"... It has been revealed that a Jewish woman is suspected of aiding the Palestinian responsible for the Wadi Ara taxi bombing of last month. Angelica Yosepov, 19, of Holon, is suspected of being an accomplice to Zeid Kiliani, of Siris village near Jenin, in two other attempted bombings as well as the taxi blast on March 1, in which Tiberias resident Claude Knap was killed and nine others were wounded. ... In the case of Kiliani, the police and General Security Service said Wednesday that he was involved in two attempted bombings in Tel Aviv, as well as the attempted murder of Col. (Res.) Ya'acov Ben-Dayan in the city's Carmel market in February. He allegedly slashed Ben-Dayan's throat with a knife, seriously wounding him. Kiliani had a criminal background and had been staying in Israel illegally. He reportedly met Yosepov a year ago, originally representing himself as a Druze who had served in the IDF. According to the allegations, the couple lived together in various places in the Tel Aviv region. Kiliani's brother was killed in clashes with the IDF at the beginning of the intifada, and he decided to take revenge with the help of Hamas. After the attack on Ben-Dayan, Kiliani left Israel, but later contacted Yosepov. They met and it was at that point she allegedly learned that he was a terrorist planning to carry our attacks in Israel. In February, she reportedly helped him plant bombs near a cafe in Rehov Allenby and the Dolphinarium beach. Subsequently, he boarded a taxi heading north. It is alleged that Yosepov was aware that he was carrying another bomb. Kiliani allegedly detonated the device when the taxi was stopped at a police checkpoint -- killing Knap and wounding nine people. Kiliani himself was badly wounded and was taken to Haifa's Rambam Hospital, where he was arrested. His girlfriend was arrested the same day and reportedly confessed to aiding and abetting Kiliani and not preventing terrorist attacks." (Jerusalem Post, April 5, 2001).

What can one say when a Jew collaborates in the murder and maiming of her own people? Impressionable Angelica Yosepov was only 18 years old when she first met Zeid Kiliani, y'mach sh'mo (cursed be his name). I am sure that she does not hate either her parents or the Jewish people, but she, nevertheless, betrayed all -- her God, her Land and her people -- because she became infatuated and "fell in love" with an Arab terrorist who initially gained her trust by claiming that he was a Druze Israel Defense Forces veteran. When he finally told her the truth about himself, and then asked for her help in making war against the Jewish people, she was forced to choose between her sexual attachment to him -- which she interpreted as "love" -- and her moral responsibilities to her people. This tragic episode demonstrates how the power of sexual attachment can cloud minds and force otherwise moral people to perpetrate immoral acts.

As is stated in Ecclesiastes: "Everything has its season, and there is a time for everything under the Heavens: A time to be born and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to uproot the planted. A time to kill and a time to heal; a time to wreck and a time to build. A time to weep and a time to laugh; a time to wail and a time to dance. A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones; a time to embrace and a time to shun embraces. A time to seek and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to discard. A time to rend and a time to mend; a time to be silent and a time to speak. A time to love and a time to hate; a time for war and a time for peace. What gain, then, has the worker by his toil? I have observed the task with which God has given the Sons of Man to be concerned: He made everything beautiful in its time; He has also put an enigma into their minds so that Man cannot comprehend what God has done from Beginning to End." (Ecc. 3:1-11).

God made every inclination beautiful when exercised for a proper purpose. Accordingly, the exercise of sexual attachment is beautiful when it is employed in the service of creating a family and in deepening the bond between husband and wife. As the Torah relates: "God blessed Noah and his sons, and He said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the land ... And you, be fruitful and multiply; teem on the Earth and multiply on it.'" (Gen. 9:1-7). But, the contrapositive is also true, namely, that God made every inclination abhorrent when exercised for an improper purpose. The improper exercise of sexual attachment is akin to the improper exercise of anger. Anger for the sake of Heaven is holy, but anger which arises from personal motivations is improper and even dangerous. As a result, the Sages condemned personal anger as a form of avodah zara (idolatry and other deviant worship), as it is said: "Whoever becomes angry falls prey to all sorts of Hellish forces ... Even the Divine Presence becomes unimportant to him." (Nedarim 22a-22b). So it is with the improper exercise of sexual attachment.

Sexual attachment is beautiful at the proper time and abhorrent at the improper time. Yet, in either case, its raw power to entice does not ever ebb but, rather, always remains at its zenith. But why such power to entice? The answer is to be found in the nature of Humankind. The human being is a combination of the Spiritual and the Physical. As is set forth in the Torah: "And God said, 'Let us make Humankind in Our Image, after Our Likeness. They shall rule over the fish of the sea, the birds of the sky, and over the cattle, the whole earth, and every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth.' So God created Humankind in His Image, in the Image of God He created him; male and female He created them." (Gen. 1:26-27). Although Humankind was created in the spiritual image of God, Humankind was also given physical dominion over the Earth. With such raw physical power at Humankind's disposal came the natural temptations towards egotism, corruption and violence, in whose service sexual attachment is so readily employed. Nevertheless, since a human being's spiritual essence must continue to co-exist with, and even thrive in, a world created and defined according to physical parameters, he must constantly strive to control such physical temptations, and not permit them to control him. The task is difficult, but not impossible. As the Torah relates: "And HaShem said to Cain, 'Why are you annoyed, and why has your countenance fallen? Surely, if you improve yourself, you will be forgiven. But if you do not improve yourself, sin rests at the door. Its desire is towards you; yet you can conquer it.'" (Gen. 4:6-7).

Clearly, like every other inclination that God created for our benefit and detriment, sexual attachment can be employed in the service of Good or Evil. In the case of Angelica Yosepov, an Arab terrorist used it as a powerful weapon against an impressionable young girl. She is responsible for her choice to succumb to it -- a choice that caused many Jews to be murdered and maimed -- and she will probably spend much of the rest of her life in prison on account of it; but this is yet another warning to all Israel of the corrosive influence that eats away at our people each and every day that we do not remove the enemies from within our gates.

© Mark Rosenblit

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