Knife used in terror attack
Knife used in terror attackIsrael Police

There are terror attacks only the IDF knows about, there are terror attacks only the police know about, and there are terror attacks no one knows about, because the rock didn't hit its mark and the people involved did not report the attack.

That's what Boaz Golan, a Channel 20 and 0404 reporter, said during the Derech Haim Movement's annual conference.

"Two yeras ago, I asked Magen David Adom for the statistics on how many people were injured in rock attacks," Golan said. "I haven't received them yet. I asked an Egged spokesman how many buses were damaged - I haven't received an answer. I asked the IDF - and I didn't receive an answer. The Shabak (Israel Security Agency) also didn't answer me."

"The statistics Shabak tell us every year are completely untrue," Golan continued. "If they wanted to sue me, I would stand by my word. Shabak is lying to the State of Israel and to the media when it talks about how many terror attacks there are."

"Egged gave me a pat answer, that they were 'requested not to publicize statistics' and I should turn to 'officials.' They told me to go to the police, who told me to to go the army. I've never met with such a wall of silence before. It's obvious they're trying to hide facts from the public."

Golan was participating in a panel on the subject of whether enough is being done to eradicate terror against Jewish citizens in Judea, Samaria, and the rest of Israel.

"Terror attacks have been going on for many years, but the media ignores it," Golan accused. "Rocks have been thrown at Jews for forty years already - and not just in Judea and Samaria. Even what we report, we report only because it happened on our site and on Hakol Hayehudi's site. Today stones were thrown on the light rail train in Jerusalem. Have you heard a single word about it?"

"Rocks are even thrown on the road which goes around the PA village of Hussan, but you don't hear a word about that, either. The new 'Kan' broadcasting corporation is the same way.

"If we had money, we would pay Kan to fight rock terror. We would pay seventy million shekels a year from Israelis' taxes, in order to support the media."

Honenu attorney Haim Bleicher said, "There is a possibility of legally fighting this, and that's what Honenu has been doing in the past several months. We follow lawsuits, the police's work, and how complaints are dealt with. We're just starting out, but I've already been to police stations a few times. The officers ask why we're there, and I tell them that we help victims of criminal offenses and terror attacks, follow files, and check that our clients' files are dealt with."

"The officers tell me, 'Finally, you've arrived! Finally, there are Jews who are doing this job! Where were you until now? This is what the left has been doing for years, for every case on the other side.'

"If we follow these investigations, if the public cares and pressures the government, if we insist on our rights and stop being embarrassed to stand up for them, if we come to terrorists' court hearings and insist the punishments be more severe, and refuse plea bargains - then the system will feel the pressure, the authorities will have to deal with it, and things will change."

Meanwhile, Golan blames the security situation on the number of reports and how the security forces work on the ground.

"Last June, the number of terror attacks was at its lowest in a decade, and that's because of the reports published on 0404 and Hakol Hayehudi," he said. "We are fighting tooth and nail, because we believe that if we can save even a single life, it will all be worth it. And we don't care about what happens. All we care is that it works."

Once, the Samaria Regional Council asked Golan to stop publishing every rock attack, because it's hurting their tourism.

"I told them that it's exactly the opposite: Since we've started publicizing the attacks, the IDF has started to take control of the situation. They placed cameras along Route 443 and dealt with the attacks on the light rail. More people started coming to Samaria after we began publicizing the attacks.

"We don't need to be afraid, we just have to put everything on the table and pressure the decision makers. We need to let them know we're not suckers."

The Derech Haim conference was held in Jerusalem, with approximately 200 members of the movement. During the conference, participants examined various aspects of the legal system, welfare system, diplomatic system, and others.

Derech Haim President Rabbi Yitzhak Ginsburgh spoke about "religious coercion," which causes strife and tension.

"First of all, we need to increase in love, peace, and brotherhood, like our Sages taught us: 'Be from the students of Aaron the High Priest, loving peace, and chasing peace.' (Avot 1:12) This is especially true during the month of Av, when we mourn Aaron's passing and the destruction of the Holy Temples," Rabbi Ginsburgh said.

"In order to reach true love and peace, we do not need to hide the truth. Apologetics are not the solution."

Rabbi Ginsburgh also spoke about the secular approach, which sees freedom and equality as a kind of religion. The Torah, he said, has a way to settle every difference of approach and a way to find true connection. There are ways to bridge gaps, and they are to be found in the Torah itself. We only know the revealed parts of the Torah, we don't clearly know its hidden aspects.

Derech Haim has over 5,000 members. With Rabbi Ginsburgh at its head, the movement works to lead Israel's public to live a life of faith and Torah, with a whole nation in a whole land.