by VICTOR KOTSEV
TEL AVIV – Much was written about the Osama bin Laden assassination in the past week. The larger-than-life arch-terrorist sparked the imaginations of many, and each in a different way. To the West he was a monster, even a bit of a Frankenstein who turned against his former patrons (lest we call them creators) of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and spread a radical ideology of hatred and violence with bone-chilling success.
To many Arabs – including the Palestinian militant movement Hamas – he was a “martyr” and a “holy warrior”. To some, such as his former bodyguards, he was a charismatic Arsenal fan who quoted Charles de Gaulle and had a passion for natural remedies. [1] To others, for example to certain Iranian politicians, he was a “Zionist stooge”. [2]
Similarly to most Americans, most Israelis on the street greeted the news of Bin Laden’s death with sincere joy. After all, the late al-Qaeda leader was one of the bitterest enemies of the Jewish state. A laconic “Finally!” was among the most common reactions. On a political level, the event is far more ambiguous, as it could herald a showdown between newly-empowered United States President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu; nevertheless, no Israeli politician could afford to be seen as regretting it.
“The state of Israel shares the American nation’s joy on this historic day,” Netanyahu reportedly told Obama right after the operation. “This is a ringing victory for justice, freedom and the values shared by all democratic nations fighting determinedly shoulder to shoulder against terrorism.”
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