Assaf Ramon, Yeshiva Boys and Yesha

It's fun and easy to trash the religious settlers in Israel as crazy, lawbreaking, anti-government anarchists. Think about this the next time you want to condemn them for their behavior:

When they heard the explosion of the plane, only about 1.2 kilometers away, they ran out to see what had happened, taking cameras with them. They filmed the plane burning, the arrival of the emergency crews, and the hubbub around the incident.

Somehow, word of the pictures got out, and more than one news agency contacted the boys and offered to pay thousands of shekels for the exclusive footage. When the boys realized that an Air Force pilot had been killed, they consulted with their Rosh Yeshiva (rabbinical dean), Rabbi Amichai Chazan. He explained to them the importance of behaving ethically in such a situation.

The boys understood his message, and refused to sell. "I don't want to profit from this type of situation in which a soldier dies," said one student, Nehorai Hadad.

Source

And just to be clear, the yeshiva is located in Maale Hever, south of in Yehuda. Had this been over "Palestine," you can be sure the flaming wreckage - as well as Arabs dancing and handing out candies - would have been all over the media, with two-bit terrorist groups vying for credit on who "shot down" the plane.

All too often the news from Israel is full of tragic events. The story of Assaf Ramon reminds us that we don't need the Arabs to generate our tragedy for us. May his family be comforted among the mourners of Tzion.