Israel Matzav

What Boston can learn from Israel's (and New York's) experience

As you might imagine, I was not the only former Bostonian who had advice for the locals on Tuesday morning.

Here's prominent blogger S.E. Cupp writing in the New York Daily News.

But that a highly-scrutinized public event, where security was high and every safety precaution was presumably taken, can be successfully targeted for terrorism of any kind is a reminder to the nation that our guard must always be up, that terrorism is not a thing of the past, and that any number of legislative measures meant to safeguard against mass murderers cannot always prevent bad people from doing horrific things.

My heart breaks for my former hometown. As someone who lived through 9/11 here in New York City, I know exactly what Bostonians are about to go through. It will be painful, it will be scary and it will be difficult. But it will also eventually get better. Boston is about to show the world what it's made of.

Walking near the finish line at Copley Square, I was impressed by this city's fortitude and resolve to press forward, move on and not to stop running. Terrorism, people told me, would not stop this vibrant city or its people.

"We will run again," declared Lynne, a nurse who had been stationed near the finish line and had treated some of the wounded.

That is a message we Israelis know well. I am often asked how  Israelis can sit in coffee shops in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem when rockets are landing in the South. How can people board a bus just down the block from another bus that had just been blown up by a suicide bomber?

I think the answer mostly has to do with one word - resilience. In my 20 years in Israel I have always been impressed by the peoples' resilience. It is that resilience which I believe has helped Israel  not just move forward but also thrive in face of wide-ranging threats for  65 years.

Today, Boston needs to be resilient. I am confident it will know how.

It's very easy to tell someone else to be strong after a tragedy, God forbid. It's much harder to do it yourself. But I know that my birthplace will succeed in coming out of this with their heads held high. 

Labels: 9/11, Boston, Boston Marathon, Islamic terrorism, Palestinian terrorism

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:22 AM