Attack Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Attack - Essay Example Israel uses all possible means to ensure that the balance of power in the Middle East shifts in her favor. Palestine on the other hand is gripped by fear as Israel strives to maintain and extend her territorial boundaries. Israel has continually done everything in her power to dominate Palestine. In an attempt to fight that dominance, Palestinians have realized their cause, for which they are willing to give up anything – even their own lives. In the fight for their cause, Palestinians have opted for radical measures, including guerilla tactics and terrorism. Extremist groups have emerged, and suicide bombers have realized the need for their hostile acts. In â€Å"The Attack†, Khadra depicts this situation, vividly describing the complexities entailed in both the Palestinian cause and the Israeli cause. In both, the end justifies the means. â€Å"The Attack† neutrally highlights the Arab-Israeli conflict. It offers a multidimensional scope on the hindrances for q uest for peace in the Middle East. Through a political fiction, it aims to elaborate what drives extremists to fight for â€Å"the cause†. It shows why extremists would not think twice about blowing themselves up in order to achieve their end. The author portrays this through the narrator of the story, Dr. Amin Jaafari, an Israeli-Arab. Dr. Amin seems to blend well in an Israeli society, in Tel Aviv. He is a successful surgeon, married to a loving, beautiful and seemingly secular wife. He seems oblivious of the separatist views experienced by Arabs and the Israelis. Unlike most people in the region who are driven by ethnic and religious differences, he is driven by his ambitions to succeed in his career. His bubble bursts when he finds out that his wife was involved in a suicide bombing that left innocent people dead and injured. At first, he did not believe that his wife could be capable of such an evil act until the police asked him to identify the body of the suicide bombe r. He was shocked when the police told him that his wife had not gone to the restaurant where the incident occurred to have a snack. Instead, she went to have a blast (Khadar, 2006). Later, a letter from his wife confirmed his doubts. The incidence gives him the desire to understand his wife’s extremist side, a side he had barely figured out before. The author poses fundamental questions regarding the complexities of the Arab-Israeli conflict. He leaves the reader wondering whether the cost paid for the cause is worth it. Lives are lost; people are left psychologically disturbed by the effects of recurrent bomb attacks, hostilities and general unrest. Those close to the attackers are left tormented by betrayal and deceit. For Dr. Amin, news of his wife’s involvement with a fanatic group leaves him with a lot of unanswered questions. After the attack, Amin loses his friends, neighbors and political affiliates, who think that he was his wife’s partner and is there fore equally guilty. Truth is, unlike his wife, he was dedicated to setting aside religious differences; and focusing on his career and success. It is disturbing to imagine why â€Å"a beautiful, intelligent, modern woman, esteemed by the people around her, thoroughly assimilated, pampered by her husband and worshiped by her friends† could end up as a suicide bomber (Khadra 2006). The author leaves the reader wondering whether seemingly modernized individuals from the Middle East may just be putting on a