On the same day, in the same city: A parade celebrating the release of Ashraf Zayir, a convicted murderer sentenced to six life terms, was held only some 3 km. from the home of Karina Ariev, an Israeli released from Hamas captivity in the tunnels of Gaza, who has since returned to her home in Pisgat Ze’ev.
A chilling demonstration of Jew-hatred and support for barbaric terrorism and Islamist fanaticism was on display last week in Kafr Aqeb, an Arab neighborhood in northern Jerusalem.
Its jubilant residents turned out en masse for a parade in honor of Ashraf Zayir, who had been sentenced to six life terms for aiding and abetting a suicide bomber attack in September 2002 that killed six Israelis and injured 84 others on Allenby Street in Tel Aviv.
Zayir was involved in the attack from its early stages, renting an apartment in the Dahiyat al-Barid neighborhood of northern Jerusalem to house suicide bombers before attacks, as well as transporting the terrorists to the scene of the crime.
Kafr Aqeb, the site of the jubilation at this terrorist’s “victorious return,” is close to Pisgat Ze’ev, home to former Hamas hostage Ariev, released that same day by her Hamas captors. The split-screen dissonance was almost surreal.
In Kafr Aqeb, public displays of support for Hamas with flags and uniforms, weapons, and incitement-filled speeches glorifying terrorism.
Meanwhile, Israelis wept with relief as four young women were returned to their families, and rendered speechless by the price we had paid and continue to pay to redeem our hostages from the clutches of evil.
The Kafr Aqeb parade on that particular day did not occur in a vacuum. Kafr Aqeb is an infamous hotbed of illegality and terrorism.
Hundreds of illegal high-rise buildings are home to countless infiltrators and agitators.
The area is a hub for smuggling; thousands of illegal weapons come through the insanely overcrowded neighborhood, as well as a huge array of other types of contraband.
Hamas terrorists emerge in the streets during hostage deal
Hundreds of terrorists have emerged from the teeming streets of Kafr Aqeb, and the recent pro-Hamas parade indicates that this is not about to change in the foreseeable future.
The jarring dissonance and the excruciating proximity between Karina Ariev’s home and the scene of the pro-Hamas frenzy – both in the capital city of Israel – speaks volumes about life in Jerusalem and Israel’s reality as a whole.
While Kafr Aqeb and Pisgat Ze’ev are very close geographically, they are worlds apart in terms of the value they place on human life.
They may be two neighborhoods in the same city, but the government of Israel has taken responsibility for only one of them, and therein lies the rub.
The writer is field coordinator for Jerusalem at Regavim, a research and policy think-tank dedicated to Zionist land-use policy.