Remembering the Dead

Sophomore Daniel Farahan knows all about terrorism in Israel. \nFarahan, who lived in Israel for two months, read his short story about the experience Wednesday outside the Helene G. Simon Hillel Center at a vigil for the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in Israel. \n"I wanted to write something from a different perspective," Farahan said. "I have a lot of family in Israel, and the attacks really hit close to home. (The vigil) helped the people who were here to understand and be close to other people who are being affected by this.\n"I think it's also very important in the grand scheme of things because the people in Israel really need our support right now. They're between a rock and a hard place." \nThe vigil, organized in the wake of four suicide attacks in Israel that left 30 dead and more than 300 wounded, offered students a chance to join in prayer while promoting solidarity. \n"It was to commemorate the victims of the attacks in Israel and also have an opportunity to come together and pray for peace," said Rabbi Sue Laikin Shifron, director of the Hillel Center. "I think it's important for people to really understand and learn more about what's happening in Israel and the Middle East, and I think it's important to gain support from each other."\nAt the vigil, students read prayers, recited poems and listened as the names and biographies of the 10 teenage victims of the Dec. 1 suicide bombing were read. Calli Schiller, co-chair of the Indiana-Israel Public Affairs Committee, proposed the idea for the vigil.\n"I think having a vigil is really important," she said. "I think it shows solidarity, not just between Jewish people or between students, because terrorism affects everyone, and it's important that people take the time out of their day to come by."\nIn addition to remembering and mourning, Shifron said the vigil promoted a better sense of understanding about what's really going on in Israel. \n"We see a lot of things on the news, and we only get a half picture of what's going on," Shifron said. "I think that a lot of people in America don't understand what it's like to live in a country like Israel where, in some areas, it's less than 10 miles across. Everywhere, at all the borders in Israel, there are hostile neighbors that are bent on their destruction.\n"Maybe after Sept. 11, we can begin to understand. There have been 1,600 terrorist attacks in Israel in the last year, and we don't see any of that on our media."\nSenior Ron Donenfeld said the vigil provided an opportunity to come together and learn the truth about what's happening in Israel. \n"People have to know that Israel is a country surrounded by people who hate it and want to see every Jew dead," Donenfeld said. "(Having the vigil was) very important; it keeps people together.\n"Too often, the biggest problem I find is people who don't know what's going on. It's important for people to share their feelings and to communicate with one another. It's important to have a sense of togetherness, because without it, people build up resentment and foster hatred." \nFarahan, who plans to return to Israel on Dec. 24 despite the recent attacks, said that giving in to fear would be letting the terrorists win. \nHe closed his story by speaking about a day he spent in Israel when a bomb went off in a crowded pizzeria. He was determined not to let fear keep him from going out in public places. \n"My lunch that day, at a pizzeria in Tel-Aviv," he said, "was the best pizza I have ever eaten"