Daniel was one of us
Daniel was one of us
By Reuven Koret February 22, 2002
Daniel Pearl was an Israeli.
His father Yehuda was a world-famous scholar, an expert in artificial
intelligence, born in Tel Aviv, trained in Haifa's Technion. There he met his
wife, Ruth, also an Israeli. Together they moved to Princeton, where Daniel
was born. His sisters Michelle and Tamara are also Israeli citizens.
Daniel Pearl was also an American. Born and raised in the United States,
educated there, working there for one of America's premier publications. Many
of his article were characterized by humor, and humanity. He saw his mission
as facilitating cross-cultural understanding.
The Israeli citizenship of the Pearl family was a fact they tried hard to
cover up, fearing, correctly, that it would further endanger his life. In the
end, it did not help.
Daniel Pearl was a Jew. That was clear from his name, from his face. That
could not be covered up. That also, no doubt, endangered his life. And yet
Reuters reports that Daniel's last words before his throat was slit, according
to an official who saw the videotape, was this: "Yes I am a Jew and my father
is a Jew." That is how Daniel Pearl described himself a moment before his
death.
Daniel Pearl had guts. Like his Biblical namesake, he went into "the lion's
den," traveling to Pakistan to interview a Pakistani Islamic terrorist leader.
As an American, as an Israeli, as a Jew, that takes courage. But there would
be no miracles for this Daniel.
Daniel Pearl was a journalist, and a damn good one by all accounts. Anybody in
the profession can identify with him, respect him, be proud of him. There but
for the grace of God go you or I, we will say to each other.
Daniel Pearl clearly was not a spy, not for the Americans nor for the
Israelis. He was his own man, in service to telling the truth.
The truth, unfortunately, is that these days, more than ever, it is dangerous
to be an American, or an Israeli, or a Jew. Abroad or at home, in the United
States or the Jewish State. And it is dangerous to tell the truth.
The dangerous truth is that there are tens of millions of people, maybe
hundreds of millions, that celebrate and bless the deaths of Americans,
Israelis, and Jews. They believe that killing the "infidels" - even the People
of the Book to which they pay lip service - is a holy mission, a jihad that
demands more and more innocent blood. And there are many, many of these
murderers out seeking more blood.
The civilized world, whether it likes it or not, is at war against these
barbarians, who will stop at nothing to impose their fanatical beliefs on us
in any way they can, at any cost.
The truth is that we must fight them, or they will kill us. They will try to
kill us slowly, with cowardly sniping and kidnapping and bombings. And they
will try to kill us swiftly and massively, with biological and chemical and
nuclear weapons.
We must act immediately before they can realize their plans. We must eliminate
the killers, destroy their infrastructure, and force their primitive societies
far from us, driving them back into their deserts, their caves and their
pitiful holes. We must ban them from our world.
Listen, you cowardly murderers: I am an Israeli. An American. A Jew!
We may be few, compared to you. But we will not be defeated. The true People
of the Book, Jews and Christians alike, and the non-fanatics of all races and
religions, and nations, see that you and your murderous sect are and remain
what they always were: outcasts, their hands raised against the world,
fanatically driven by hatred and violence derived directly from your creed, or
charitably, from its perversion.
We will not be intimidated by your terrorists, and we will not be driven to
hate. We will not condemn people who embrace the peaceful teachings of Islam,
and want only to live their lives and raise their children. We will not stop
living, courageously, nor instill fear in our children, just because you
Islamic fanatics seek to kill us. And we will not cease pursuing and speaking
the truth, even if fainter souls deem it politically incorrect.
Daniel Pearl was a mensch, a man of character and strength. Even in the face
of death, he proudly and boldly upheld his identity.
Daniel Pearl was one of us. May his loving wife raise their unborn child in a
world where his or her identity need not be concealed.
Daniel Pearl, in death as in life, earned a place of honor in the eternal
memory of his people: a lion of Judah, a pursuer of truth, a seeker of peace.
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