This story is so very sad in so many ways. But at the same time it makes me quite angry. Daniel Pipes writes:
An Italian named Angelo Frammartino, 25, espoused the typical anti-Israel views of a far-leftist, as he expressed in a letter to a newspaper in 2006:
We must face the fact that a situation of no violence is a luxury in many parts of the world, but we do not seek to avoid legitimate acts of defense. … I never dreamed of condemning resistance, the blood of the Vietnamese, the blood of the people who were under colonialist occupation or the blood of the young Palestinians from the first intifada.
Actively to forward his beliefs, Frammartino went to Israel in early August 2006 to serve as a volunteer with ARCI, a far-leftist NGO, working with Palestinian children at the Burj al-Luqluq community center in eastern Jerusalem.But on August 10, he was stabbed in a terrorist assault at Sultan Suleiman Street, near Herod's Gate in Jerusalem, twice in the back and once in the neck. He died shortly after, only two days before his planned return to Italy. The killer, soon identified as Ashraf Hanaisha, 24, turned out to be a Palestinian affiliated with Palestinian Islamic Jihad. A resident of the village of Qabatiya in the Jenin area, Hanaisha apparently planned to attack a Jewish Israeli but made a mistake.
Damage control soon followed. The Palestinian Authority's news agency, WAFA, carried a statement by the Burj al Luqluq community center condemning the murder in no uncertain terms: "Nothing could describe our emotions for what happened. Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Angelo, they have our deepest sympathy." Several Palestinian NGOs then organized a vigil in Frammartino's memory. For her part, Hanaisha's mother launched an appeal, via the Italian newspaper La Repubblica, for the forgiveness of her son.
In response to this outpouring, Frammartino's parents did forgive Hanaisha. From the family home in Monterotondo, the father, Michelangelo, said that "he welcomes and appreciates, despite the undeletable sorrow, the plea for forgiveness made by the murderer's mother" and he expressed a hope that the parents' gesture "will bring to an end this extremely sad story." The father went further, telling the Corriere della Sera newspaper that he felt no hatred toward his son's murderer:
Angelo was working to promote peace. The message he sought to convey is greater than anything else. … the circumstances confirm that Angelo was a victim of the war, of the injustice in the world. When we are talking about a situation of tension, absence of common sense dominates. I do not feel hatred because Angelo's thought, the principles that always motivated him, were definitely not of hatred or revenge.
Comments:
(1) These signals from Qabatiya to Monterotondo and back amounted to a curious and despicable pas de deux, with each side remorsefully implying things would be just fine if only Hanaisha had killed his intended victim: "Sorry, I thought he was a Jew," reads the headline in La Stampa. The Palestinians conveyed a message of "Excuse us, we did not mean to kill your son," while the family replied with a "Understood, we accept that you made a mistake."
What the hell is wrong with this family that they can just ignore the murder of their son. How can they be so cavalier about this. It makes me angry because it comes across as if they believe that Jewish blood is cheap. The inconsistent and hypocritical stand is part and parcel of why peace is so hard to come by.
7 comments:
Jack The family isn't being so cavalier as you suggest. If they believe that "Jewish blood is cheap" why have they recommended that donations be sent to The Kobi Mandel Foundation named for a 13-year-old who, like Daniel Frammartino, was brutally murdered by Palestinian terrorists, which provides therapeutic camping experiences for terror survivors or the families of those murdered by terrorists, regardless of religion, nationality or race.
I searched to find where the family said "Understood, we accept that you made a mistake." It seems that this is either Daniel Pipes interpretation or someone else’s but not that of the parents. I even did a quick and dirty translation job on the La Stampa article and didn't find anything resembling it.
I suspect that they don't see any blood as cheap as they, like their son was, are pacifists.
I strongly disagree with Frammartino however on the issue of "legitimate acts of defense" because pacifism does not work unless it is chained to nonviolence. The only way to stop a war is to not fight.
Not one once of blood shed to a true pacifist is cheaply or justly done.
Unfortunately if this type of pacifism was translated to the struggle in Israel, there would be a lot of martyrs and too many might be Israeli.
War sucks because no one ever really wins. Hitler's Nazi's lost the war but 6-11 Million Jews died. Who won?
Hi Bill,
Unless I misread this the family didn't suggest giving money to the Koby Mandell foundation, that came from a Jerusalem Post writer.
Given you have exposed my mistake deleting and rewriting it is a bit late now lets just say I screwed up my research, and leave the comment in.
Embarrassing though it be..
Bill,
You are a good guy. Don't worry about it. I am online looking at 911 footage that I am considering using for a post.
Not that anyone else here is interested. ;)
Bill: If only one side decides not to fight in a war, it is called "surrender".
I am alive. By my reckoning, that means we won the war against the Nazi's. If they had had their way, I wouldn't be here.
And as far as people bending over backwards to justify Palestinian atrocities, I've been saying for some time that Europe's blinding hatred of the Jews overcomes their normal need for self-preservation. They need to take a good look at who their friends are and who their enemies are in this world.
This article was also discussed on Jewish Connection- JewishConnection.com - . In the discussion, people were split as to how they would respond if that happened to them. I believe that forgiveness is the best thing whenever someone wrongs you, whether it is a mistake or intentionally. Forgiveness is not being weak and allowing the enemy to win. Forgiveness is showing strength and maturity beyond what your enemy has. And why add more fire to the fuel anyways? I am not saying that the family should not be angry, upset and hurt but just living in a state of anger turns into bitterness and does not work towards peace.
Anon,
If you are going to push another blog here, use your name.
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