Survivor’s Quiz
Living with terror.

By Miriam Himmelfarb, who writes technical documents for a Jerusalem high-tech company.
September 25, 2001 1:25 p.m.

n the wake of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, I've created a multiple-choice quiz to test your ability to deal with terrorism. Since I've lived in Jerusalem for the past 15 years, many of the examples are from Israeli life. I think, though, that they provide food for thought for other nations as well.

Multiple-Choice Quiz

1. Racial profiling

You are walking down a street in Israel on a warm summer's day, when you see a man wearing a heavy coat. His mid-section is bulging, and he looks like an Arab. You wonder if the man has explosives strapped to his chest. What do you do?

a. Nothing. You don't believe in racial profiling.
b. Run like the wind, and call the cops the moment you catch your breath.
The correct answer is b. If you answered a, you will be named humanitarian of the year, but the prize will be awarded posthumously. (This question is based on a real incident that occurred this year in Israel. In that case several racists did their own profiling and decided to call the cops. Unfortunately, the police didn't arrive in time to prevent the man from blowing himself up, taking about five civilians with him.)

2. Personal freedom

You are checking in for a flight at Ben Gurion airport. A security official asks you a series of questions: Who packed your luggage?, has it been in your possession since you packed it?, etc. After answering the questions, you are asked to open your suitcase and take out virtually every item in it. What do you do?

a. Refuse and make a scene. How dare they do this to you?
b. Grit your teeth and submit.
The correct answer is b. It is in your interest that terrorists be caught. As Jonah Goldberg has pointed out, freedom and convenience are not the same thing. In Israel, every time you enter a mall or supermarket your bag is checked, often with a metal detector. Is this annoying and inconvenient? Yes. Is it a violation of my civil liberties? I don't think so. A year into Yasser Arafat's war, with Israelis getting shot or blown up practically every day, my objectives have become fairly limited: Returning home in one piece every day is my main goal, and I am willing to put up with a little inconvenience — and even some loss of personal freedom — if it helps me reach that goal. I hope the U.S. never gets to this point, but I think that some additional security measures are needed. You should welcome them.

3. Targeted killings, a.k.a. pre-emptive assassinations

You are an intelligence service. You have concrete information that a known terrorist is planning attacks on your citizens. Alternatively, you know that a terrorist has been responsible for slaughtering your citizens in the past, and have reason to believe that he will strike again. What do you do?
a. Nothing. Killing the man without due process is immoral and possibly illegal. If you stoop to the level of the terrorists, they have won.
b. Ask Yasser Arafat to arrest him.
c. Liquidate the terrorist ASAP.
The correct answer is c. This is war. You will save countless lives by killing him, and letting him live is immoral. If you answered a, the "human-rights" organizations will award you a medal, but you may be responsible for the deaths of innocent people. If you answered b, you will be placed in the nearest psychiatric ward and treated for delusional fantasies. (You may meet a number of Israeli political figures there, along with Colin Powell. Reuters reports that as recently as September 18, the State Department announced that "the United States has not dropped its opposition to 'targeted killings' of Palestinians by Israel despite a review of Washington's own policy on the issue.")

4. Retaliation

The U.S. needs to bomb those responsible for the recent attacks back to the Stone Age…

a. To prevent them from striking again.
b. To avenge the murders.
c. To punish the perpetrators.
d. All of the above.
The correct answer is d. While the main objective is to make sure the terrorists don't strike again, vengeance and punishment have gotten a bum rap. They shouldn't be the only reasons to go to war, but they are excellent secondary reasons.

5. Motive

Why do terrorists commit such acts?

a. Because they are poor and have no hope. The answer is to stamp out poverty in the world.
b. Because they are Muslim fundamentalists who hate the United States and/or Israel.
The correct answer is b. Bin Laden is a millionaire, and according to an Israeli expert on terrorism who studied Muslim suicide bombers, they come from all different socioeconomic strata.

6. Restraint

How does the Colin Powell Dictionary of the English Language define "restraint"?
a. What Israel should exercise when its citizens are slaughtered in terrorist attacks.
b. What the U.S. should not exercise when its citizens are slaughtered in terrorist attacks.
c. Both of the above.
The correct answer is c. At a press conference shortly after the September 11 attacks, Powell was asked a question that went something like this: You've been urging others [i.e., Israel] to exercise restraint. What do you think about restraint in the context of these latest attacks? Oddly enough, Powell didn't think restraint was appropriate for the U.S. That did not stop him, however, from recommending in the same press conference that Shimon Peres meet as soon as possible with Yasser Arafat.