04-May-15: At a Jerusalem tram stop today, a man with a knife and murder on his mind is the sole casualty

Security at the French Hill tram stop [Image Source]

Once more, a miracle in broad daylight. A Jerusalem Arab has given physical expression to his political (and perhaps religious) viewpoint by means of a knife and a brief visit to a tram-stop in the nation's capital on a bright sunny day. Thankfully, alert security personnel stopped him cold.

This comes from a Times of Israel report:

A Palestinian man tried to stab a security guard at a light rail train stop in Jerusalem on Monday, but was stopped by security personnel who shot and subdued him. The attacker, whom police identified as a 35-year-old Palestinian from the Shuafat refugee camp in East Jerusalem, was lightly wounded, Israel Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said in a statement. A security guard told police the Palestinian had “attacked him from behind” before running toward people waiting at the station, Samri said. Several other security guards then opened fire at his legs before overpowering him. He was evacuated to Hadassah Hospital in the Ein Kerem neighborhood. There were no injuries to any of the passengers or the guards, and light rail services resumed shortly afterward. The area, near Jerusalem’s northeastern French Hill neighborhood, has seen numerous attacks on Israelis in recent months. ["Security guards thwart attempted stabbing in Jerusalem", Times of Israel, today]

There's a brief video clip about the attack on the Israel National News (via YouTube) here. And for readers interested in putting today's attempted murder into an appropriate context, here are some of our posts from the past few weeks:

• 29-Apr-15: Almost entirely unreported, violent Arab attacks in and on Jerusalem
• 17-Apr-15: In the aftermath of another lethal car-ramming in Jerusalem
• 16-Apr-15: At a bus stop stop in Jerusalem's French Hill on Holocaust Memorial Day, two lives upended
• 07-Mar-15: For some, but only some, Friday's Jerusalem ramming/slashing was yet another terror attack
• 06-Mar-15: Jerusalem, Purim and terror... once again
• 22-Feb-15: Stabbing attack in Jerusalem's City Hall Square; the terrorist is apprehended by the mayor and his bodyguard

Chances are that unless you live in the same country that we do, some or all of these reports will never have reached the mainstream media in your community. That means the debate over terrorism, its victims and what ought to be done with and to the perpetrators will probably make very little sense to the people living near you. That includes the trivial detail that today's attacker is now somewhere inside the best hospital within a thousand kilometers, getting the very best of medical care from people who will probably ride home when their shift ends via the same Jerusalem Light Rail that tantalizes the feverish passions of tomorrow's knife man, and next week's.

What motivates a person to try to carry out an act of murder among his or her neighbours, by trying to stab them to death, preferably from behind? Surprisingly, that's not a rhetorical question. It has an actual answer. And it's here: "28-Dec-14: You there with the knife. What are you waiting for?"