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Barry Shaw made Aliyah from England in the 1970s, is manager of Netanya Real Estate, and founder of the Netanya Terror Victims Fund. He is the author of "The View from Here" series of commentaries from Israel.
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By Barry Shaw
July 8, 2002
The View from Here
Dateline: Los Angeles Airport - 4th July 2002.
As usual, Israelis suffered the double indignity of being killed and then having the world deny that they died in a terror attack. What is it about a corrupt world that denies the truth to Jewish victims?
This time the guilty parties were U.S. officials and media. While the Israeli government was informing us, just hours after the deadly attack at the El Al desk, that the perpetrator was an Arab or either Egyptian or Sudanese origin, the American officials were creating a smoke-screen across the incident, and with typical spin called it an 'isolated incident.'
This was clearly a terrorist attack aimed at a Jewish/Israeli target in the USA. It also highlighted what Israeli security experts had been telling the FAA for some time -- that American airports are a soft target for a major terror attack. July 4th should be yet another wake-up call to the American Administration and the FBI, who have devoted millions of words and some effort to fighting 'terror,' but have left the American public wide open for a 'serious incident.'
Why is it still possible that terrorists can ride right up to the entrance to a major airport, walk into the terminal with all sorts of weaponry, including guns and knives, and create havoc, before being challenged?
Why aren't approach roads to U.S. and European airports protected with a security ring that will detect weapons and terrorists BEFORE they get into the terminal? This procedure has been successfully carried out in Israel for years.
Finally, how dare the U.S. officials claim credit for their security staff at LAX? They were singularly and collectively found wanting on 4th July. Only the prompt and expert action of El Al security men prevented what could have been a far worse tragedy. In Israel, the heads of certain security personnel would have rolled for their negligence that led to the death of innocent passengers. Instead there is a smell of cover-up in Los Angeles.
USA... Try protecting flying passengers rather than protect the airline industry!
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