Letter: Sniper attacks give a glimpse into Israeli reality

Being from Montgomery Country, Maryland, I have had the privilege to experience true terror. For fall break, I drove home to visit friends and family expecting to find the sheltered little town I remember. Instead, I encountered a battlefield marked with death and fear. With the serial sniper on the loose, it was no surprise that my sheltered little town had changed drastically.

Unlike other breaks last year or during high school, there were no late nights of wandering around for fun and excitement. The entire town was on lockdown. High school football and soccer games were canceled. My brother's basketball tryouts, which were to be held in a gym, were canceled for the third time.

Being abruptly forced into this unfamiliar environment, I could not help but think about how my situation was so strikingly similar to the situation occurring currently in Israel, where each and everyday Israelis are forced to live in fear of being blown up by homicide bombers on buses and in cafes or being shot at on the streets simply because they are Israeli.

Here, confined within the safety of the Duke campus, we are able to separate ourselves from these realities happening around the world since most do not directly affect us. However, terror is closer to us than we think. A couple months ago a homicide bomber blew himself up in a cafeteria at Hebrew University in Israel killingseven students, two of them Israeli and five of them American. Just think how it would feel to be in constant fear for your life next time you decide to go to Dillo, The Loop or McDonalds.

I only experienced terror for three days while the Israelis experience terror every day of their lives. I had the freedom to runaway and hide from terror and fear here in this utopian bubble.

Not until we as a community step forward from isolation and speak out against the crimes against humanity throughout the entire Arab world will an Israeli (Muslim, Christian or Jewish) ever be free.