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| Middle East |
| Entire families wiped out by blast |
| 2003-10-06 |
| Hat tip Little Green Footballs. Bruria Zer-Aviv, 54, from Kibbutz Yagur, decided to end her Saturday excursion with her son, Bezalel, 30; his wife, Keren, 29; and their two children, Liran, 4; and one-year-old Noya with lunch at Haifa’s Maxim restaurant. Near their table sat journalist Mark Biano, 29, and his wife Naomi, 25. At another table were members of the Almog family. Moments later, these families, and others, were decimated. Nineteen Israelis were murdered and more than 50 people were injured in Saturday’s suicide bombing attack at the crowded Haifa restaurant. Three children, a baby girl, four Israeli Arabs, a cook, the security guard and others were among the dead. Doctors at Haifa’s hospitals continued to fight through the night to save the lives of the seriously wounded, among them children. One of the injured was listed in critical condition. "Never has there been such a disaster on the kibbutz," people at Kibbutz Yagur, northeast of Haifa, said after learning that five of the victims were members of the Zer-Aviv family. Bruria, who had been living on Yagur since 1985, had accompanied her children on a shopping trip Saturday. When relatives on the kibbutz heard news of the bombing, they tried to contact the Zer-Avivs, but there was no answer on their mobile phone. They then drove to the Maxim restaurant in Haifa to look for them. "Their car was parked in the parking lot of the restaurant, but the ambulances had already evacuated the injured," said a member of the kibbutz. "The family’s relatives started looking for them in the hospitals, and when they couldn’t find them, they realized that the worst had happened." "We can’t take it in - an entire family wiped out in a moment," their neighbor, Benny Shilo said. Col. (res.) Zeev Almog, former commander of the Israeli Navy’s officer training school in Akko, was having lunch with his family at the Maxim restaurant when the suicide bomber struck. Almog, 71; his wife, Ruth, 70; their son, Moshe, 43; and grandson, Tomer, 9: were killed. Almog’s daughter, Galit; Moshe’s wife, and two other grandchildren were injured in the blast. Mark Biano was the municipal reporter for a Haifa cable newsmagazine. Two years ago he married Naomi, a computer instructor. Both were killed in the suicide bombing. On Thursday, Biano broadcast his last news report. He is survived by two parents and a sister. Two of the victims were residents of Fassouta, a Christian village in the Upper Galilee. Hana Francis, 40, had worked as a waiter at the Maxim restaurant for about 10 years. Francis had only recently become engaged. Sharbal Matar, 23, was Hana’s cousin and the nephew of the restaurant’s owners. He had been working at the restaurant for five years, Haaretz reported. Matanes Karachbi, 31, a resident of an Arab neighborhood of Haifa, had worked at the restaurant for the last eight months as its security guard. "I know my brother served as a human shield," Karachbi’s brother said. "He saved the lives of many others. It doesn’t matter if one is Jewish, Christian or Muslim; we are all brothers." Karachbi, who married two years ago, is survived by parents and four brothers. Also killed in the suicide bombing were Nir Regev, 25, from Nahariya; Osama Najar, 27, from Haifa; Zvi Bahat, 35, from Haifa; Irena Sofrin, 37, from Kiryat Bialik; and a ten-year-old boy whose name has not yet been released for publication. I have absolutely no sympathy for the "Palistinians." They have yet to show one good reason they deserve an internationally recognized state. |
| Posted by:Atrus |
| #6 Those ideals were forced on the U.S population as a whole.By means of a civil war and being attacked by outside forces like the British and Japanese which caused the majority of people to work with each other |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-10-6 5:59:23 PM |
| #5 Robert Crawford: you forgot genocide and tyranny. |
| Posted by: Atrus 2003-10-6 5:36:28 PM |
| #4 Anonymous -- Fifty years ago, the Palestinians believed the same things they do now. Unless they are given a reason to change their beliefs, they will continue to believe them. The US changed because we have positive ideals to work towards. The ideals of the Palestinians are murder, hatred, and violence -- they won't change unless the change is forced on them. |
| Posted by: Robert Crawford 2003-10-6 5:34:58 PM |
| #3 In response to the above statement of having no sympathy for the Palestinians;I would interject by saying that while the terrorists should get no mercy from lawful societies,but the people who committed no crimes should both be helped and left alone.Because the Palestinians like the Iraqis live in a dictatorship thus they been denied the freedoms of relgion, free speach,thought and trade.Thus We in America should take pity on the populace of the P.A. despite their current government's evil actions.I mention pity from America because history has taught attitudes change at times in a instance or over a period of years. From America's viewpoint at the begining our country's history to now great many people supported the French Revolution,slavery,forcable removal of Native Americans,Ku Klux Klan,American Nazi Party,Communist Party of the U.S. and America First Party.So who can say what the Palestinians will believe 50 years from now |
| Posted by: Anonymous 2003-10-6 4:57:23 PM |
| #2 Oh, the media will show up... soon as Israel retaliates. |
| Posted by: tu3031 2003-10-6 3:23:44 PM |
| #1 Where is the Media? When Israel went into Jenin awhile back the media could not wait to show the (planted) bodies or the funreal processions (where the 'stiff' would fall off and then climb back on again). Or the 'devastation' (a few destroyed buildings shown from several different angles). Why aren't the relatives of these people being interviewed on the 'Today' show or 'Good Morning America' or Larry King? When Israel even talks about removing Arafat the media (and the UN) gets into a feeding frenzy but when innocent children and infants are targetted and murdered they barely mention it. |
| Posted by: CrazyFool 2003-10-6 2:39:07 PM |