And the horror of Israel permitting Jews to live in Judea? If so, then I think this book is for you. Its many essays tell, in dramatic style, how things look from an Israeli perspective. There are a wide variety of articles about the effect of all this terror on Israel and Israelis. Some of the essays that impressed me the most were written by Tuvia Grossman, Sherri Mandell, Elie Weisel, Natan Sharansky, Sue Tedmon, Laurie Zoloth, Efraim Karsh, Israel Asper, Jeff Jacoby, Dore Gold, and Ephraim Shore. Near the end of the book, there is also an excellent article called "Fifty-five Ways to Help Israel." I recommend the entire book, and I think aish.com and the editors (Nechemia Coopersmith and Shraga Simmons) deserve plenty of compliments for their fine work.

Powerful Study Of Life Under A 'Siege Of Terrorism'.

I was both moved and shocked as I turned the pages of this book and I could only identify with the comments of one contributor who suggested that the book should be "written in tears instead of ink". Such are the depths of suffering revealed in this work.The book openly declares that words are insufficient to express the scope of the pain and tragedy suffered by the individuals and families referred to in this study. The source further citing words as also being inadequate to describe the kind of evil that "places a nine month old Jewish baby in the crosshairs of a rifle & pulling the trigger", as well as the "evil" that detonates a bomb amongst a hotel full of elderly Jews & their families sitting down to celebrate Passover.Reference is made to what is described as the shattering of thousands of Jewish families who have been plunged into what is depicted as a daily struggle of survival, adversity and aching loss. All of which permeate the pages of this compassionate study.Through numerous first person accounts, the reader is presented with a very personal, almost tangible, encounter with the consequences of such terrorism. The reader being confronted with many accounts from individuals who have themselves witnessed, survived or endured such attacks.The cover of this extremely moving and well written book (which is dedicated to the "victims of Arab terror"), declares that an allegedly prejudiced International media has prevented the wider public at large from truly understanding the realities of living in Israel under a virtual shadow of Arab terrorism. An experience defined here as being amongst the most painful and tumultuous in Israel's very existence.Furthermore the book also takes the time to clarify what it cites as the fundamental issues pertaining to the Middle East conflict and through carefully constructed arguments it also proceeds to dispel what it describes as the "myths and double standards" promoted in the media and amongst the International community & the political realm. One section illustrating how the vast number of Arab & Islamic states have what is termed as a "disproportionate voice" in setting an alleged anti-Israeli agenda at the United Nations, where for 53 years Israel has been the only UN member denied a seat on the UN Security Council, whilst Arab/Islamic states often sit there two at a time. Replete with detail, this particular section deserves reading on it's own merits.Replete with references the reader is presented with the "war of words" where it is alleged that the Arab world and the media have indeed distorted the very "language of the conflict" to the extent that the truth has been obscured and where Israel has allegedly been robbed of the ability to persuasively present the validity of her cause to the World with any clarity. Whilst this study recognises the power of the media to influence public opinion, the book simultaneously provides the reader with a ready reference to the "seven rules of media o

Spiritual insights explored

"Israel: Life in the Shadow of Terror paints a personal and devastating portrait of the losses we face -- and the love we feel -- in Israel today. It is an important and enlightening collection. Compassionate, wise, and profoundly moving. Israel: Life in the Shadow of Terror will make you tearful, angry, informed, proud, inspired, and above all motivated to stand up and support Israel and the Jewish people. Absolute must reading.