I'm saddened today at the death of a fellow Jew, Daniel Pearl. Early reports of the newsreel show him saying "I am a Jew, and my father is Jew," before he died.

No one will ever know what he endured before he died, but his bravery must be remembered by all people. Hopefully, with cooperation from the various governments, his murderers' will be brought to justice.

Again, Jewish people are being singled out and murdered for just being Jewish. His death should be a reminder that in some parts of the world, being Jewish is cause for hatred and murder.

When will all this insanity stop? I would be interested in hearing other people's reactions to this tragedy.

-- Jerry Gross (jerry@opmcpa.com), February 25, 2002

Answers

Note: I am testing setting up an on-line dialogue as a follow-up to the 2002 Chesapeake Reconstructionist Shabbaton. Please email me with any questions you have about this project.

-- Michael Gottlieb Berney (mgberney@yahoo.com), February 25, 2002.

Daniel Pearl was a college classmate of mine. I had the pleasure of working with him on the college newspaper. There have been conflicting reports on the "statement" he made before he died. Certainly when I read the report of the statement you refer to, it gave me chills and brought tears to my eyes. However, I don't think there's yet evidence to say that he was "singled out and murdered for just being Jewish." The motives of the kidnapper/killers are not yet entirely clear, but certainly they were complicated. Danny was Jewish, but he was also a reporter, an American, investigating al Queda, a tireless investigator, and so forth. The kidnappers *said* they kidnapped him because he was a U.S. CIA officer posing as a journalist, and they demanded the release of prisoners at Guantanamo.

Danny's wife has been very deliberate in referring to the spirit of "human beings" in her public statements. Neither his family nor colleagues have indicated they want his death to be viewed as a reminder that being Jewish is cause for hatred and murder. To the contrary, the statements they have made focus on unity in the face of what is happening. Daniel Pearl challenged boundaries and distinctions. He traveled the world and immersed himself in the cultures there. He wrote articles about topics ranging from nuclear proliferation to Iranian pop music. He danced salsa, played bluegrass, and married a French woman. He went to the restaurant in Karachi where he was kidnapped in the hopes of interviewing an Islamic militant.

I'm not challenging or disagreeing with the sentiments expressed. I just don't think it's that simple. I think it's important to acknowledge the complexity of the situations we are facing in the world right now. And to try to encourage the unity of ALL people who are outraged, saddened, and even made afraid by a murder like this one.

-- Mary Catherine Fish Mary Catherine Fish (mcfish@beyondbook.com), February 25, 2002.

Thank you Mary Catherine for reminding our community--with a voice of reason--that there are many ways to think about the world's tragedies and events than as an attack of "them" against "us." The wider the circle of "Us" that we can contribute to creating, the safer we will all be.

-- Ellen Pechman (empechman@earthlink.net), February 25, 2002.