Tourists: Don't Play With Pirates

[RYP]

Israeli honeymooners attacked by pirates in Zanzibar
Machete-wielding pirates attack Yoav and Esther Peled; Yoav fights back, loses some fingers – but surgeons managed to reattach them
Shiri Hadar
Published: 06.20.12, 23:40 / Israel News



A honeymoon turned sour this week for an Israeli couple who were attacked by pirates in Zanzibar.

Yoav and Esther Peled of Givatayim married on May 30 and travelled to the Tanzanian islands after the wedding. On Sunday, a group of pirates armed with machetes attacked the couple. Yoav, who confronted them, lost some of his fingers to the pirates' blades.

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Peled managed to reach medical help, and was flown from Zanzibar to Dar es-Salaam, the largest city in Tanzania, where he had emergency surgery. The cut he sustained from the pirates' machete was extremely deep, reaching the nerves of his hand, but the doctors nevertheless reattached his severed fingers.

The Foreign Ministry said that it was familiar with the incident. "It happened Sunday during a robbery. The man is currently hospitalized in Zanzibar. His family knows, and so does (the couple's) insurance company, Harel."

Hilik Magnus, who conducts search and rescue operations for the Phoenix insurance company, said that tourists must act with the understanding that if they encounter pirates, they must cooperate quietly.


"Tourists are the preferred targets for criminal incidents, because they're defenseless. In addition, from the perspective of politics, everyone involved wants to gloss over the incident so the place doesn't gain a reputation as dangerous for tourists," Magnus added.