Nor do I believe I have the right to abandon my fellow Jews. What of the residents of Judea, of the communities in the Hebron Hills? Of Gush Etzion? They have no choice in the matter – this is the only access road available to them.
The less Jewish traffic on Highway 60, the less obligated our government will feel to protect it, and the more emboldened the terrorists will be to attack residents in the area. And it won’t stop there, because the next target will be Arad, just over the ridge from Yatir, about 15 minutes away.
It is normal to be apprehensive and take precautions, and only someone without any common sense at all would feel no fear. For months, I have traveled wearing a large pair of plastic sunglasses over my regular eyeglasses, and when I pass Arab villages in which there have been past reports of rock attacks, I often flip down the sun visors along the windshield. I keep the windows rolled up as well.
Small acts, obviously useless in the face of bullets. But helpful with rocks, at least, and it makes me feel a bit safer on the road.
At some point, one has to put one’s body where one’s mouth is, even if it means your heart travels up to your mouth. I will not let terrorists decide where I live, or where I travel. I will not abandon my fellow Jews.
Hana Levi Julian, MSW, LCSW-R, is a coach and psychotherapist specializing in ADHD and trauma. She lives in Arad and maintains a private practice in Jerusalem.