Israel Matzav

A stoning victim speaks out

Some of you may recall the picture above from this post. I now have the driver - Zehava Weiss' - full testimony in English (Hat Tip: Yisrael Medad).

What Happened to Me on Tuesday Last

...

At the Gush Etzion Junction I collect a female hitchhiker who got into a back seat since the front passenger seat was where our infant seat was affixed. What luck. While traveling between El-Aroub and Bet-Omar on the ascent I notice a car approaching from the opposite direction with a damaged front window from a rock that must have previously landed. I naively presumed that that was the result of an old incident that hadn't yet been fixed.

When I came close to the gas station at Bet-Omar (a location that usually requires a driver's attention due to wrongly parked taxis, bypassing and pulling out into the highway in a careless manner) I observed a man running across the road from right to left. I first thought that this was a soldier with a rifle and I slowed down to grasp what was happening. I then noticed dozens of people, old, young and teenagers, congregating on my right. It then became apparent that the "soldier with a rifle" was actually a photographer with a camera. He was seeking a better picture angle to snap away at what was about to happen. On my left were at least two other photographers, waiting for the action. I should emphasize that I was not the first victim and other cars had already been stoned and so these press photographers were well aware what was happening and was about to happen to me. None of them, it seems, thought to call for assistance from the police or IDF none of whom were present.

Knowing I had no choice but to continue and surely not stop for otherwise, if I had slowed down, I would have been trapped and blocked off, the only thing in my mind was to proceed home and not get caught at that crossing. It was difficult to pass through as the rocks came from a distance of just a few feet from the car, 'zero-range' as we say. The rioters clearly could see that the car contained two young females, defenseless. We were struck by many rocks, my view was blocked by the cracked glass and I simply concentrated on getting out of there as quickly as I could. At the time, as well as at this moment of writing, I did not fully grasp the danger of our situation.

It was only when I arrived home that I realized the entire front of the car was covered with shattered glass particles including me, the infant seat, the back seat, everything. There was also damage cause to the sides of the car. At least eight large rocks and blocks had hit my car. I learned the rock-throwing continued for a good few minutes afterwards with the resulting damage to other vehicles as well as psychological damage to the drivers and passengers.

...

Zehava Weiss, Karmei Tzur

Read the whole thing.

I want to comment on the AFP photographer (and any other photographer who was there taking pictures of Ms. Weiss). Apparently, for them at least, the term 'journalistic ethics' is an oxymoron. Zehava is correct that they should have called the IDF or the police. But if they weren't going to do that, they should at least have put their cameras down so as to give these terrorists less incentive to try to murder Jews. Where have we seen this before?

But given that the international news organizations give awards for photographers who incite terrorism, is it surprising that the photographers continue to do so?

Labels: Judea and Samaria, Palestinian terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 2:05 PM