By Yiftach Levy
SAN DIEGO — It would be understandable if Linda Bennett, whose daughter Marla was murdered in a terrorist bombing at Hebrew University in 2002, were opposed to the prisoner exchange deal that brought Gilad Shalit back to Israel. But she said she believes, along with most Israelis, including some whose own children were killed in other attacks, that the deal “must be done.” This, despite that fact that one of those responsible for the attack that killed her daughter (albeit not the terrorist who planted the bomb) is reportedly slated to be released as part of the deal.
Shalit, kidnapped in 2006 and held in Gaza since then by Hamas, with no contact with the outside world, was traded for over 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, some serving multiple life sentences for killing scores of Israelis. Linda Bennett, a longtime San Diego resident, prefers concentrating on the Jewish imperatives of saving a life and liberating captured soldiers, noting the contrast between that and the emphasis the “other side” puts on taking life. Bennett worried about Shalit during his years in captivity, and, while not happy about the cost of bringing him home, expresses relief about his release. She said that even Marla herself would have supported this deal due to her dedication to Jewish ethics.
Bennett said that American Jews have a responsibility to support Israel financially, through advocacy, and most important by visiting the Jewish state. She does not hide her annoyance when talking about the many Jews who’ve trotted to the most far-off, exotic destinations around the globe but have yet to set foot in Israel. She has visited Israel several times since Marla’s murder, and still fields calls from friends and acquaintances thinking about going to Israel but concerned about safety and security there. She always tells them to make the trip, pointing out that there are risks everywhere, but that Jews have only one homeland. A short time before she was killed, Marla famously wrote, “…there is nowhere else in the world I would rather be right now. I have a front-row seat for the history of the Jewish people. I am a part of the struggle for Israel’s survival.”
Marla’s passion fueled many more people’s connection to Israel, and inspired numerous tributes, from gardens at her undergraduate alma mater UC Berkeley and Camp JCA Shalom in Malibu, to scholarships at Pardes Institute and Hebrew University, where she was studying at the time of her murder. Perhaps most poignantly, three ambulances used by Magen David Adom, the Israeli emergency medical response organization, have been provided by the San Diego chapter of American Friends of Magen David Adom (AMFDA); the chapter itself is named in memory of Marla. In addition, according to Linda, no fewer than 15 babies (3 of them boys) have been named for Marla in the more than nine years since her murder.
All of these legacies, and numerous others, help Linda and her husband, Michael, go on with their lives, knowing that Marla’s memory remains strong in countless people’s minds and hearts, and that her spirit imbues physical spaces all over the world.
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Levy is a freelance writer based in San Diego. He may be contacted at yiftach.levy@sdjewishworld.com
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