• Educating the British Press

3.2.2003 MIG-News

A group of young British reporters, members of BICOM, came recently to David InterContinental Hotel in Tel-Aviv to meet with the victims of the Dolphinarium terrorist bombing.

The meeting was attended by the mothers of the killed children - Irina Rudina, Bronislava Osadchaya, Liliya Zhukovskaya, - and Polina Valis who had been wounded in the explosion.

An excerpt from Empty Rooms, a film commissioned by the Fund and made by a noted Dutch Director Willy Lindwer, was also shown. The film is based on Dolphinarium: Terror Targets the Young, a book also published by the Fund.

Following the screening, the victims answered the questions from the media and told about their current life and their participation in the activities that commemorate their killed children. Polina Valis said she would like to become a social worker - but she also takes an interest in journalism, so meeting with her future colleagues was of interest to both sides.

The mothers showed the journalists pictures of their daughters. After the meeting each guest got a copy of an English-language edition of the Dolphinarium book. Together, they proceeded to the site of the tragedy and tried to light up 21 candles - one for each victim. Unfortunately, the wind was blowing too hard for the candles to burn.

The British journalists were clearly touched by what they had seen, but will their articles equally touch the hearts of their readers and counter the wave of anti-Semitism that permeates Great Britain along with the rest of Europe?

On the first of every month, parents come to the monument to lay flowers and light up candles. The guests left their candles under a glass, to be lit up later. One hopes that the articles written by these journalists will light up the hearts of their readers, and these candles will not have to wait for the next generation to condemn terrorism.