Sept 13, 2001, Bethlehem

The Palestinian Reaction to the World Trade Center Bombing

This week the world suffered immeasurably from the acts of terrorism in the USA. Thousands of innocent people lost their lives in deplorable and sickening events. When I first heard the news that an airplane had crashed into the World Trade Center, I couldn’t believe it. I left work and started home, anxious to hear the news on BBC or CNN (in English). On my way I encountered a few Palestinians laughing and firing celebratory gunshots in the air. This made me angry -- very, very angry! I was intensely angry for two days.

However, I have to be fair. There were not many Palestinians celebrating. The boys that were sure got my attention, but they were a tiny minority of the population in Bethlehem. And since that one brief afternoon occurrence, I have not seen any evidence of Palestinian joy at these horrible acts of terrorism. Since that day, Palestinians have expressed their sincere condolences to me time and time again. Even Palestinians I didn’t know told me they were sorry and that it was a “terrible, terrible thing”.

Therefore I am disturbed by the TV news coverage of the “Palestinian reaction”. Repeatedly we have been shown images of the disaster followed by footage of Palestinians celebrating in the streets. It just isn’t happening like that here. A very small percentage of the population did celebrate for a very brief period, and unfortunately that report has been widely exaggerated. To put it into perspective, consider an international TV crew covering a raucous KKK rally in Washington DC. Americans would be horrified to think that this footage would be shown around the world as our country’s position. Palestinians feel the same way about the coverage being shown now in the international news. They are distraught to think that this small minority of Palestinians speaks for their entire nation. Palestinians have condemned their actions. Most of them feel as bad about the tragedy as Americans do. The coverage of Palestine has not been accurate, and it has not been impartial.

Bob May
UM Worker
79 Nablus Rd
PO Box 19208
Jerusalem, via Israel
mobile: 972-55-578-275
home: 972-2-275-0180