Suicide Bombers Are Spreading False Islam

by Aylin Kocaman In October, the Palestine Committee of the Arab Lawyers Union honored a suicide bomber. A law student who entered a restaurant in Israel in 2003 and blew herself up, killing herself and 21 people, was honored by the lawyers’ union. The 21 people she killed included a pregnant woman and three children. This honor is thought-provoking. But before that, I want to consider the logic of a suicide bomber. Why does a person become a suicide bomber? The majority of Arab countries were to some extent touched by post-World War II communism. The Ba’ath Party that became strong in Egypt, Syria and Iraq, the Shanghai bloc that was established under Chinese auspices and quietly placed Arab countries and Iran under its protection, and al-Fatah, which grew under Yasser Arafat’s leadership, never concealed their communist/socialist leanings....

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Shin Bet Justice: Tunnel Vision?

Tunnels. The very word connotes ancient secrets, mystic rites and modern adventure. Israel is blessed with tunnels both natural (the country gets whole pages on spelunking websites) and man made: The "Rabbinical" tunnels alongside and beneath the Temple Mount get lots of attention. Their excavation launched Arab riots as well as a new locus for tourism. (Jerusalem's coolest tunnel is Hezekiah's ancient passage to the Gihon Spring, seen at right.) For Israel's security forces, it's the tunnels under Gaza's border with Egypt that, understandably, generate the most interest. Egypt's government claims, unconvincingly, that it's trying to keep the tunnels closed, while evidence at the other end (filmed by France24's English newscast) shows Gazans' using the tunnels routinely to smuggle in market goods and even electricity generation. Hamas undoubtedly also uses them for less homey shipments, like...

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