changes to my original letter to my palestinian brothers
hello all.
i have made some changes to my original letter, following some comments i have heard. thank you to all of you for you compassion and insight.
i am sorry if i have offended anyone and hope some of you see through the wall of tears to my deepest intentions, which are for a better life for all of us, through dialogue and compromise, not war.
sincerely,
noa
Dear Palestinian brothers,
It is with a heavy heart I write to you today.
Gaza is burning. The border with Israel is under fire. Children on both sides of the fence are terrified, traumatized for life, wounded in body and soul, dying, dead. Blood flows. Sirens wail. Pain and tears and anguish abound.
How familiar it all is, my brothers? How well we know these images, this fear clutching our throats, hope slipping away from our hearts?
Who can tell a new year has begun?
I am sitting here near my computer in the dark night, in my home by the sea. This sea that is ours, our Mediterranean sea, our culture, we the people of wandering, we the homeless, the homesick, we the fighters ,the builders, the survivors, our dreams like waves and tide, pulled by the moon and stars to eternity.
Since that fateful day in 1995 when Rabin was murdered a few feet from me, since that awful moment, I have dedicated much of my public life to singing and speaking for peace.
I have seen the peace process rise and fall and rise like the breast of a woman breathing in the night. I have seen opportunities missed, so many missed, so many chances, so much ignorance and stubbornness and bullheadedness, so much beauty trampled under the heavy boot of pride.
I have sung and I have spoken, I have argued and I have embraced, I have been moved to tears so many times, I have made the most unlikely friends….friends I would give my right arm for, friends I would run across the border under fire to protect.
And today, today I say this; we have one joint enemy, one awful joint enemy and we must all work together to eradicate it!
That enemy is fanaticism my friends. That enemy is extremism in all its ugly reincarnations and manifestations.
That enemy is all men who put “god” above life, who claim “god” as their sword and shield, who claim “god” is on THEIR side.
Jews, Muslims, Christians, all share this black streak. All have fallen to this destructive, horrible fanaticism at some point in their histories and the results have been devastating.
I have often spoken out against fanaticism in my country, for I find it repulsive and unbearable. In government, in settlements, in synagogues, I am passionately against it. I have risked my career and my wellbeing for this belief.
Now I see the ugly head of fanaticism, I see it large and horrid, I see it’s black eyes and spine-chilling smile, I see blood on its hands .
You know this too, my brothers. You know this ugly monster. You know it is raping the minds of your children. You know it is educating to hatred and death. You know it is chauvinistic and violent, greedy and selfish, it feeds on your blood and screams out God’s name in vain!
I know this is true my brothers!! I know YOU know the truth!!And I know you cannot say it for fear of life so I will say it for you!! I fear nothing!! I am privileged to live in a democracy where men and women are free, where a singer can say and do as she pleases! Some of you do not have this privilege (yet…but you will, inshallah, you will…).
You, my friends, are a people destined to flourish in peace! Your majestic history is overflowing with creativity, literature science and music, endless contributions to humanity, not crippling fanaticism, yelling Jihad and Shahid! I see you sometimes, out in the streets, demonstrating, yelling ‘death to the Jews, death to Israel!! but I don’t believe you! I know where your heart is! It is just where mine is, with my children, with the earth, with the heavens, with music, with HOPE!! You want nothing of this but I guess you feel you have no choice! I see through your veil of fear my brothers, through your uncertainty and years of painful history. I embrace your hopes for they are mine!
My country has made many many mistakes over the years, I have watched it miss so many opportunities, and as a citizen of this country I am the first to admit it and criticize its foolery. I demonstrate, I vote, I speak out, I sing loud and clear.
My brothers, I cry for you. I cry for us too, yes, I cry for my fellow countrymen suffering the bombs in the south and north and everywhere, I cry for the kidnapped soldiers and the murdered ones, for their bereft families, for the innocence lost forever, but I cry especially painfully for you for I know your suffering, I feel you, I feel you!!
I can only wish for you that this monster called fantacism release you from its grip. And that these killers will find what little compassion may still exist in their hearts and STOP using you and your children as human shields for their cowardice and crimes.
And then… then , maybe, Inshallah, we will again have an opportunity..we will again pick up our broken bodies and souls and walk slowly towards each other, leaving our bloody history behind, leaving the blaming and accusations behind for we know they are endless, reach out a tired hand, look into eyes filled with tears and with a choked voice say:
“Shalom. Salam. Enough. Enough my brother ….
Here, sit for a while…lets talk….we know the words, we know the songs, we know the road….
Shalom……
Salam……
With a broken heart still yearning to love,
Your friend,
Noa
Jan 6th, 2009
i have made some changes to my original letter, following some comments i have heard. thank you to all of you for you compassion and insight.
i am sorry if i have offended anyone and hope some of you see through the wall of tears to my deepest intentions, which are for a better life for all of us, through dialogue and compromise, not war.
sincerely,
noa
Dear Palestinian brothers,
It is with a heavy heart I write to you today.
Gaza is burning. The border with Israel is under fire. Children on both sides of the fence are terrified, traumatized for life, wounded in body and soul, dying, dead. Blood flows. Sirens wail. Pain and tears and anguish abound.
How familiar it all is, my brothers? How well we know these images, this fear clutching our throats, hope slipping away from our hearts?
Who can tell a new year has begun?
I am sitting here near my computer in the dark night, in my home by the sea. This sea that is ours, our Mediterranean sea, our culture, we the people of wandering, we the homeless, the homesick, we the fighters ,the builders, the survivors, our dreams like waves and tide, pulled by the moon and stars to eternity.
Since that fateful day in 1995 when Rabin was murdered a few feet from me, since that awful moment, I have dedicated much of my public life to singing and speaking for peace.
I have seen the peace process rise and fall and rise like the breast of a woman breathing in the night. I have seen opportunities missed, so many missed, so many chances, so much ignorance and stubbornness and bullheadedness, so much beauty trampled under the heavy boot of pride.
I have sung and I have spoken, I have argued and I have embraced, I have been moved to tears so many times, I have made the most unlikely friends….friends I would give my right arm for, friends I would run across the border under fire to protect.
And today, today I say this; we have one joint enemy, one awful joint enemy and we must all work together to eradicate it!
That enemy is fanaticism my friends. That enemy is extremism in all its ugly reincarnations and manifestations.
That enemy is all men who put “god” above life, who claim “god” as their sword and shield, who claim “god” is on THEIR side.
Jews, Muslims, Christians, all share this black streak. All have fallen to this destructive, horrible fanaticism at some point in their histories and the results have been devastating.
I have often spoken out against fanaticism in my country, for I find it repulsive and unbearable. In government, in settlements, in synagogues, I am passionately against it. I have risked my career and my wellbeing for this belief.
Now I see the ugly head of fanaticism, I see it large and horrid, I see it’s black eyes and spine-chilling smile, I see blood on its hands .
You know this too, my brothers. You know this ugly monster. You know it is raping the minds of your children. You know it is educating to hatred and death. You know it is chauvinistic and violent, greedy and selfish, it feeds on your blood and screams out God’s name in vain!
I know this is true my brothers!! I know YOU know the truth!!And I know you cannot say it for fear of life so I will say it for you!! I fear nothing!! I am privileged to live in a democracy where men and women are free, where a singer can say and do as she pleases! Some of you do not have this privilege (yet…but you will, inshallah, you will…).
You, my friends, are a people destined to flourish in peace! Your majestic history is overflowing with creativity, literature science and music, endless contributions to humanity, not crippling fanaticism, yelling Jihad and Shahid! I see you sometimes, out in the streets, demonstrating, yelling ‘death to the Jews, death to Israel!! but I don’t believe you! I know where your heart is! It is just where mine is, with my children, with the earth, with the heavens, with music, with HOPE!! You want nothing of this but I guess you feel you have no choice! I see through your veil of fear my brothers, through your uncertainty and years of painful history. I embrace your hopes for they are mine!
My country has made many many mistakes over the years, I have watched it miss so many opportunities, and as a citizen of this country I am the first to admit it and criticize its foolery. I demonstrate, I vote, I speak out, I sing loud and clear.
My brothers, I cry for you. I cry for us too, yes, I cry for my fellow countrymen suffering the bombs in the south and north and everywhere, I cry for the kidnapped soldiers and the murdered ones, for their bereft families, for the innocence lost forever, but I cry especially painfully for you for I know your suffering, I feel you, I feel you!!
I can only wish for you that this monster called fantacism release you from its grip. And that these killers will find what little compassion may still exist in their hearts and STOP using you and your children as human shields for their cowardice and crimes.
And then… then , maybe, Inshallah, we will again have an opportunity..we will again pick up our broken bodies and souls and walk slowly towards each other, leaving our bloody history behind, leaving the blaming and accusations behind for we know they are endless, reach out a tired hand, look into eyes filled with tears and with a choked voice say:
“Shalom. Salam. Enough. Enough my brother ….
Here, sit for a while…lets talk….we know the words, we know the songs, we know the road….
Shalom……
Salam……
With a broken heart still yearning to love,
Your friend,
Noa
Jan 6th, 2009
Comment
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Comment by Alain on January 8, 2009 at 4:13pm
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Magnifique Noa... Merci Pour cette lettre
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Comment by Lidewy on January 8, 2009 at 2:19am
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Thank you from my heart Achinoam for listening, for understanding, for feeling the other side of the story, without mincing words on what you know is at the foundation of the conflict, the war.
I respect you so much for speaking up, for speaking from your heart, even when you know that as a public figure, everything you say or do is being weighed on a gold scale, is being looked at through magnifying glasses where each letter you write can upset someone.
Words are easily misunderstood, even when we're not lost in translation. Intuition, insight, emotions ... it's hard to put these into words, in fact they often lose its power.
I have often wondered and am wondering after having read people's opinions on iPeace about the war in Gaza, what made them sign up on sites like iPeace. I keep arriving at the same conclusion, that we all strive for and join that what matches our intentions. But intentions are also hard to put in words, and they are fluid. Intentions can change and are often coloured by our culture, the society we live in, politics and religion. Intentions are also suspect to slightly change with how we feel at the moment.
Emotions can cloud our intentions even further, especially when we put them into words. My intention is inner and outer peace for each and everyone, everywhere, but my emotions of horror, of fear, of impotence when I see something on the news can cloud this very intention when I immediately take to the pen or the keyboard or to my voice to let my emotions out. At such moments the words I choose are true, but often also a bad representation of what I really feel and want to say.
For all its advantages, this is the problem of the internet: you read something and then immediately comment on it, based on the instant emotions, which can't be put into words. But instead of thinking it through first, the fora on the internet allow you, no, trick you, in immediate action. And often we end up writing that what we wouldn't have said had we had taken the time to digest it and go beyond the immediate emotions and often we don't take the time to retract, add or change comments that we have left.
Thank you for clarifying your position and let's hope that we all take time to reflect before they write comments :-)
In peace and light
Li
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Comment by Marielle on January 7, 2009 at 9:05pm
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Thank you dear friend for your letter.
Bringing me to tears, tears of sadness, fear, love and hope.
Hoping that this terrible fight will be at its end...
Building trust, houses, hope and love!
With love,
Marielle
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Comment by General Mojo on January 7, 2009 at 7:29pm
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Dear Noa, if politicians chose their words as honest and with great care not to offend or be dogmatic as you do, there probably wouldn't be no violence at all. Your letter is a sad song, but it sings a welcome.
We can all learn from that.
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Comment by Sara Stern on January 7, 2009 at 6:29pm
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Thank you for this beautiful letter. You wrote what many of us feel about this terrible situation.
I'm still waiting for winds of change...
regards,
Sara
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Comment by Stephanie on January 7, 2009 at 11:09am
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People are so very used to holding on to their own ideas, and very few have the sensitivity you have shown here, to take another look at what you had said, and to change it, so as to not offend.
Maybe what is in a person's heart is not always easily expressed in words. Here, especially in these situations, we have to open up our hearts as wide as they can open in order to feel what's in the hearts of others. Thank you for showing how being so very sensitive can help and mend wounded feelings.
Stephanie
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