Why is it that so often the only thing capable of opening people's eyes - or their hearts - is a tragedy?
In Israel, 11-year-old Daniel Yuval's terrible accident may end up moving the Israeli government, and quite possibly, the entire society, in a more sensible direction.
Daniel Yuval, a precocious 11-year-old Israeli, was walking in fresh Golan snow with his family in a field where other families were throwing snowballs. He stepped on a mine that blew off his right leg below the knee and shot shrapnel at his 12-year-old sister Amit.
Over the years, others have been hurt by land mines. But earlier this week, Daniel, fitted with a prosthesis, walked into the Parliament building in Jerusalem with his family and other victims, telling a committee meeting that the time had come for Israel to remove its land mines.
If you think American politicians are clueless and self-involved, how about this stunning admission by an Israeli member of Parliament?
Tzachi Hanegbi, a member of the opposition Kadima Party and chairman of the parliamentary committee on defense and foreign affairs, has taken up the cause, saying that until Mr. White came to see him recently, he had never considered the issue.
“I have been a member of the Knesset for 22 years, and I had no idea about the problem or the fact that there is a United Nations treaty signed by 158 countries against the use of land mines,” Mr. Hanegbi said in an interview. “Like many in Israel, I feel sad and humiliated that it has taken until now.”
Hang on... he's the chairman of the committee on <span style="font-style:italic;">defense and foreign affairs</span> - and didn't <span style="font-style:italic;">know</span> about the U.N. Treaty?
Oy!
At least he's man enough to admit publicly that he feels "sad and humiliated." John Boehner or Mitch McConnell would have found some way to blame Barack Obama and the Democrats.
Perhaps Daniel Yuval's tragedy, and his selfless, determined pursuit of what is right, will soften the unproductive machismo currently gripping the Israeli government.
“When I woke up from the operation in the hospital and saw that my right leg had been amputated, I said to my mother that I didn’t want anyone else to be hurt by land mines, and that I intended to do something about it,” he said in a statement.
Daniel did not complain about his fate, nor did he blame anyone for his suffering. Instead, he set to work, telling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by phone and a host of other senior officials in person that Israel’s policy had to change.
If one is disinclined to believe that Providence is at work here in the temporal world, then the "selection" of Daniel Yuval to be a transformative figure in the very tough and difficult land of Israel would seem to be happy evidence to the contrary.
Only very special personalities posses the rare ability to step outside of their personal tragedies and change the way the rest of us see the world. At 11 years old, Daniel Yuval is rare indeed.
Jerry White, co-founder of Survivors Corps, is an old friend of mine. He is another one of those very special personalities.
We were fellow students in Israel at the time of his accident in the Golan. I've witnessed his strength, courage and determination close up.
But his efforts internationally have been something else altogether. Along with many other extremely dedicated people, he has transformed the lives of thousands of land mine victims; in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Colombia, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Jordan, Uganda, Rwanda, Vietnam - and here in the U.S.
His tireless work helping to create the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the Convention on Cluster Munitions will help many, many more victims and help prevent injury to God knows how many others.
He and Daniel must make quite a pair.