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Settler relives West Bank terrorist attack on visit here

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Message: If you are having trouble reading this email, you may view this article online at: http://www.jweekly.com/18243/full/18243/settler-relives-west-bank-terrorist-attack-on-visit-here/ Settler relives West Bank terrorist attack on visit here Friday, August 9, 2002 | by JOE ESKENAZI "Blood was gushing out almost like a fire hydrant in an inner-city neighborhood. And the car went totally dead; we were rolling slowly down the road. I turned the ignition and it didn't start, and they were still shooting," recalled Rubin, an English teacher and former volunteer mayor of Shilo, a West Bank settlement 40 minutes down the road from Jerusalem. Rubin recalled his December ordeal at Oakland's Shilo Christian Fellowship this week, while also meeting with several other Jewish and Christian Zionist groups. He shared the drama during an interview. "I turned around and looked at my 3-year-old, who was sitting in the baby seat behind me, and I noticed his eyes were open and he was breathing. He looked like he was trying to cry, but no sounds could come out of his mouth…I turned into neutral, turned the ignition again and the car started. I've never been so focused in my life. I've never driven so well in my life. I was concentrating intensely. I think that took my attention away from the pain, which was excruciating. It was like nothing I've ever experienced." The 45-year-old father of five cranked the gas pedal and roared into nearby Ofra at speeds exceeding 140 mph. It was there that he realized he wasn't the only gunshot victim in the car. A bullet had cut through the back of Ruby Rubin's neck, coming within millimeters of killing the 3-year-old on the spot. "What do you say to a 3-year-old who's been shot and is in an ambulance? I said, 'Don't worry, Ruby, Abba is here.' Of course I was laying on a stretcher; there wasn't much I could do," said Rubin, a sturdily built man with salt-and-pepper hair and a deep, quiet voice that easily betrays his Brooklyn upbringing. "We got to the hospital and, thank God, we were at least functionally recovered after three weeks in the hospital and a few operations." Officials at Hadassah Hospital informed Rubin that he was the recipient of a dubious honor—the 1,000th victim of the intifada to be treated at the hospital. While Hadassah's public relations director expected Rubin would spurn any publicity, he eagerly took advantage of the chance to deliver to the media his message: "The world has to wake up and recognize terror for what it is. "We have an Islamic extremism that's out to destroy the free world, and 9/11 is just one more proof of that, as if the world needed a reminder," said Rubin, who made aliyah 10 years ago. To those who would say settlers like Rubin are an obstacle to peace, he replies that the Palestinians do not desire peace, so he cannot be an obstacle to it. "The Arabs as a people are hostile to the very existence of Jews in the Mideast. In polls, 80 percent of Palestinians support suicide bombings and shootings of Israeli civilians. This tells me the problem is not just [Yasser] Arafat, not just the Palestinian Authority, but the Palestinian people," he said. "What's happening at this point is we have a tit-for-tat game. It's just a dead end. They bomb an Israeli bus, so we kill a terrorist leader. They shoot an innocent civilian such as myself, so we kill another terrorist leader. It's not going anywhere. The solution is some form of transfer." Rubin believes a Palestinian state already exists—it's called Jordan, he said. He also maintains that the establishment of an Arab state in the West Bank and Gaza would just be another step toward the destruction of Israel in stages. "In the Koran, anyone who doesn't worship Allah is considered to be Dhimmi, which is subservient to those who believe in Islam," said Rubin. "That was the status of Jews in Arab countries and would be the status of Jews in Israel if we let them acquire a foothold." Rubin's shooting ordeal left large, splotchy magenta entry and exit scars on his left shin, giving him a good deal of pain whenever he climbs stairs, drives into a pothole or breaks into a run. But he's not running away. "We live in dangerous times. I didn't move to Israel because it's a safe place. I moved to Israel because I believed in it, and still believe in it," he said. "People are taking more precautions. However, the whole purpose of the Zionist movement was to say we're back in our land, which God gave us thousands of years ago and we're not leaving."

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