L.A. Woman Studying in Israel Hurt in Bombing

A Los Angeles pediatrician whose daughter was seriously wounded in suicide bombings in Jerusalem expressed anger, frustration and sorrow Sunday at the vicious cycle of retaliation and violence that has dimmed the prospects for peace in Israel.

Speaking at the Museum of Tolerance, Charles Feinstein said he was horrified by the wounding of his 20-year-old daughter, Ariela, who was hit by shrapnel in Saturday’s explosions.

“I was devastated to hear my daughter was involved,” Feinstein said, briefing reporters on a cold and gray afternoon. “It took us a few hours of uncertainty to figure out she was OK.”

Feinstein said Israel had the right to defend itself, but he stopped short of calling for revenge. Others in Southern California were less restrained.

“Israel is an ally of America,” said Mike Benmoshe, who owns Shalom Pizza on Pico Boulevard in West Los Angeles. He called for Israel to conduct the same kind of fight against terrorism as the United States is waging in Afghanistan.

USC student Ross Golam, 21, who was at the Museum of Tolerance with his parents, said the United States needed to back Israel even further.

“It’s time to retaliate and time for more American support,” Golam said, adding that it was “hypocritical” to hold Israel back from retaliation in light of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

The weekend attacks drew criticism from Muslims as well, but they said Israel also shouldered some of the blame.

Salam Al-Marayati, director of the Muslim Public Affairs Council, called for an end to the “cycle of violence.”

“Nothing justifies this,” he said.

He said he hoped the United States would call for a truce and negotiations. Nevertheless, he said, people should be reminded that five Palestinian children were killed earlier in the week by an Israeli bomb.

Rabbi Stephen Einstein of Congregation B’nai Tzedek in Fountain Valley said he discussed the suicide bombings Sunday morning in his adult classes. “It’s very hard for us to have common ground with people who have that kind of mentality,” Einstein said. “We really can’t explain it because it doesn’t make sense to us.”

David A. Lehrer, regional director of the Anti-Defamation League, said the latest attacks help bolster the view that Palestinians and their leader, Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat, are not serious about the peace process.

“It clearly brings into to focus that either Arafat knows about the violence and condones it or can’t do anything to control it,” Lehrer said. “If it’s the former, then what kind of a partner is he for peace? If it’s the latter, then what kind of leader is he that can bring about a meaningful terror-free peace?”

Many Southern California Jews like Feinstein found themselves on the phone, frantically seeking information about loved ones and friends.

It took hours for him to learn that Ariela was in a Jerusalem hospital bed, her legs full of shrapnel.

She had spent a year and half attending religious school in Israel, and had just left a frozen yogurt stand in Zion Square when she heard an explosion and noticed blood trickling from her face. Looking down, she saw two large wounds where metal bolts had lodged in her legs. Her father said she is in serious condition after surgery.

Zion Square, where the bombings took place, is popular with young people because of its street performers, bars and restaurants.

Rachel Loskivitz, 27, who spent a year in Jerusalem, said she had often visited the square.

“It’s like the Santa Monica Promenade,” she said while walking her dog. “I can picture it in my head, with the bodies everywhere.”

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Times staff writer Kimi Yoshino contributed to this story.