[Janesville [WI] Gazette] Charles C. Haynes - For a glimpse of life under constant threat of terrorist attack, travel to Sderot - the Israeli town that has endured thousands of rocket attacks from Hamas-controlled Gaza a few miles away. During my brief visit there last month, Sderot was enjoying a rare period of relative calm thanks to a truce declared in late June. Nevertheless, the inhabitants stay on edge, wondering where the next indiscriminate projectile will land and whom it will kill or maim. Despite the ceasefire, a rocket exploded in the town a few days before my arrival. Bomb shelters dot the landscape at every bus stop and in every park. Kindergarten children don't go outside for recess because the 15-second warning of incoming rockets wouldn't give teachers enough time to get them back inside the fortified buildings. When I asked Achlama Peretz, a college administrator, how the citizens of Sderot coped with the daily stress, she replied: "Sderot has become a symbol of resilience and freedom for all Israelis." For Americans debating how to balance freedom and security in a post-9/11 world, Sderot - indeed all of Israel - offers a case study in how to combat terrorism while simultaneously maintaining a commitment to freedom of expression in Israeli society. With all of the images of war and conflict, and the legitimate debate about Israeli policies, the news media tell us far too little about Israelis standing up for the rights of others and working to build a democratic society in a hostile, dangerous neighborhood. If Israelis can uphold free speech, value dissent and work for human rights in a nation where every day is a potential 9/11, then so can we. The writer is senior scholar at the First Amendment Center in Washington.
2008-09-16 01:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive