As Nature and National Parks Protection Authority ranger Pini Birenbaum was making his rounds near the Mount of Olives on Sunday morning, it was his alertness and quick thinking, he said, that saved his life.
Birenbaum, who patrols various Nature and Parks Authority sites throughout Jerusalem as part of his job, was making his way through the Jerusalem Trail in the Yad Avshalom neighborhood on Sunday, when a young man approached him and attempted to stab him with a knife.
"I saw him coming towards me and at first I didn't think anything of it," Birenbaum told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday afternoon. "But as he got closer, I could see that he was hiding something in his right hand - it looked to me like some kind of a tool or even a knife."
Birenbaum's suspicions were confirmed moments later, when the man, a 20-year-old Arab whose identity had not been released by press time, lunged at him with a large blade. Birenbaum was able to dodge the initial strike and pull out his service weapon - a handgun - subduing his attacker until police and border patrol officers arrived on the scene. The close call, however, was not lost on the ranger.
"He walked right up to me and tried to stab me in the abdomen," Birenbaum said. "It all happened so fast. If I hadn't been paying attention, or if I had acted more slowly, God forbid, you might not be interviewing me right now." [emphasis added]
Article here. It's much easier to defend against an attack you see coming, than against one you don't. Once again, my keen insight into the blindingly obvious is on display for all to see. :-) Stay alert, and trust your instincts.
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