Fire bomb
Fire bombSamaria Residents' Council

Arabs hurled a fire bomb at a car driven by a Jew south of the Tunnels Roadblock in the Etzion Bloc Thursday evening.

No one was hurt and no damage was caused. Military forces combed the area in search of the attackers.

More interestingly, perhaps, the incident prompted a revealing Facebook post by Yotam Barazani, a news editor on Voice of Israel public radio.

Barazani quoted the news item that reported the attack, as it was broadcast on Voice of Israel. He then added:

"Three dry sentences in the 10:00 p.m. news edition. Three sentences that do not convey the drama that took place there. This fire bomb was thrown at a car that was driven by my brother, Tal. At the last moment, he managed to see a person who was about to throw something at him, and stepped on the gas with full force. In the rear view mirror, he managed to see an explosion on the road behind him. There was a lot of luck here.

"Events like this take place numerous times, every day, in Judea and Samaria,” Barazani added. “Most of them are not reported. If my brother had not informed me, I am sure that the news would not be reported on Voice of Israel. As it is, I do not see a report about the fire bomb anywhere [else].

Barazani commented acerbically: “Actually, I can understand that. It is just 'child's play.' It's not like someone punctured the tires of a car.”

The “child's play” quotation refers to a recent statement by a military court judge, who said that some people throw rocks at cars “as an act of mischief.” The reference to puncturing of tires is Barazani's way of noting that the media plays up alleged Jewish vandalism against Arabs.

Barazani added that he does not think that anyone on the Voice of Israel would have actually censored a report about a fire bomb – but that for some other reason that he himself is unsure of, it never would have been reported.