Patterns derive from repetition and periodicity. Pattern matching finds the constituents of a pattern, whereas pattern recognition searches for underlying patterns that are similar but not an exact match. Let's take two recent news stories and see if we can identify the patterns involved.

The Junior Fencing World Cup in Burgos, Spain turned into a political arena this past weekend when 12 pro-Palestinian protestors stormed the bleachers during a match between Israel and Spain, shouting anti-Israeli slogans and wielding anti-Israel signs.

"It was very scary," said Israeli coach Yaakov Brusovnick, whose trainee Irina Levin was competing when the protest broke out. "They tried to destroy the competition and started to descend towards the area of the match.... I have been coaching in Israel for two years, and it's the first time that this has happened. The judge immediately stopped the match, and different coaches from different countries began to confront the protestors in an attempt to remove them from the hall."

Two days later, 17-year-old Levin still sounded distraught while trying to recap the event in a phone interview. "I was in the middle of the match in the first level when I heard someone shouting 'Israel, Israel,'" she told Ynet. "I asked myself, who came to cheer for me? Suddenly I turn my head and see a giant Palestinian flag, and people waving signs."

Levin added that the team has undergone safety training and was told to keep their distance, and yet the incident was unexpected. "There was a Star of David on my suit, and everything was directed at me and at Israel," she continued. "I immediately stopped the fight and the judge didn't know how to react. The Spanish rival's coach went up and tore their sign, and ran away because they wanted to attack him. I was shaking during the entire competition and everyone tried to calm me down."

Levin said that police officers secured the hall for the duration of the competition following the incident, but even with their presence she was still afraid. "I was looking around me all the time, I was very scared," she said. "You don't know if they will come back, or if they will come to my hotel. It really scared me. They had fire in their eyes."

We don't learn if the protesters are actually Palestinians, but Occam's razor will suffice in this instance.

An Israeli student at the University of Genoa in Italy was harassed and threatened by Palestinian students last Tuesday, only to be ignored by the police.

Assaf, a 26-year-old Israeli architecture student, was eating at the cafeteria when Ibrahim Haji, a student from Gaza, came and began taunting him."He came towards me, punched me and said 'why are you looking at me?' I told him I wasn't looking at him, and asked him to let me eat in peace," Assaf said. "A minute later he was back, swinging a fork, and called me in front of everyone to come outside while cursing Israel and declaring his intention to kill.

I understood that I have to avoid this dangerous situation. I told my Italian friends, who were eating with me, that I'm going back to my room so as not to respond to this provocation. On my way out I turned to the cashier and told her, 'Call the police. You heard the man threatening to kill,' and she responded, 'It's not my job to separate Jews and Arabs.'"

Assaf's attempt to distance himself from the fight failed. Ibrahim waited for him outside and went for the attack. As Assaf tried to defend himself, Italian passersby stepped in to intervene and held him back. Ibrahim took the opportunity to draw a large kitchen knife. The Italian students tried to stop him.

"I saw death in front of my eyes. I broke free and ran into the storage in the kitchen and locked myself in. After a few minutes more Muslim students arrived and began shouting 'Allahu Akbar' (God is great) and 'Itbach el Yahud' (slaughter the Jews). Later I understood that there are over 40 angry students there. The Italians disappeared; they were scared to deal with them. I managed to get myself into the trash facility. I climbed a three-meter wall and jumped. I told myself it's better to break a leg than to get killed."

Assaf said that he went to the police but was ignored, until he turned to the community rabbi and additional Jewish families for assistance. "We filed an official complaint with the police, and they even informed the local investigation agency," said Chaim Amar, a 28-year-old medical student who serves as a security officer at the local synagogue. "Unfortunately, nothing came of it so far."

According to Amar, the police are familiar with Haji from previous violent incidents. It wasn't his first time threatening the life of an Israeli student, and he reportedly harasses female Israeli students regularly. "It's a matter of time before his next violent outburst," Amar said.