Bus bombing fails to undermine Jewish-Arab ties in Beit Safafa
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
jpost.com
Jun. 20, 2002
A day after a Palestinian suicide bomber boarded an intercity bus at a stop on the edge of Jerusalem's Beit Safafa neighborhood, its Israeli Arab residents and their Jewish neighbors pledged yesterday to maintain their peaceful relations.
Referred to as "Jerusalem's Abu Ghosh" for the friendly relations that go back to the founding of the state and that have remained strong despite tensions over land expropriation, this tranquil village of 5,000 in southern Jerusalem is surrounded by the Gilo, Pat and the Katamonim neighborhoods.
Between 1948 and 1967 when the city was divided, Beit Safafa was as well, with the larger of two halves always being part of Israel, and the smaller section ruled by Jordan.
Even speculation that Tuesday's suicide bomber, who boarded the No. 32A bus on the outskirts of the village, could had found refuge overnight in Beit Safafa was anathema and abhorrent to nearly two dozen residents interviewed yesterday, with some noting that among the dead and wounded in the attack were Beit Safafa Arabs.
"No not here. Never. Beit Safafa, Pat, Gilo Katamonim, we are all like one family," said Hamdi Aliyan, 30, the co-owner of the village mini-market frequented by more Israeli Jews than Arabs.
Down the road, the feeling was much the same at the fashionable Arab-owned "Robert" hair salon.
Inside, the ultra-modern shop was busting with a dozen Israeli women getting their hair and nails done.
Some, like Dina Soffer, 54, from the northern Jerusalem neighborhood of Neveh Ya'acov, had made their way across town to this salon for almost as many years as it has been open eight.
"Whenever I have time, I hop over. The people are nice and they do quite an excellent job," Soffer said.
Soffer, who herself was caught in a terror attack in the city's Ramat Eshkol neighborhood seven years ago, said she is not afraid to go anywhere in Israel, and felt quite at home at the salon.
"I was born in this neighborhood and I have lived with these Arabs all my life. They are good people." concurred Ora Yitzhaki, from the Pat neighborhood, as she browsed through the Israeli newspapers and fashion magazines on the coffee table of the parlor.
The owner, Robert Skafey, is a Christian Arab who employs a mix of Muslims, Christians, and Jews.
"The relationship here between the clients and hair stylers is almost familial. We don't view people by their religion, but as human beings," Skafey said, acknowledging that most of his clients are Israeli Jewish women.
He himself received many phone calls after Monday morning's attack that killed 19 people, the most lethal attack the city has seen in six years.
"We were a bit afraid after what happened yesterday," conceded Tal Eni, 22, who was doing a client's nails. "But as you see the place is bustling and everything remained normal," she said. "I could not imagine the bomber would ever find cover in this place," she said.
Jerusalem police, who yesterday checked to see if any unlicensed Palestinians were working in the village, are investigating whether the bomber was simply dropped off by an accomplice at the bus stop.
"In this village, I can tell you that thank God, we have no extremists. Whoever wants to make trouble will not be allowed to. Not here," Aliyan, the supermarket owner concluded. |
