May 1, 2005










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Israeli Experiences with Terror Provides Lesson For Americans

Review by
Peggy Tartora
Managing Editor

LIVING WITH TERRORISM: Survival Lessons from the Streets of Jerusalem, by Howard Linett, ©2005, Published by Paladin Press, 7077 Winchester Cir., Dept. GWK, Boulder, CO 80301; phone: 800-392-2400; on-line; www.paladin-press.com. paperback, 288 pages, with photos. Price: $20, plus shipping and handling.
        Israel is the world democracy that has borne the brunt of terrorism for the past 25 years, and while it was generally understood that is was the country after which other democracies should model their anti-terrorism efforts, it wasn't until Sept. 11, 2001 that "average" Americans began paying serious attention to the lives of 'average" Israelis.
        We have been lucky since 9-11, but that hasn't lessoned the importance of continued vigilance and continued effort on our part.  Gun owners were ahead of the personal security curve, as many had already thought about dealing -- an prevailing -- against a violent threat.
        Howard Linett writes under his own name and pseudonyms for a number of firearms publications.  He and his wife line in Israel where he has been a member of the Police Civil Guard  since 1976 and a member of it's Jerusalem Sniper Unit since 1975.  He's also an instructor and lecturer there.
        Some of Linett's book, Living with Terrorism, will seem like a bad dream: not only is terrorism a 

 constant threat in Israeli society, but it is a constant which affects everyone, from school children to teenagers out eating pizza on the weekend, from young soldiers and Border Patrol guards to folks practicing their religion.
         While some differences between Israel and the US -- including our peaceful borders and our sheer size -- make it unlikely that the daily threats Israelis like with will occur here, the similarities between the  countries make it possible, and the post 9-11 world would seem to dictate some attention be paid to people who have lived through it.
        As a simple review of some of the counter measures against them, much of the book is useful.  Beginning with 
a chapter entitled "Risk Assessment" each chapter details the Israeli experience, the responses of the government and the individual people and contains an information box titled "In the USA" which relates the chapter to American experience.   
        The book offers many good tips on changing routines, such as driving routes and training oneself to be alert to anomalies that may signal danger.  While learned the hard way, at the hands of terrorists, much of this material will prove useful in everyday life for most Americans.