Part 1, Chapter 3 Summary

Chapter 3 is entitled "Terrorism: the Banality of Evil." It opens with a depiction of an incident in April of 1984 on King George Street, at the heart of the Jewish part of Jerusalem. Four heavily armed young Arabs seize a hostage, and then release him; two are pursued by an armed Jewish mob. One is gunned down, while the second blows himself up with a grenade. Israeli soldiers and police arrive, but the frenzied mob is still in control. Arabs are rounded up for questioning. Rumors spread of a female accomplice - either Scandinavian or Japanese - and foreign tourists fitting the description are assaulted. Jews who employ Arabs are denounced. The expulsion of all Arabs from the city - if not their extermination - is demanded.

Shipler claims Jerusalem at the time he and his family lived there was a safer...