The Israel-Arab conflict comes to the supermarket

“I won’t take any oranges from

 damn Israel!”

By RALPH DOBRIN

This scene is based on a true story. Jack Cohen (not his real name) is a middle-aged economics lecturer and writer living in Oxford, England. It’s the second week in January 2009 and the war in far-away Gaza has been going on for over two weeks. He goes into a supermarket to buy a few things. There’s a pleasant atmosphere. Like most places in Oxford, it’s not very big or bustling and the people – shoppers and attendants alike – relate to each other with easy-going cheerfulness. Jack finds what he needs and stands in a small queue by the check-out counter.

A pleasant-looking woman is standing in front of him. When her turn comes to check out her purchases she exchanges greetings with the clerk – all smiles and that sing-along tone so characteristic of the folks in this lovely part of the world. She puts her purchases on the counter. Tomatoes, lettuce, a can of sardines, paper towels …

Then as she puts a bag of oranges on the counter she suddenly lets out a loud shriek. “Oranges from Israeeeel!” She flings the bag to the side and yells, “I won’t take any oranges from damn Israel.” She pays her bill, while the check-out clerk calls an assistant to come and take the oranges away.

Then the check-out clerk turns to Jack, giving him a pleasant smile. “It’s your turn, sir,” she calls out and he begins to put his purchases on the counter.

But Jack is flustered. This is not the first time he’s witnessed a scene antagonistic towards Israel. Living in Oxford, he’s often come across anti-Israel sentiment. Even by other Jews in the academic world of which he is part. But he knows enough about the Israel-Arab conflict to recognize that it is largely the Arab narrative, composed to a large extent, of disingenuously selective omissions and untruths, that everyone is exposed to by the mainstream media, and which clearly implies that Israel is the villain – especially now with the dreadful scenes of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

Jack realizes that what this woman did was seen by others in the supermarket, probably even admired and conceivably seen as a role model. Her outburst might have influenced others to resolve never to buy anything made in Israel. As an economist, he knows the damage that an economic boycott can cause. But what could he have done? Even though he was standing right next to her, he felt helpless in the face of such indignation.

Actually he wasn’t really helpless. There were two ways he could have reacted, apart from the lame passiveness which he exhibited. One way would have been to react reflexively and aggressively. He could have told the woman loudly that she obviously didn’t know the reality of Gaza, and accused her of being an ignoramus or an Anti-Semite. That would have been a bad response because it would have led to a shouting match and a further deepening of the woman’s hostility towards Israel and the Jews, probably leading to even more damage to Israel’s image among the onlookers.

A different scenario

The sensible thing to do in such circumstances would have been to try to engage the woman in a conversation. The issue of setting the record straight is so important that it would have warranted even leaving one’s turn in the queue to confront her. But one would need a good basic understanding of the Israel-Arab conflict. Jack happens to have a good grasp of the background to the conflict because he is a long-time Zionist, having frequently visited Israel and he has family there.

Here is a possible dialogue that Jack could have tried to pursue. It is suitable for anyone living outside Israel or traveling as a tourist. It can also be used in Israel itself under certain circumstances. But apart from a good knowledge of the background of the conflict, one would also need a disposition enabling calm confrontation with angry strangers.

Our imagined scene proceeds with the woman hoisting the strap of her shopping bag on her shoulder, and Jack catches her eye and nods: “Pardon me for saying so, madam, but I think that was quite impressive what you’ve just done.”

She throws Jack an angry look. It’s nothing personal. She’s just all het up. “That was impressive,” Jack repeats, leaving his purchases near the check-out counter and walking alongside her in the direction of the exit of the supermarket. Reaching the exit door she mutters: “Those bloody awful Israelis. God, how I hate what they are doing to the poor Palestinians.”

Jack holds the door open for her and says: “Yes, I know, it’s terrible what’s happening in Gaza.” She walks out the supermarket and he follows her, saying: “Any decent human being must be apalled by the death and destruction.”

“I wish there was something more I could do,” she says walking along the pavement towards her parked car, “apart from boycotting their rotten oranges.”

“Oh there is,” says Jack.

She stops: “What? What can we do? There are demonstrations. I’ve been to one. But what else can we do?”

Jack says: “You can learn more about the subject of the Arab-Israel conflict.”

“Oh, I know all there is to know,” she retorts. “I watch the BBC and Sky News and I read The Guardian. She’s about to reach her car. It’s a critical moment because if she gets into her car Jack won’t be able to continue the conversation. He knows he has to say or do something right now in order to keep holding her attention.

He says, “It’s obvious that even though the conflict is far away from us here in Oxford, it is of great importance to us.” She looks at him as though she can’t make him out. He continues: “It’s very important that we get the whole story correctly, don’t you think so?”

A lot of things cross her mind. Firstly – who is this man? She’s thinking about getting home on time to take her daughter to riding lessons. But she is also wondering what Jack meant by “getting the whole story correctly,” and she’s thinking that maybe he has some extra juicy and nasty details about those damn Israelis.

Jack continues: “Getting the whole story of what’s happening in Gaza is especially important if you’re a decent, concerned and honest person. And obviously you are a very concerned person, otherwise you wouldn’t have rejected those oranges.”

She nods with a smile.

“That was really something,” Jack smiles back. Yet he is somewhat uneasy about this line of approach because he feels that he is being sneaky. It’s almost like trying to seduce someone, but he reckons that this is his part in the war for Israel and that we must all try to minimize the number of Israel’s adversaries and win over as many people who understand better what Israel is really up against. Now he’s going to be more direct. It’s yet another critical moment in this encounter.

Expressing reality

“Hamas,” he declares, “is a very formidable, dangerous, devious and ruthless enemy!” She looks at him with a blank stare. Jack continues: “You probably know that the Arabs of Gaza had been firing rockets – every day onto Israeli towns and villages for the last eight years. Thousands of rockets! They’ve caused a lot of death and devastation.”

She frowns. Jack realizes that this isn’t what she wants to hear and he doesn’t want to antagonize her. So he suggests: “The Israelis probably deserved it, wouldn’t you say?”

Puzzled, she shakes her head. She can’t figure out what Jack means. He continues: “Well just for the sake of comparison, if the Welsh government started firing rockets on a daily basis from Cardiff onto some of the neighboring English towns like Exeter or Plymouth, or for that matter onto Oxford – which is only about a minute away by rocket, then you could say that we English deserved it – isn’t that so?”

“That’s absolute rubbish!” she scoffs. “What on earth are you talking about?”

“Actually I’m talking about the Hamas government in Gaza attacking Israel and killing ordinary people,” Jack answers. Substitute Gaza for Wales and Hamas for the Welsh government and Israeli towns and villages for Oxford. What do you think our government would do in such a situation?”

“That’s absolutely ridiculous,” she chides him. “I’m sorry to say this, but you are being ridiculous.”

“Maybe,” says Jack. “But that is exactly what has been happening to Israel for the last eight years.”

She looks warily for a moment, suddenly realizing that this guy isn’t what she thought he was. He doesn’t share her attitude about those awful Israelis. So she changes the tone of her voice to express her displeasure: “But Israel stole the land from the Palestinians. They kill women and children. They use the most modern jet fighter planes and tanks against young boys armed with sticks and stones.”

Jack has to be careful now. At the outset he knew that it was unlikely that he could turn this woman into a sympathizer of the Israeli cause. His aim for the moment was merely to make her realize that her attitude about Israel was based on a very one-sided view. He wanted her to have second-thoughts. It’s the first step in persuading people to stop hating something.

But by bringing up the old accusations about plundered land and the killing of innocent women and children, she has, probably unwittingly, ensared Jack away from Arab attacks on Israel. If he is not careful he will squander what he’s said so far. He’s got to get back to Hamas. If he discusses her latest assertion that Israel stole the land from the Palestinians and kills women and children, even though he’s got very convincing arguments, he will get himself into a heated squabble and lose the little rapport that he had built up with her.

Explaining convincingly that Israel didn’t steal any land from the Arabs and that women and children are killed in every modern conflct (especially when Hamas uses them as human shields) will take up too much time. He’d have to go over the whole sequence of events starting from biblical times, through the Ottoman era, the British Mandate, the creation of the Kingdom of Jordan and the United Nations Partition Vote of 1947. Then he’d have to discuss the many wars, and who initiated them. He’d need to dwell on the Arab refugee problem and emphasize that the world has never related to the fact that there were also about 900,000 Jews who had to flee Arab countries at the same time that the Arab refugee problem emerged – which in any case resulted from the Arabs’ own attempt to utterly destroy Israel. All this would take time that is scarce, and would create arguments – and arguments are seldom won by anyone. But he can’t ignore what she’s just said. He has to relate to it.

But he takes a different tack: “How do you know that Israel stole the land from the Palestinians? And that the Israelis kill women and children?”

She blinks, shaking her head as if to convey that she thinks this is a stupid question: “It’s in the news all the time. Don’t you watch TV or read the newspapers?”

Jack nods. “Yes, indeed I do. And I get the distinct impression that Israel is an aggressor nation. Most of the news media conveys the impression that the Jews in Israel have robbed the Palestinians of their land. Israel is a danger to world peace. Israel makes war all the time. Yes, I pick all that up from the newspapers and the television.”

“Well, there you are,” she sang out.

Jack continued: “But there’s something that I don’t understand. There’s something that just doesn’t make sense. Maybe you can help me”?

With mock patience, she says, “What don’t you understand?”

Jack takes a deep breath and asks: “Do you know …” He hesitates briefly and continues: “What is the Jewish population of Israel? And what is the population of the Arab countries?”

She doesn’t have a clue. Jack continues: “And how big is Israel? And what is the combined land mass of all the Arab countries?”

She shrugs her shoulders and says, “How should I know, and in any case, what’s it got to do with anything?

Jack says: “It’s got to do with everything.” Then he tells her the statistics. “There are about six million Jews in Israel. That’s a lot less than the entire population of London. And there are about three hundred million Arabs in the world, many of them more or less surrounding Israel. In other words there are about fifty times as many Arabs as there are Israelis. Also in size Israel is one of the smallest countries in the world. Its about the same size as Wales. While the Arabs have the second largest land mass in the world – larger than the USA or Canada or China. And they have the largest oil resources in the world …”

She stops Jack. “So what? That’s all the more reason why the Israelis want to steal land from the Arabs. They are so full of themselves, these J…” She eyes Jack for a moment, trying to sum him up. Then she continues: “… these Israelis. They think they are God’s chosen people.”

Jack shakes his head. “Most Israelis aren’t religious. They don’t take that kind of stuff seriously. But just think about it for one minute. Israel’s Jewish population is about half a percent of the total Arab population in the world. If you add another billion Muslims, most of whom really hate Israel for whatever reasons, ask yourself candidly: does it make any sense whatsoever, for Israel to want to pick a fight when they are so dreadfully outnumbered in every way? Think about that. Does it make any sense?”

She shakes her head irately, thinks for a moment and replies: “Well I know what I see on the TV and read in the newspapers and I get a completely different picture from what you’re saying.”

Jack: “Well three hundred million Arabs controlling most of the oil in the world make a lot more noise than a few million Jews. That’s one of the reasons why you see mainly the Arab point of view on the news. There are other reasons, but that’s one of the reasons why Israel looks so bad on the news.”

She begins to open the door of her car. Then she turns to Jack and asks almost accusingly: “So tell me, how do you know all this?”

He’s not sure how she will relate to what he’s said if she realizes that he’s Jewish. He looks at her piercing blue, almost hostile eyes and they help him make up his mind. “I’m a Jew,” he says simply. “That means that I have to know a lot of stuff – just to survive.”

She nods coolly, pouting her mouth and screwing up her eyes. Jack adds: “The Jews have been connected with the Land of Israel for over three and a half thousand years. All that Israel wants more than anything else in the world is to live in peace with all its neighbors. But when attacked, Israel does what any other country would do and that’s defend her citizens. This latest war in Gaza actually started eight years ago when the Arabs of Gaza began to fire rockets at Israel’s towns and villages. Israel never retaliated properly. There hasn’t been a single Jewish soldier or civilian in Gaza for over three years. But the mortar and rocket attacks kept increasing all the time. At a certain point the people of Israel couldn’t take it anymore. That’s what this present war against the Hamas terror army and government is all about.”

She’s about to get into her car and shakes her head. “I don’t know. You’re too glib.”

Jack says, “I’m not suggesting that you automatically believe every word I’ve said. Just think about it and come to your own honest conclusions. Check it out on the Wikipedia. If you like I’d be very glad to further our conversation.”

Jack gives her a visiting card. She sits behind the steering wheel and is about to close the door when he adds: “By the way, if you’re already boycotting Israel’s oranges there are other things that you should avoid. For instance, be sure not to use your cell phone, because the voice mail technology used in it was developed in Israel. So were many of the components and programs in your computer. Also be very wary of what medicines you take or what medical procedures anyone in your family takes. Many of the breakthroughs in modern medicine were done in Israel.”

She looks puzzled as she begins to pull out of the parking space and drives away. Jack waves and she nods her head. There’s so much more that Jack wanted to say. He had wanted to talk more about Hamas’ ultimate aims, tactics and ruthless cynicism. But there just wasn’t time and anyway, there is a limit to how much a person can be expected to change his or her attitude during a brief conversation. But at least she was exposed to a few home truths. Maybe the next time she watches the BBC or reads the Guardian she’ll be able to relate with less gullibility to slanted presentations and with more openness to reality. Also the more, people with a good knowledge of the Arab and Islamic fundamentalist quest to eradicate Israel, become vocal, the better chance this woman and others like her will know which side she must join in the coming global struggle for sanity, common decency and freedom of the spirit.

Jack had followed all the rules of engagement:

1. He never shouted or belittled the other person.

2. He appealed to her sense of self-respect and suggested that he was sure that truthfulness is an important issue for her.

3. He tried to avoid confrontation until some minimum form of rapport had been made.

4. He suggested an opposite conclusion to the obvious. (England would deserve being rocketed by terrorists.)

5. He focused on one main issue and avoided dealing with too many other issues at once.

6. He realized he couldn’t change her mind in one short conversation. The aim was to get her to have second thoughts.

7. He ended the encounter amicably with the suggestion of a future chat.

See also: www.israelandtruth.org

How to end Gaza’s misery

The world must finally learn

to face the truth

 

By RALPH DOBRIN

The pattern keeps repeating itself in the Middle East as it has done for more than 60 years. Arabs attack Jews. Jews practise restraint at first, but the Arab attacks intensify and the Jews are forced to retaliate. People all over the world see gruesome images on their TV screens of battered Arabs. The Jews are branded as the aggressors and widely condemned in the media and in every international forum. They are pressured into making concessions and the Arabs are encouraged by all this. After a while they resume attacking Israel.

But invariably it’s the Arabs who suffer most from the attacks on the Jews. Moreover the censure and condemnation levelled against Israel actually cause the Arabs even more grief in the long run. I’ll explain presently.

But right now in Gaza we’re at the stage where Israel is going to have to stop before it can properly prevent the resumption of rocket attacks on her towns and villages. A few weeks ago, after a six-month fake-lull in the hostilities, the Hamas government/terrorist organization began launching a daily barrage of up to 80 rockets into Israel’s towns and villages, while Israel refrained from retaliating.

Obviously this situation became totally untenable for Israel. After all, the launching of thousands of rockets over the last few years by an elected neighboring government demanded a vigorous reaction by Israel, as nothing else has helped. Indeed, the complete evacuation of every single Jew from the Gaza Strip, rather than lead to quiet, precipitated an escalation of the rocket attacks on Israel. It begged for war. But fighting with Hamas means the destruction of whole neighborhoods, because Hamas stages their attacks from within the homes of the citizens, from mosques and schools. Hamas (and Hizbollah) use their own women and children as human shields. This leads to the deaths of hundreds of non-combatant Gazans – many of them women and children.

And that’s exactly what Hamas wanted. Apart from killing Jews simply because they are Jews, civilian casualties of Arabs always arouses enormous international protest against Israel, coming from every possible podium and forum – from the capitals all over the world, to universities and parliaments to the United Nations itself. It’s a ploy that never fails.

The heart-rending images seen on the TV screens all over the world, of destitute Arabs crouching on mounds of rubble that had been their homes, grieving over their dead children, must infuriate any decent human being, no matter what nationality. Most Israelis, even though they realize the need for drastic military action, shake their heads in deep dismay over the terrible scenes coming out of Gaza.

There are also terrible scenes in Israel’s Southern towns and villages, but nothing to compare with the unspeakable carnage in Gaza. Clearly, for the foreign TV crews, the smaller mounds of rubble of Shderot and Ashkelon are not nearly as dramatic and photogenic as the misery and widespread destruction in Gaza. So the viewers all over the world hardly see the results of Hamas’ handiwork in Israel. Indeed, the almost daily mortar and rocket attacks on Israel’s towns and villages for the last eight years, have seldom if ever been mentioned by most of the world’s press and TV stations. People don’t realize what has led to Israel’s assault on Gaza. Most people think that Israel has once again suddenly launched a monstrous attack for no reason at all on innocent people. For most outsiders this present outbreak is yet another one-sided confrontation between a Jewish Goliath equipped with the most sophisticated tools of destruction against an Arab David equipped with primitive weapons, fighting gallantly for his freedom, his land, his people, his honor.

The people of the world don’t realize that they are being duped – again and again. People don’t really have time to delve into the background of the Israel-Arab conflict. Also, few people outside Israel (and ruefully in Gaza itself) realize that Hamas has created much of its defence infra-structure within the homes and schools of the Gazan population; that many of the Arab civilian casualties were actually caused because of exploding ammunition dumps and booby traps in private homes; few people register the enormity of Hamas shooting from schools and mosques; or that Israel keeps letting in huge humanitarian aird convoys with food, medicine and other basic supplies.

The great purveyors of mass information such as the BBC, CNN, France-2 and other TV stations as well as most major newspapers, are pretty mum about such matters. A large part of humanity reckons that Israel has also stolen the Arabs’ land and therefore she must be condemned, despised, boycotted and even made to just disappear – illustrating the immense power of the big lie.

Most of the world’s leaders, academics and media personalities choose to overlook that Gaza together with the rest of Judea and Samaria could have had their statehood when Israel allowed Yasser Arafat and his henchmen to return from exile in Tunisia in 1994 to set up the Palestine Authority. Also overlooked is the fact that three years ago, in a move designed to engender peace with the Arabs of the region, Israel actually uprooted every single vestige of Jewish presence out of Gaza. The international community has chosen to ignore that instead of responding accordingly, Hamas launched yet another totally unprovoked escalation of rocket attacks on Israel’s towns and villages which, apart from a few lulls, has lasted until the present day. Nobody seems to consider that four times in the last sixty years, Gaza has been used as a launching pad for attacks and invasions on Israel, and that each time has resulted in Gaza being occupied by Israel and then returned to Arab jurisdiction.

IT’S ALWAYS THE ARABS WHO SUFFER MOST

Another major point that very few people realize is that those who suffer most from Arab aggression … are always the Arabs themselves, whether they are Gazans, or people in Hebron, Nablus, Jenin or Lebanon.

Yet another point is that the people who in the long run, suffer most from international condemnation against Israel, are the Arabs themselves, and no matter whether the condemnation is in the form of mass demonstrations in the capitals of the world, or from university or church podiums or cynical United Nations condemnations of Israel, or the break-off of diplomatic ties, ultimately its the Arabs who always bear the consequences.

Why is this? Why are the Arabs the ones who are always most hurt even though the military attacks or the international condemnation is directed against Israel. The answer is because all these actions encourage the Arabs to continue their belligerence against Israel. This is what’s been happening for a hundred years now. The Arabs have employed every possible tactic to undermine or obliterate the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel. In the beginning they rioted, murdered, and concocted wild lies. They weren’t admonished. Then they resorted to pogroms. Later they launched mass invasions against Israel and set up economic boycotts. Even then no state condemned them or broke off diplomatic relations. They have encouraged and created terror organizations and suicide bombings. And each time till this present round of hostilities, hardly anyone accused the Arabs of being way out of line.

But probably the worst thing they have done was to create and perpetuate the refugee problem – the only one in the world that has lasted for over sixty years and which is not being solved – because it is used as yet another highly effective weapon against Israel. And no country has ever condemned this ongoing heinous stand. Meanwhile, the world allows itself to be duped and pays for the upkeep of millions of people forced to stay in this wretched refugee status – three generations and no end whatsover in sight.

The world chooses to ignore that the Arabs of Judea and Samaria were offered statehood in half of what was left of Palestine, after 77% had been lopped off to create the Kingdom of Jordan. Subsequently as a result of the U.N. Partition Vote, the Jews were alotted the remaining half. In other words they were alotted about one-eighth of the original Palestine. The Arabs refused to accept any national sovereignty anywhere in the Middle East for the Jews, despite their 3000-year-connection. So the Arabs launched a war to utterly destroy the Jewish state (a mere three years after the end of the Holocaust). And nobody in any top position of authority anywhere in the world castigated the Arabs for this dastardly move. Nobody even scolded them for saying that this would be a massacre like never before in history.

The result of that 1948 invasion on tiny Israel was the beginning of the terrible Arab refugee problem. Furthermore, what should have been the establishment of an additional Arab state side by side with Israel, was simply annexed by the Kingdom of Jordan.

Since then, every few years there is yet another stage in this ongoing Arab quest to destroy Israel. And after every stage, Israel becomes stronger … while the world refrains from criticising the Arabs. World leaders don’t want to upset the sources of oil or cause any unnecessary diplomatic rift with 22 Arab states and another few score Muslim countries.

So the quest to destroy Israel continues – with international sanction. This last terrible war in Gaza is yet another example of Israel being provoked way beyond human endurance, with the express purpose that it would lead to international condemnation of Israel. On this score, Hamas has succeeded.

But if you look at the dreadful destruction of Gaza and the hundreds of lives needlessly lost, it is clear once again that the Arabs are the ones who suffer most.

To paraphrase the immortal words of Pete Seeger: “When will they ever learn?” When will leaders, media editors and ordinary concerned citizens of the world understand that the only way to end Arab suffering and to bring peace to the region, is by telling them firmly that they must stop this quest to destroy Israel. It’s simply immoral to want to destroy another nation, and it’s immoral to support that quest.

For more see: www.israelandtruth.org/peace_1.htm

 

Bringing on the Messianic Age

Through honest query

 By Ralph Dobrin

 Three days after the Yom Kippur riots in Acre, I happened to bump into Shimi, a forty-year-old guy who lives in my neighborhood with his parents. “We’ve got to teach the Arabs a lesson,” he said. “We’ve got to hit them hard. It’s the only language they understand.” When I didn’t respond he continued. “We’ve got to kill all the Arabs.”

Now, that’s just the kind of thing Shimi would say. After all, he finished eight grades in a school for mentally challenged kids; most of his life he’s been unemployed and sits on a wall outside his home most of the day, saying “Hello, how are you” to everyone who passes by.

But I have often heard similar sentiments expressed by educated, cultured people.

I recently visited friends in Jerusalem. Two other couples had also been invited. Middle aged folk, living in the capital, they were pleasant folks, quitelyspoken, educated, cultured and with a sense of humor. All professionals and staunch supporters of Jewish settlement in Judea and Samaria.

We talked about kids growing up, computer programs, the joys of cycling and Israel’s hapless Prime Minister, Mr Olmert. At first his name elicted a few guffaws. Then the talk turned to the way Israel refrains from doing what they reckoned was appropriate retaliation when dealing with rocket attacks from Gaza and the growing hostility to the state by the local Arabs themselves.

One husband, a dentist declared: “We should have destroyed Gaza completely years ago. ”The others nodded. “We could destroy Gaza in half an hour,” the other husband said. “We have the firepower.”

His wife remarked: “As long as we have atheist left wingers running this country it will never really be safe for a Jew here.”

“Or anywhere else,” added the other wife. “The goyim will always hate us.”

The dentist said: “The next time they fire a rocket from Gaza, we should bomb them till they beg us to stop, even if it means wiping out half of Gaza.” He looked at me challengingly. Not hostilely. Just an expression that indicated that he realized that I was not a religious person and that I was probably an appeasing left-winger (which I’m not.) “What do you think, Rafi?” he asked.

“I think that we should most definitely develop our deterrence,” I replied. “But we are in a tricky situation. We don’t know how other countries would react if they saw half of Gaza smouldering in ruins, or if a hundred thousand people were killed.”

One woman looked at me with bewilderment. “What’s the big deal,” she asked. “The Arabs wouldn’t just limit themselves to a hundred thousand Jews if we were unable to defend ourselves.”

The dentist’s wife, who had a very friendly, pleasant face, suddenly looked at me with an expression of mild disdain and said: “It’s people like you who are the root of all our problems. No faith in God. Willing to give everything to the Arabs.”

I was quite surprised at this sudden outburst and responded: “As far as I know this is the first time we have met. So how do you know my views on religion and the Middle East crisis?”

She looked a little contrite. “I know it’s wrong to sum up people according to stereotypes,” she said. “And I didn’t mean to offend you, but you look and talk exactly like a left-wing liberal – and they are the cause of most of our problems. I hope you can pardon my directness.”

“That’s okay,” I said. “It’s actually funny, because when I meet left-wing liberals they think that I’m a right wing extremist.”

A birthday party

I went to a birthday party the other night. It was the birthday of a guy born in the 1920s, who has lived through many of the most amazing events of the 20^thcentury and even participated in some of them in roles of leadership. Many of his old buddies were there with their wives. You could sum up the gathering as a collection of a thousand years of experience and savvy. They talked about old times – the British army, the Jewish Brigade and the wars in which they had fought as officers against the Arabs. They talked about their various subsequent careers – as professors or high echelon government officials and successful businessmen. There was a lot of banter, joking and laughter. It was a great evening.

And then someone mentioned the settlements in Judea and Samaria. The mood became sombre. A professor emeritus of psychology shook his head gravely and stated: “The settlements are our biggest problem. If we can get rid of them, we’ll be able to solve all our other problems.”

I was surprised that an obviously highly intelligent man with an impressive personal background could make such a sweeping statement. “We’ll be able to solve all our other problems!”Those were his exact words. I wanted to ask the professor if dismantling the settlements would placate Ahmadinijad and defuse his nuclear intentions; or would a Judenrein Judea make Hizbollah and Hamasrecognize Israel’s right to exist as a state; would our drug problems be solved; would the total absence of Jews from Samaria provide Israel with decent election system and lead to accountability among our politicians and leaders; would the transfer of Jews from all disputed areas help promote integrity in all sectors of Israeli society?

But I didn’t ask him, because I was sure that one of the other impressive folks would ask him if he were really serious about what he had just said; whether he had forgotten that immediately after dismantling all the Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip, the Arabs of that region went on a berzerk rampage, burning the buildings of the synagogues, and launching a two-year rocket bombardment of villages and towns within Israel.

But no one asked him any of these obvious questions. Indeed, what followed, amazed me even more that the professor’s statement. Almost all the guests nodded in agreement. One man said “Amen,” and his 70 or 80-year-old wife kept shaking her whole body and gasping: “Yes, yes, yes,” as though she was being physically thrilled.

I decided not to comment – not because I didn’t think I could hold my own in a debate with these erudite but narrow-minded folks, but I simply didn’t want to spoil the birthday party.

I went home in a pensive mood. How could people be so sure of their notions in the face of overwhelming evidence that a large part of the Arab and Islamic world is chronically unable to accept Israel as a fellow state. How could highly educated people with so much experience choose to ignore completely the fact that long before any Jewish settlement had been established in Judea or Samaria, the Arabs launched a series of wars with the declared aim of destroying Israel. For goodness sake, these people had lived through these periods. They themselves had fought to prevent the destruction of Israel.

There are countless indications that no matter what Israel does – short of complete capitulation of its whole current sovereignty including Tel Aviv – as far as most Arabs are concerned real peace is not an option – whether we uproot Jewish settlements or not. We might as well uproot Tel Aviv and Nahariya. We do havepeace treaties with Egypt and Jordan, but no Israeli can safely travel to Cairo or Amman. And in the not unlikely event that the governments of either of these countries is taken over by radical Islamic elements, the peace treaties will be utterly worthless.

I figured that maybe the source of their rigid one-sided notion stems from a wish that is so fervent for real peace to develop between Israel and the Arabs, that they have lost their sense of perspective and proportion. After all, every sane Jew wants peace. Some simply choose to ignore certain basic facts. They make statements that are based on half-truths and wishful thinking. Paradoxically it’s an attitude that goes against intellectual integrity. It’s the antithesis of academic procedure. It’s a violation of professional ethics on the part of any scholar or intellectual. Indeed, it’s plain, personal dishonesty. Most humans are subject to it.

Integrity among Arabs

And that includes most Arabs who are clearly as myopic, narrow-sighted and intellectually dishonest as any other people on earth. Seldom if ever do we hear an Arab voice questioning the Arab part in starting the violence that is endemic throughout the Middle East. No matter what happens, Israel is always blamed as the cause of the problem. Arabs blast Israeli towns and villages with rocket fire and then act with deep indignation when Israel retaliates. Actually, this is exactly what Arabs have done since the conflict began generations ago. In 1948 they invaded Israel with the express, well-documented purpose of destroying a nation. They were thwarted and have been perennially furious that Israel defended itself and had the gall to defeat her would-be killers; Israel is blamed for the Arab refugee problem, which was the direct cause of the Arab invasion on Israel, while ignoring the 800,000 Jewish refugees who fled Arab lands at that time.

And the same reaction has repeated itself in every war against Israel. But why should the Arabs allow Israel to live in peace? After all, the whole world is telling Israel that it must withdraw. Even many Israelis like those veteran intellectuals at that birthday party.

There is only one way that problems can be solved – and not just the Israel-Arab conflict, but most problems that humanity faces, and that is to see the whole picture as honestly and comprehensively as possible. People must be able to accept their nation’s culpability in the creation of chaos. Germany did that after the Second World War (probably because she was totally subdued and suffered catastrophic destruction), but it was that mature attitude that quickly enabled Germany to again become one of the most enlightened and prosperous nations in the world. Also, as much as any other nation, it has been dedicated to peace for two generations.

Knowing what to focus on

Many Israelis who are focussed more on Arab suffering (the so-called Left-wingers) than the core source of that suffering, are actually displaying a fairly sophisticated and moral mindset – insofar that they are able to countenance that Israel might be responsible for the creation of the conflict. That in itself might be a commendable attitude. But as long as they are unable to go further than questioning Israel’s responsibility and see our adversary’s attitude for what it really is, they are displaying a dangerous cognititive flaw – dangerous insofar as it has already led to dangerous consequences for Israel, which if allowed to continue could lead to the fulfillment of the ambitions of Israel’s enemies.

*   *   *

The religious folk that I referred to earlier, seem to have a mindset that is actually contrary to their avowed way of life and their studies. Heshbon Nefesh (which loosely translated means “taking stock of oneself”) is a serious aspect of Judaism, and yet with regard to their attitudes towards Arabs and the Middle East conflict, it seems that this concept is seldom considered. Many religious Jews do consider the moral and pragmatic aspects of Israel’s stand, but they seem to be a small minority.Yet, perhaps those religious people who remain totally rigid regarding Israel’s divine right to the whole of this land are the ones who are being practical.

After all, the Arabs will need a sea change in their attitudes towards Israel’s right to live in peace as a sovereign state anywhere in this region. It seems clear that such an attitude on the part of a large part of the Arab world (and much of the non-Arab Islamic world) cannot be expected for decades and generations. Even the peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan do not represent real peace and could disintegrate at any moment.

The enlightened world could help the Arab peoples see things as they really are. But clearly, few people are enlightened enough. The whole point is that for a real solution to the Middle East conflict – or any conflict – we must all have the ability to question the validity of our notions as honestly as possible and relate sincerely to those conclusions. That means Jews and Arabs alike – no matter the extent of our nationalistic fervor or brand of our beliefs.

When most people throughout the world will be able to do this, it will be the same as if the Messiah had come.

See: www.israelandtruth.org

 

DIFFERENT KINDS OF FIFTH-GRADERS

Some honor life,

some honor death

By RALPH DOBRIN

Fourth and fifth graders learning basic infantry skills while cursing Israel at summer camps; toddlers toting model assault rifles and pledging to regain their stolen lands; smiling babies dressed as suicide bombers with dummy explosives strapped to their cute little bellies. These are some of the scenes one often sees on television news broadcasts coming from Gaza and other areas surrounding Israel. One gets the impression of a people obsessed with war and death. Mothers gleefully declaring pride in a son’s suicide bombing mission and adding that she has four more sons at home whom she is eager to sacrifice. Unbridled hatred based mainly on lies.

Contrast this insanity with another scene in which I recently participated. A few hundred people gathering at a war memorial near Jerusalem’s Peace Forest near Abu Tor. It’s Memorial Day for Israel’s fallen soldiers. The 68^th Batallion lost 64 men while defending the outposts along the Suez Canal during the Yom Kippur War in 1973.

Every year they gather there – the widows, children and grandchildren of the reservist soldiers who died trying to stop the Egyptian invasion. Their old army buddies now in our sixties and seventies, are also there. We greet each other warmly, embrace.

The ceremony begins. There are a few short speeches; a few prayers and a poem are recited; wreathes are laid. It’s all very solemn and sobering. In the background the leaves of the trees rustle. Jerusalem is spread out below us in all its splendor.

And then a dozen fifth graders gather around a microphone and each one in turn recites a few words – words that relate to the sanctity of life, the need to struggle, as well as death, grief, joy and love.

They are simply beautiful – these eleven-year-old boys and girls, enunciating their words confidently and clearly. Then they sing a song about peace. Their voices sound calm and trusting. I feel my throat constricting and my eyes dampen. I notice a few of the other guys trying to hold back the tears. We are gripped by the enormity of the occasion. Our buddies died so that there could be beautiful kids like these in Israel. I have the impression that even today with our national disappointments, most of us would still willingly give up our lives for this simple beauty, this sensitivity, this subdued yet prodigious statement of hope. The children finish their performance. Then there is final prayer to the dead recited by one of the sons of our fallen comrades and the ceremony is over.

It’s been an emotional hour. Every year more people come. There are more grandchildren. Every year the feeling of wonder that we were not among the dead is heightened. Every year as I look at my old army buddies I am struck more sharply that we are all getting on in years. During these three decades most of us have pursued careers, raised families, built homes, seen many wonders in the world. We have had countless moments of joy and rapture. We have lived! All the men whom we commemorate, our buddies when we were all young, died in a battle that could easily have claimed our lives too.

Throughout the whole ceremony and afterwards there was not a single word or hint of anger or hatred while we remember our dead. During all these 34 years I have never heard a harsh word against our enemies. Not from the men in our batallion or the bereaved families. That’s how it usually is in Israel. We bury and remember our dead without war cries, without a call for revenge and death to others.

Meanwhile Gaza and the rest of the places surrounding Israel are stewing in a hatred that seems to know no bounds. It is a mindset that does not accord Israel even the most basic requirement for co-existence in this world – the agreement that we have any right to even exist. It’s a mindset that impels them to keep attacking, and that’s why every day people in Gaza are killed by Israeli soldiers and airmen. That’s terrible but it’s a direct consequence of that mindset.

My prayer, while watching those lovely Jewish children reciting and singing about the sanctity of life, grief, joy and love, was that the day will come when children of Gaza will be doing the same to commemorate their dead, rather than dress up as suicide bombers. When that day comes it will be a better day for everyone.

But that day will never come as long as they are nurtured by a culture of fury, hatred, contempt for others, and as long as that culture is not opposed by every decent, thinking individual with any kind of concern or connection to them – whether they are people of the media, world leaders, the churches and academics. But this opposition will have to be joined by the people of Gaza themselves – the teachers, clerics and parents. It will need great courage on their part. But the alternative is evermore violence, suffering and wretchedness.

For more: www.israelandtruth.org

 

 

How honest is Bishop Tutu?

Embarrassing questions from

a Sudanese refugee

By Ralph Dobrin

Bishop Desmond Tutu, a Nobel Peace Prize Laureatte, is a stern critic of Israel, who like so many others, ignores Arab aggression whenever Israel defends itself, disregarding Arab culpability for their own plight. But his censure of Israel is always very compelling to those whose knowledge of the Middle East conflict is limited to the half-truths, selective omissions and blatant lies of Arab spokesmen and other gullible media outlets.

When the Bishop addressed a conference in Boston on “Israel Apartheid” most of his audience warmed to his diatribe, but one man was distressed by it because it sounded false.

Simon Deng is a Christian from the Shiluk region of southern Sudan, who has survived slavery and escaped death at the hands of the radical jihadist regime in Khartoum.

Deng finds it hard to understand how a fellow Christian, a “man of God,” who helped bring reconciliation between blacks and whites in South Africa could lead a conference that uses lies in damning Israel, while disregarding the wholesale murder of millions of Christians in Southern Sudan, as well as the dreadful plight of the people of Darfur and other parts of Africa.

After hearing Bishop Desmond Tutu condemnn Israel, this is what Simon Deng has to say:

”The State of Israel is not an apartheid state. I know because I write this from Jerusalem where I have seen Arab mothers peacefully strolling with their families even though I also drove on Israeli
roads protected by walls and fences from Arab bullets and stones. I know Arabs go to Israeli schools and get the best medical care in the world.

I know they vote and have elected representatives to the Israeli Parliament. I see street signs in Arabic, an official language in Israel. None of this was true for blacks under Apartheid in Tutu’s South Africa.

I also know countries that do deserve the apartheid label: My country, Sudan, is on the top of the list, but so are Iran, Saudi Arabia and Egypt. What has happened to my people in Sudan is a thousand times worse than apartheid in South Africa. And no matter how the Palestinians suffer,
they suffer nothing compared to my people. Nothing. And most of the suffering is the fault of their own leaders.

Bishop Tutu, I see black Jews walking down the street here in Jerusalem. Black like us, free and proud. Tutu said Israeli checkpoints are a nightmare. But checkpoints are there because Palestinians are sent into Israel to blow up and kill innocent women and children. We all go through checkpoints at every airport. Are the airlines being racist?

When you struggled for freedom, Africans all over Africa joined in. Our support was a key in your freedom. But when children in Burundi and Kinshasa, all the way to Liberia and Sierra Leone, and in particular in Sudan, cried and called for rescue, you heard but chose to be silent.

Today, black children are enslaved in Sudan, the last place in the continent of Africa where humans are owned by other humans. I was part of the movement to stop slavery in Mauritania, which just now abolished the practice. But you were not with us, Bishop Tutu.

So where is Desmond Tutu when my people call out for freedom? Slaughter and genocide and slavery are lashing Africans right now. Where are you for Sudan, Bishop Tutu? You are busy attacking the Jewish state. Why?”

In a future blog I shall try to get Bishop Tutu’s answer to these questions. While Tutu’s words do carry importance because of his eminent standing as a former freedom fighter and Noble Prize winner, thus promoting the lies of Israel’s enemies, the plight of the Christians in Southern Sudan and the Black Muslims of Darfur, is of far greater importance. It shows the cynicism and cruelty of the whole Jihad enterprise and the weak-kneed hypocrisy of the international community.

For more information: http://www.iheu.org/node/1539

Another ridiculous fabrication

Racism in Israeli hospitals

By RALPH DOBRIN 

Israel has been accused of a multitude of crimes in the international media – including the poisoning of water sources, infecting babies with AIDS and  many other similarly absurd fabrications.

It’s a pity that all the lying  bashers of Israel (and they are not all limited to the Arab world or to Islamic countries), haven’t visited Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem to see just how malicious the Jews really are. Hadassah Hospital is a major medical center set up a few generations ago by Jewish American women.

Immediately on entering, one is struck by the multi-racial nature of the place. Ostensibly a Jewish hospital, it seems that almost half its patients are nevertheless Arabs – not only from within Israel but from Judea, Samaria and other parts of the Arab world.

Many of the doctors are Arabs. Indeed, some department heads and professors in Hadassah’s medical school are Arabs. Among head nurses are Arabs. There is a spirit of mutual tolerance throughout this constantly crowded place. Outpatient clinics and wards are full of patients and people accompanying them. All ages, all kinds, all religions, all races. They mingle patiently.

Sometimes a question is asked in Hebrew: “How long have you been waiting for the doctor?” An Arab father might answer in Hebrew. “The doctor was called away on an emergency. They said he’d be back in half an hour.” This sets the tone for a conversation. “Where do you live?” “How many children do you have?” “May you be in good health!” “Inshallah!” (“God willing” in Arabic.)

Generally, the Middle East conflict is never discussed in the hospital. Occasionally an Arab patient might sigh something like: “If only there was peace.” The Jew will nod his or her head and say; “Inshallah!”. There seems to be an unspoken rule in the hospital to shun any possibility of tension. People realize that the purpose of the place is healing.

My daughter has spent a number of lengthy  stints at Hadassah Hospital, culminating in bladder reconstruction and kidney transplant during 2007. Dr. Landau, the surgeon treating her for a number of years, is the kind of guy who will come into the ward on Saturday – his day off and in his ordinary clothes – just to check up on a patient who’s not doing as well as expected.

He worked in close contact with Prof. Ahmed Eid, the head of the transplant department, who led the team that transplanted my left kidney into Tali’s body. It was a seminal event in my life, not only because I could help my daughter in a significant way, but also being witness and participant in Hadassah’s world of healing, compassion and mutual respect, despite the fury and hatred so inherent in the Middle East.

One could write a book about the spirit in Hadassah or do a great documentary film. Whole families of Jews and Arabs come trooping in to visit their hospitalized kin. A large percentage of the nurses are Arabs. So are the doctors – like Prof. Eid who is one of the most senior figures in Hadassah. The cleaning staff are mainly Arabs, Russian or Ethiopian immigrants with a few regular native-born Israelis.  

One of the women who makes the beds and does all the less asthetic work – a big, rolly-poly Jewish amazon-type nursing aid with a ready smile and a laugh, would often share a joke with our daughter after or before sitting for a moment with her room mate, who would frequently be an Arab woman. There was no difference in the amazon’s attitude, which I am pretty sure was not part of her training as a nursing aid, but in keeping with the spirit of Hadassah.

There seemed to be no trace of tension or dislike – not among or between staff and patients. Jewish patients and Arab patients quickly get onto the same footing, talking to each other, caring. There’s no favoritism either. Maybe I’ve painted too idyllic a picture. There are occasional incidents of grumbling or inconsiderate noise here and there. But I seldom encountered anything with a blatant racial tone.

Ironically one of the most vicious bashers of Israel is Ahmed Tibi, the Knesset Member. He graduated at the Hadassah Medical School and later specialized as a gynecologist there. Actually the first time he was in the news was about fifteen years ago. Newspapers reported that he had slapped the face of a security man at the entrance to the hospital who had asked to see his identification. Since then he continues metaphorically slapping Israel’s face, denouncing Israel as racist and criminal. But he has never, to my knowledge, ever mentioned the spirit of Hadassah.

Incidentally, I have visited other hospitals in Israel and the same spirit of racial harmony and cooperation seems to pervade. It’s seldom if ever mentioned in the media, in Israel and abroad. It should be.

Visit: www.israelandtruth.org

Impressive racial harmony

Jews and Arabs at Israeli

hospitals

By RALPH DOBRIN 

HADASSAH HOSPITAL, JERUSALEM – On the seventh floor, a middle-aged Arab woman, wearing a hijab, scampered to catch the descending elevator before the doors closed. She was too late – the doors closed before she could get to them. But a bearded Haredi man, who happened to be standing by the control panel of the elevator, quickly pressed the button to re-open the doors, thus enabling the Arab woman to take the elevator down to the building’s exit. She nodded her thanks. Under normal circumstances in Israel this would have been a rare occurrence. But this was Hadassah Hospital where such incidents happen all the time.

For me it was a fitting scene to end a ten-day period of hospitalization following an operation. Fitting – because my whole stay was full of moving experiences – large and small.

The reason for my operation was an experience in itself. After a year of tests and various preparations, I was admitted together with my daughter in order to donate a kidney which was to take the place of her collapsed renal system. I think there are few things that a parent can do for his or her child which can match this as a moving motive – no matter how old the child.

In a hospital ward many of the differences between people are erased. Patients wear ill-fitting hospital gowns. They share ward space and the attentions of the staff. They hear each other’s groans. In Israel, hospitals have yet another equalizer – Jews and Arabs become fellow-patients. Jewish and Arab doctors and nurses become professional colleagues. Racial differences, usually so loaded in this part of the world, are erased.

As a Jew in a Jewish hospital (Hadassah is largely supported by Jewish women of America) I found myself being treated by many Arab nurses and doctors, in addition to the Jewish staff. The surgeon in charge of the actual transplant was Professor Ahmed Eid. His Jewish colleagues cooperated with him fully under his expert and amiable direction.

Almost half of the other patients in the ward were Arabs, coming from East Jerusalem as well as other Arab areas. In a neighboring bed was an elderly Jew who on entering the ward informed me quietly that he did not like the fact that there were so many Arabs – staff and patients. “Surely they have their own hospitals,” he grumbled.

A few minutes after he settled down in his bed, yet another patient was wheeled in – a groaning middle-aged Arab, followed by a retinue of sons and a wife. The elderly Jew leaned towards me and pulled a face conspirationally. The ward becomes a crowded place when there are visitors. (In many Israeli hospitals family members are not restricted in their visits. (Only after nine or ten o’clock at night and during the doctors’ rounds are they asked to leave the ward.) I found that some of the Arab’s sons were sitting quite close to me. I began to chat to them, enjoying the opportunity to practise my shaky Arabic.

At first they seemed to be surly, answering curtly. Maybe they felt a little out of place in a Jewish hospital. A tense security situation brought on by serious external threats to Israel’s very existence, as well as thousands of acts of terror during the last fifteen years have driven a serious rift between the two peoples. In many spheres of life Israeli Arabs feel they are merely second-class citizens. Arabs from outside Israel feel even more alienated. On the other hand, few people seem to realize how difficult it is for Israelis to be even-handed to a people that teaches its young to hate Jews and to aim to obliterate them from the map.

Personally, I find this fascinating and I have made a serious attempt to learn Arabic and befriend Arabs. However, that doesn’t make me support the idea of giving away Judea and Samaria in return for a fragile peace.

Anyway, after a while, one of the newly hospitalized Arab sons began to talk to me. He told me that they lived in East Jerusalem and that his father had a very serious intestinal problem. Soon the other sons also became more friendly, and it wasn’t long before I had introduced their whole family to my wife. And soon we were all chatting and laughing like old friends.

After a while introduced the Arab patient to the elderly guy in the bed next to mine. The Arab man got out of his bed with difficulty to shake the old guy’s hand, but he simply nodded coldly. Later a young nurse came in to measure the old guy’s blood pressure and take his temperature. From her accent it was clear that she was an Arab. Grumpily, he allowed her to put a thermometer in his mouth. She was an incredibly sweet-looking person. Diminutive, chirpy, with a hint of naughtiness in her smile, she softly hummed an Arab song, while tending to the patients. “I hope you are feeling a little better,” she beamed at the old guy. He just stared at her.

At about nine o’clock in the evening he closed the curtain partitioning him from the rest of the ward and switched off the light over his bed. Clearly he wanted to go to sleep. The Arab family had left the ward.

The Arab patient asked the old guy in very broken Hebrew, if it was alright if he kept his light on for a while because he wanted to read. The old man, who was also hard of hearing couldn’t understand the Arab. The Arab then asked the question in Arabic. “What’s he saying,” the old man asked me. I translated. The old man grunted that the light wouldn’t bother him.

The night passed without incident. In the morning nurses came in with sleepy smiles, measuring blood pressure and temperature, and handing out medicine. Doctors came in with syringes to take blood samples. Patients got up to go to the bathroom. The old man and the Arab happened to get out of their beds at the same time and almost bumped into each other. “Good morning,” the Arab said with a deferential nod in Hebrew. “Boker Tov.”

The old Jew looked at him sternly and then his expression changed into a brief smile. He nodded and moved his hand to the Arab’s shoulder, almost touching it. Slowly, as though he was trying to remember the words, he said: “Sabbah el Hir,” (Good morning in Arabic.) The two men would soon get onto more comradely terms during the next few days.

Later, a portly, middle-aged man entered the ward, came to my bed and asked how I was feeling. It was Professor Ahmed Eid. He examined me, asked a few more questions, gave some instructions to a nurse, quipped an amusing observation and walked out the ward. 

After he left, I asked my Arab friend if he knew who the man was. He shook his head. I said, “That’s the doctor who did my transplant. That’s Professor Eid.” I could see by the expression on his face that he was querying to himself whether the professor was indeed not Jewish. I added: “Professor Ahmed Eid,” emphasizing the “Ahmed.”

The Arab got out of his bed and walked as quick as he could to the exit of the ward to observe Professor Eid’s departing figure. Then he returned and stood by my bed. His face glowed with pride. He put his hands on my shoulders. “May you be healthy,” he repeated in Arabic a few times. “Thank you, Rafi. Thank you.”

I wanted to say, “Why thank you? What are you thanking me for?” Then I realized that the mere presence of Professor Eid in a Jewish hospital had made his world a more just and safer place and he wanted to acknowledge that he realized this. 

See also: www.israelandtruth.org