Veteran Journalists Kick Off Festival of Jewish Books & Authors

When veteran journalists Jennifer Griffin and her husband Greg Myre arrived in Jerusalem in 1999, they were surprised to find how normal and calm everyday life was. But they soon discovered that another conflict between Israelis and Palestinians was brewing, which erupted in a second Intifada in the fall of 2000 that lasted for several years.

Griffin and Myre recount their experiences living in and reporting on the deadliest conflict ever between Israelis and Palestinians in a recently published book, This Burning Land. Griffin worked as a foreign correspondent for Fox News and Myre was a reporter for The New York Times. The journalists shared personal accounts of what it was like raising a family and working in Jerusalem during the second Intifada with a crowd of about 150 at the Festival of Jewish Books and Authors at the Monday night.

Myre said they wrote the book not just to discuss the overarching Israeli-Palestinian issues, but to detail some of the personal stories of Israelis and Palestinians and how their lives were being affected by the constant conflict.

One of the people featured in the book is a Cleveland native who moved to Israel and worked in emegency medicine. Dr. David Applebaum "helped set up clinics and he revamped procedures," said Myre. "He became known as the first man on the scene to treat patients at a (terrorist) attack or bombing scene (and treated victims of dozens of suicide bombings).”

In September 2003, right before the second anniversary of 9/11, Applebaum spoke at a conference in New York where he spoke to emergency responders about how Israel treated victims of terrorist attacks. He reportedly ended his presentation with these remarks: "From one moment to the next, we never know what will happen in the ER (emergency room), but it's in Jerusalem that real reality occurs.”

Soon after he returned to Israel, Applebaum was looking forward to the wedding of his 20-year-old daughter, Nava Applebaum.

“He took his daughter to a café to have a father/daughter talk on the night before the wedding….and a suicide bomber walks in,” Myre said. “The following day, instead of a wedding, there was a funeral (for Dr. Applebaum and his daughter) that was attended by thousands and thousands of people.”

Despite this tragic story and many others among the Israelis and Palestinians, people somehow managed to live their lives from day to day.

“To give you a sense of what it’s like to live constantly in a war zone: When you check out from the hospital in the U.S. after having a baby, you're given a box of Pampers, maybe baby formula. We were given a certificate for a gas mask tent for our new baby’s crib,” said Griffin. “In the book we write that it is literally no exaggeration that on the day they are born, Israelis begin preparing for war.”

Nevertheless, Griffin and Myre said most Israelis and Palestinians hope to achieve peace some day.

“There are many people on both sides who still do believe a solution is possible,” said Griffin. “It’s that we feel after this decade (of the second Intifada) we really have taken many steps back.”

Griffin and Myre live in Washington, D.C. with their three children. Griffin is a national security correspondent for Fox News and Myre is senior editor for National Public Radio’s Morning Edition.