I Write To You As an Israeli/-American; as a Humanitarian and as a Former Soldier - Yannai Kalman I write to you as an Israeli/-American; as a humanitarian and as a former soldier. Im not in Israel now, but I have been when rockets were falling. During other times when dropping everything and running for shelter was the norm. When explosions have felt far too close for comfort. Ive been to Sderot, where a day without rockets is an anomaly and children sing songs of courage with emergency instructions for lyrics. My family is in Israel and my friends are fighting for their safety. To all my Arab friends, Palestinian, Israeli or otherwise, I love you and feel a deep pain for the suffering of your brethren in Gaza. The shared history of our peoples is rife with misfortune and struggle, bad politics and cultural misunderstandings. We both say never forget, Jews in reference to the atrocities of the Holocaust and Palestinians with regard to their subsequent expulsion from many ancestral homes during the Naqba. We both are people who cling to the past because it defines us and because we are proud of our struggles and our perseverance, our heritage rich with tradition and wisdom. Of my fathers parents, my grandfather was the only of eight children to survive the Holocaust, nearly his entire extended family decimated as well, while my grandmother until her dying day wouldnt tell me of the horrors of living through WWII Poland. My mothers parents left Yemen and tensions with Arab neighbors for Israel and the promise of a homeland during the establishment of the state. Both wanted better futures for their children. Both of my parents grew up with a deep love for Israel and all it represents - a love I share. I dont deny that there has been mistreatment of the Arab inhabitants of the region. Maintaining its Jewish identity has come at a price. I can criticize Israel at length, but for the sake of brevity I will state that it has made some shoddy decisions when managing the diversity within its borders. I will not dismiss the role Israel has played in the Palestinian struggle, but it has never been worse for Arabs within Gaza than it is today, and it is Hamas which is overwhelmingly to blame. I can almost understand why Gazans would elect Hamas after Israels unilateral withdrawal in 2005 (if it was, in fact, a fair election). They wanted strong leaders who wouldnt back down when faced with stubborn Israeli politicians. But Im certain they expected a government which would work towards improving their lives. That Hamas has dedicated itself to the destruction of the state of Israel is a betrayal of the hopes of its people. Hamas has proven that is has no good intentions - that its sole currency is death. I believe in a two-state solution. I believe in a liberated West Bank with east Jerusalem as its Capitol. I believe that the majority of Palestinians really want autonomy and stability. And I believe that Israel wants the same, but is afraid of the possible repercussions of removing oversight over those regions out of which countless terror attacks have flowed. We know too well the pain of a war so long our parents dont remember its beginnings. Too many have died, too many lived in fear, for themselves and for their sons and daughters on the front lines. Too long have we born the worlds scorn on our backs, and too long have we stood on a ledge, precariously close to losing our state. We are a people desperate for peace, not knowing how to achieve it.
Posted on: Sun, 03 Aug 2014 16:49:54 +0000
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