Entry 3

The documentary, To Die in Jerusalem was at times very disturbing. It was about the mothers of two girls who had died in a suicide bombing. One of the girls, Ayat, was the bomber, and the other, Rachel, the only other person to died during the attack. It struck me how young Ayat was. She was, according to the documentary, just eighteen when she did this. Ayat's mother clearly had no idea this was going to happen, and neither did her friends. All of them were, it seemed, quite shocked that she would choose to do this. Ayat was so young and it made me remember a lot of the incredibly stupid things I did when I was eighteen and how unlike me, Ayat would never have a chance to regret doing them. I'm not sure why, but Rachel did not quite evoke as much sympathy from me. I think it's because my view of her is colored by her mother. Much of the film focused on Rachel's mother, who was determined to speak to Ayat's mother. As the documentary went on, she became less and less put together as her daughter's death almost seemed to consume her life. Admittedly, I have no idea what it is like to loose a child, but Rachel's mother seemed to be quite extreme at times. It was as if the only opinion that mattered to her was her own. Likewise, she was sure that Ayat's mother had known about what Ayat was planning. When the two women finally spoke, it became clear that Rachel's mother was only willing to listen to her own opinion and refused to listen to Ayat's mother, who was trying to bring up several very good points.