Eilat Resident Yossi Woltinski, a Lieutenant Colonel in the IDF reserves, reported Monday that he picked up the terrorist who bombed an Eilat bakery Monday morning. Woltinski was on his way to work when he picked up the terrorist, who was hitchhiking his way to downtown Eilat.
Woltinski said he quickly became suspicious of the young man, who wore a red coat and did not talk. After deliberately driving to a sparsely populated area, Woltinski told the man to get out of the car. He then called the police and gave them a detailed description of the man.
Unfortunately, the terrorist saw police coming and detonated himself in a local bakery, killing three. However, chances are good that Woltinski’s actions prevented a higher number of fatalities.
What is your opinion about what Yossi did? On one hand, while I am extremly glad that he did not drive the terrorist to the more populated downtown Eilat, I can't help wondering why he did drive to a sparsley populated area. I have been to Eilat a couple of times, and from most places, it is only a five minute drive to get to an area where no one is. Do you think if he had driven to the desert, this bombing could have been prevented? While discussing it with someone, they responded, if he had driven to the desert, the terrorist would probably have blown himslef up in Yossi's car. Do you think Yossi did the right thing, or if you were in his place, would you have done differently and tried to save any more lives? (P.S. I am very glad yossi did not drive the suicide bomber to the center of town as was Yossi's original destination, but I can't help wondering if the entire bombing could have been prevented?)
What if he hadn't picked up the hitchhiker at all... the hitcher might have been picked up by a police officer.
Hitching in the US is practically obsolete. You just can't be sure who you are letting into your car and what kind of bizarre choices you might have to make as a result of it.
Posts: 3049 | Location: USA | Registered: 06-04-02
Leppi, the man called the police. He forced the bomber to alter his plans. He wasn't certain the man was a bomber. If he would have taken the man out to the desert, and he wasn't the bomber, he would have been abandoning him in the middle of nowhere. Yes, had he left him in the desert, the man could have been picked up by the police. He could have also been picked up by a busload full of children, a man and his young family, or even a carload of other bombers. You asked, "Do you think if he had driven to the desert, this bombing could have been prevented?" Yes, it could have. It could also have been prevented had Woltinski been the Mad Strangler of the Negev. (Of course, had he been the Strangler, and the hitchhiker just a hitchhiker, an innocent man would have been murdered.) But none of those things happened. Woltinski acted on what he knew, the facts available to him at the time, not the facts available to us now.
Hindsight is wonderful, but it doesn't help the situation Woltinski faced.
Posts: 17030 | Location: Lincoln Place, Granite City, IL, USA | Registered: 06-03-02
The BBC has a slightly different and much more detailed version of events, in which the driver clearly did the best he could: 'How I picked up a suicide bomber'
