Chapter three

When you stumble upon two people arguing, it's wise to remember that the back story isn't always obvious. Sure, Reuven is hitting Shimon now, but what happened last week? Did Shimon throw the first punch? Is Reuven escalating the conflict, or is he responding to an earlier escalation? Perhaps, what you're seeing now is "chapter three" of the disagreement. Perhaps if you knew what happened in chapters one and two, you'd have a different view of things.

I bring this up, because last week a close and valued friend asked me to link to the video of Hebron's Efrat Alkobi speaking vulgarly to Rajah Abu Ayisha, her Arab neighbor. (You've seen it; if not Google can help.)

Some people are certain that there was a poltical context to the disagreement between the two women. And, perhaps there's something to this. Perhaps attacking Ms. Abu Ayisha is Ms. Alkobi's idea of sport, or a cheap entertainment. But perhaps, Ms. Abu Ayisha is guilty of something, too, something that might justify the verbal lashing she received from Ms. Alkobi. It's impossible to tell from the edited footage, but it's not at all impossible to imagine a backstory that puts Ms. Alkobi firmly in the right.

I've never met or spoken to either woman. I don't know why they were arguing. I don't know why Ms. Alkobi chose to refer to her neighbor with obcenities. I don't know what, if anything, Ms. Abu Ayisha might have done to provoke such treatment. All I know is this: I was looking at chapter three.