I came to Israel as a student five months ago. I have been given a lot to think about, as I've been here. I do want to weight in on the current war in the south, with what I now know, and my perspective from near by, but that will be tomorrow's diary. I want to first share an interesting experience I had here, a seminar.
It was with my class from school, about a month ago, so before the current conflict. There is a place, called Neve Shalom in Hebrew, Wahat al-Salam in Arabic, and Oasis of Peace in English. It's a village, and it's purpose, as the name would indicate, is to educate Israelis and Palestinians about one another. With my 10th grade class, I went there for a few days to meet and talk to a 10th grade class of Arabs. It's an understatement to say I learned a lot.
I want to note though, before I get started with my description, that these Arabs, though living in an Arab village, are from within Israel proper, and not Gaza or the West Bank, although they said they felt themselves to be included among the Arabs who live in those places. Of my class, I am the only American and the rest are all Jews born in Israel.
On the first day, we were supposed to just get to know one another, swapping stories of families, school, and hobbies. People were sort of friendly, but pretty cautious. One boy from my class confided to me that just seeing them, dressed the way they were, made him feel scared. Some people just hung back, nervous of how the other group would react to them. But overall, people were polite, curious, and willing to introduce themselves.
On the second day, politics came up and the atmosphere was more strained, the adult moderators struggling at a few points to maintain their veneer of positivity. We sat around in a circle, each group separating automatically like elementary school boys and girls, so that all of the Jews were on one side and the Palestinians on the other. As each person spoke, they would lean in to make their point.
The Arab kids talked about their civil rights. There was one guy who was particularly angry, and for a while he just wanted to vent, I think. He told us about how he was publicly humiliated when he tried to go into a mall, just because he was an Arab. The security guard (all malls here have armed guards because all the people gathered in one place is a terrorist magnet) singled him out because he was an Arab and grabbed his bag and dumped it's contents all over the floor to see if there were any weapons. He was completely embarrassed.
The Arabs had other complaints. They think it is totally unfair that the curriculum in their school is determined by a Jewish government, which means their classes include a Jewish religion class, and the history of the Jewish people, but not anything about the history of the Arab people. They also didn't like that, while they have to learn Hebrew in school, not a single one of the Jewish kids from my school had learned Arabic.
Even more significant, they talked about the social safety net, so to speak, of Israel. The kids we talked to feel that it doesn't include them. They said that there are lots of starving Arab children, and homeless, but the Israeli government doesn't help them as it would the same kind of people if they were Jewish. They accused Israel of neglecting those people, as well as underfunding schools, healthcare, and other benefits.
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On the other side of things, we also talked about some of the grievances, and general feelings, of the Jewish kids. There are too many things to list here, and I am mostly talking about the things I learned at the seminar, which means, mostly, the views of the Arabs. One important point though, is that if you do see it as these Arabs do and view it as a civil rights debate, you have to note that they are not protesting peacefully at all. Also remember that neither side is their government. And further there are lots of people on both sides who are much more moderate than the extremists who make the news.
Additionally, and not to use it as an excuse, but I want to give a reminder of why the Jewish people feel it is so important that Israel should exist. There are people all the time who are hurt because they are Jewish. Even in countries like the U.S. discrimination still runs deep and strong, and if you are a Jew, where else but the holy land are you to turn for refuge and safe haven from it? What other voice is there, a place where the minority is not that minority? It's comforting to me personally, to know that there is someplace out there that wants to protect me.
I know that stuff happens in America, like the vandalism that has occurred multiple times at my own synagogue. I also know that U.S. laws and principles are flexible, as President Bush has shown as and as was also proved in World War II when so many countries turned people away who were trying to flee the Holocaust. Where else are and were people like my grandmother to go, when after she survived being in Auschwitz death camp for years, people she had grown up with her hometown asked her "Why did you come back? It's a pity you didn't die!"
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At the end, of the seminar, one of the last things we talked about was a riot/protest that happened a while back, in the West Bank. Depending on the various accounts, it went something like this: Arabs were protesting Israel's being in the West Bank, when Israeli soldiers came to break it up. The Arabs started throwing rocks at the soldiers and the soldiers, fearing for their lives, open fired. They feared for their lives because in the past, rocks thrown at soldiers have been mixed with grenades and home-made bombs. Later though, the soldiers were punished.
When the subject came up, the kids we were talking to got pretty accusing. But it was the reaction of my classmates that startled me. With tears in their eyes, they shouted over the Arab's speeches that "We aren't those soldiers. But we are sorry." They were pleading, arms open, asking for forgiveness for Israel and not just for those soldiers. Forgiveness for all the things that the Arabs had talked about.
I felt it in the room, the atmosphere. It was the turning point. After that outburst, it was quiet for a moment, the room heavy as tears dried on both sides. It was good to get it out, and some deep breaths helped steady the anger and emotion. It's times like that, when it just feels good to release the pent up feelings, that I think will lead to peace.
It was good for me to go to this seminar, and good for everyone. There were some realizations, and venting of feelings, and good honest discussions. It may sound a little expected and cliche to say that at the end we all understood each other just a little bit better, but that really was what happened. But even after that moment, the question wasn't resolved. What should the soldiers have done in that situation? Lingering questions are the case of the general issue too. Even after we understand each other, if we can even get that far, there are many questions left. And no good answers.