Hi friends and family. I’m sure you all have seen the news about the recent bus bombing in Jerusalem. We thought it would be good to write a quick entry in light of this recent event to not only let you know that we are alright (if you don’t already know), but more importantly to fill you in on some of the details and what the implications of this event could be.
It’s interesting to note first of all how quickly this bombing made American news. Usually demonstrations and moments of tension don’t make it past Israeli and Palestinian news channels and if they do, they end up on European news. This time, however, the event ended up on news in the States (and around the world) almost immediately! This is probably because it is the first bus bombing in Jerusalem in four years, the last one being during the last stages of the Second Intifada (the second of two major Palestinian uprisings against the Israeli settlements in the West Bank and Gaza). As a result of the events of the Intifada, in the early 2000s the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) built the large concrete West Bank Barrier, which was intended, among other things to prevent suicide bombers from detonating themselves on buses. This had become a fairly common occurrence at that time.
In the past two weeks there have been two explosives found in the vicinity of Jerusalem. Last week there was one in Giloh, a suburb of Jerusalem at its southern extremity (this small explosive detonated, but didn’t cause any injuries or damage), and then the one at the bus stop on Wednesday. This latest bomb was left at the northbound bus stop on a major highway, just near the Central Bus Station. The bomb was in a phone booth near the bus stop and it detonated as Bus 74 was pulling away from the. It blew the glass out of the windows of Bus 74 in the front and the back, damaged one other bus, injured about 30 people (most of whom were not seriously hurt), and killed one older lady, who we now know to be a dear friend and colleague of a former JUC student and her husband. For those of you who are interested, this particular bus stop is located about 2 miles northeast of where we live. The news reports seem to have made it sound worse than it was saying things like the explosion “rocked Jerusalem,” whatever that means—we had no idea what had happened until it appeared on the news.
As far as we know from local news, no group has claimed responsibility for the bombing, though many are quick to blame Hamas, the Palestinian resistance group that governs the Gaza Strip, and is known for its violence. Hamas has recently been firing rockets into Israel (into Ashkelon, Ashdod, Kiryat Gath, and Beersheba), which they actually do all the time (just some of the events that don’t make American news), but they have been increasing in number lately. The IDF usually retaliates each time with an air strike in Gaza, which prompts another missile barrage from Hamas, and another Israeli strike … you get the idea, the cycle is ongoing. This bombing in Jerusalem may or may not be related to Hamas or the increasing tension in the Gaza Strip. There is also no evidence of a connection to the explosive left in Giloh.
So what this means for us is that the director of the JUC has restricted the students from using Israeli public buses and from frequenting places that have been known targets in the past (such as coffee shops, etc.). We usually use the buses to get back and forth from Hebrew University every week, so we will have to change our plans until we see whether things calm down or not. It is likely that everything will eventually simmer down, it usually does after a few weeks.
So anyway, we are fine as are all the other students at JUC. These kinds of incidents are usually isolated and life tends to go on as usual for most people. If you have any questions feel free to let us know. Thanks as always, for your prayer and support. We love you.
