The President of the Palestinian Authority has issued a condemnation of the violence. But there has been no censure from those within West Asia and other countries who espouse the justness of the Palestinian cause
The date itself may not immediately ring a bell. For those who had been following the troubled Northern Ireland, this would immediately remind them of one of the most degrading human atrocities ever committed in the name of Irish unification.
Sixty worshippers had gathered inside a small building known as Mountain lodge Pentecostal Church and were in the process of offering prayers when a bunch of armed hoods turned up and started shooting indiscriminately. Three church elders lost their lives and many more were injured.
Even within the troubled ambience of the Northern Ireland, this episode sent shockwaves and in a perverse sense, I could sense some positivity despite the strong sense of revulsion I had to battle with; this was perhaps the first occasion when I witnessed the Catholic and Protestant community make common cause against the ultimate human bestiality.
The antipathy between the Catholics and Protestants in those days was intense — the present generation would have difficulty in attempting to conceptualise its parameters. The relentless process of demonising the other was in full swing.
Yet even the Provisional Irish Republican Army, an out and out terrorist outfit banned even in the Irish Republic, issued a strong condemnation and completely distanced itself from the act. Those who were familiar with the Provo’s methods were startled. They had absolutely no qualms about admitting to any killing of the Protestants and were known to ring up the local newspapers routinely to claim responsibility for their actions.
Their condemnation turned out to be genuine. The Catholic Reaction Force, a renegade breakaway faction of the Provo’s took responsibility and showed no contrition.
Why am I adumbrating this! It is because almost exactly 31 years on, we have noticed a very similar atrocity take place — five innocent worshippers were shot dead in a Jerusalem synagogue! And all this while, I was harbouring the impression that this form of human degradation was a thing of the past! For the record, the Catholics and the Protestants are running the local Government together in Ulster.
Through the columns here and elsewhere, I have made my position known vis-à-vis the Palestinian conflict. I believe the Palestinians were cheated of their nationhood, and the sooner the Palestinian state comes into being the better. The Israelis are doing themselves no favour at all by indulging in a short-sighted exercise of repression. Even their chief sponsor, the United States, is displaying signs of getting tired of the shenanigans of the Netanyahu Government, although it can be justifiably stated that it is not doing as much as it should, which would correspond to the US’s known commitment to the precepts of the international world order they espouse.
But no matter how intense the sense of victimhood, a brutal attack of this nature, which targets the innocents indulging in prayers in a place of worship, should be unequivocally condemned by all who have the Palestinian well-being in their hearts.
The President of the Palestinian Authority has issued a condemnation. But there has been no censure from those within West Asia and other countries who espouse the justness of the Palestinian cause.
I was particularly discomfited when I heard a Palestinian supporter in the West Bank justify this atrocity on the ground that this was the only way to respond to Israeli repression.
There are certain dont’s even in the most intense conflicts. We all know how even the Nazis and the Allies affected a ceasefire during the 1944 Christmas.
Places of worship should never be specifically targeted, especially when the prayers are in progress. let us adopt this very minimal humane precept. The only exception is when the place of worship is comprehensively desecrated — and even then one would believe that minimal force should be put into practice.
It is nobody’s case that the Jerusalem Synagogue was in any way desecrated or being utilised for a purpose other than worship. Which is what makes this attack so dastardly. let us extend our condolences to the families of the innocents who have lost their lives — and sincerely hope that the Palestinians realise that these actions would only undermine their cause.
Thirty one years have elapsed since the last comparable tragedy. I sincerely hope that we do not have to wait for another 30 years to witness amity between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Having visited that region many times, I have a soft spot for it — and I hope to witness peace in my lifetime.