From Tel Aviv
Last year on my birthday, Benazir Bhutto was assassinated in Pakistan. This year on my birthday, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) began bombing targets in Gaza to stop the rain of rockets falling on Southern Israel since the end of the ceasefire with Hamas on December 19. I wonder what next year's birthday will bring.
Technically, it is arguable that the incursion into Gaza can be called a war, as it is not a conflict between two countries but rather one country and a political-military entity. In Israel, however, the media has called it as such, as have the politicians. And so I state, that, my observations in Israel during a time of war are most disheartening.
What fails to make sense to me is: How is it that war is still considered an effective method of change? The United States got away with dropping nuclear weapons on Japan in 1945, bringing the war on that front to a stark and horrifying conclusion, but do we, as a human race ever EVER want for that to happen again? Are we not more evolved, more refined, more capable in the 21st century of managing conflict in a place, by the way, where people have more in common that what they have been led to believe?
It is understandable that the world is up at arms, marching through streets shouting slogans to end the war, to call for a ceasefire. It is unfathomable how in a week and a few days, hundreds have lost their lives, thousands have been wounded and those who survive this disaster will be left with nearly nothing to eke out an existence in the aftermath of Israel's attempt to remove Hamas from rule in the Gaza Strip.
However, there is more in the streets than a call for a ceasefire and a call for peace. There is a continued call for the end of Israel, and that is where the conflict intensifies and the Israel-supporting Jews and Israelis supporting the government's decision to invade Gaza, become more hardened, more embittered and more alienated from the rest of the human population.
The discussion, the demonstration, the debate, the tears, the anger cannot be about bringing an end to the State of Israel; it has to be a call for Israel to abide by international law and to make good on its promises. If anyone, the residents of the West Bank have greater reason to be fed up with Israel's policies than with those in Gaza, because Abbas and Fayad are toeing the line and, still, for the Palestinians the situation under occupation has not improved.
The violence is unforgivable on both sides. How it is that Hamas believes it will prevail with this method of rockets falling, killing, destroying, terrorizing and harassing Israelis of all walks of life, including Arab-Israelis, is incomprehensible. How an organization claiming to be for a living, developing nation could be so willing to jeopardize the lives of so many, filling them with hatred along way is also beyond my capabilities of understanding. But they have a right to resist, but they have a right to a country, but they have a right to Jerusalem, to compensation for refugees...
This is not what Hamas wants. Hamas wants an eternal battle, they will always need an enemy, if it is not the Jews or Israel, it is Fatah. If it is not Fatah, it is the United States, it is Egypt, one day it could be their current sponsor, Iran. They play a despicable game with people's lives, with children's lives. Children who have no choice but to emulate what they see and experience in their environment.
At the Tel Aviv University campus last week, Palestinian and Arab-Israeli students held a protest against the violence. Around a hundred students came out in their keffiyehs and their signs of solidarity with Gaza. They were angry and I found out, extremely sad.
My friend Davide and I spoke to two female demonstrators to ask what they wanted to get out of this demonstration. They wanted a stop to the violence. Telling us about a mother and her four children who were killed that morning in IAF bombings. One of the young women said, "They want all of the land," then thought again, "All of OUR land."
I responded to her, "It's all of our land, there's enough for all of us, and we have to all live here, so what do we do?"
I continued to ask her how do we make it stop? What's our plan? Other Jewish students were coming up to them and asking, "what about the rockets?"
They couldn't answer how to make the rockets stop, and neither were they justifying them.
But I wasn't interested in that argument. I was more concerned with the fact that none of us had a plan or a vision of what instead.
I continued to talk to the other young woman about the situation. She continued to tell me about the brutality, the starving, the suffering. And I told her, "I know, I want it to stop too, but how?"
We looked at each other and I asked her if I could give her a hug. I did, and when I pulled away I could feel tears forming in my eyes. When I looked up at her, she had started crying. There was no more anger in her body language, there was total sadness, defeat and helplessness.
She said, "I am so sad I feel like crying."
"Me too," I said.
Technically, it is arguable that the incursion into Gaza can be called a war, as it is not a conflict between two countries but rather one country and a political-military entity. In Israel, however, the media has called it as such, as have the politicians. And so I state, that, my observations in Israel during a time of war are most disheartening.
What fails to make sense to me is: How is it that war is still considered an effective method of change? The United States got away with dropping nuclear weapons on Japan in 1945, bringing the war on that front to a stark and horrifying conclusion, but do we, as a human race ever EVER want for that to happen again? Are we not more evolved, more refined, more capable in the 21st century of managing conflict in a place, by the way, where people have more in common that what they have been led to believe?
It is understandable that the world is up at arms, marching through streets shouting slogans to end the war, to call for a ceasefire. It is unfathomable how in a week and a few days, hundreds have lost their lives, thousands have been wounded and those who survive this disaster will be left with nearly nothing to eke out an existence in the aftermath of Israel's attempt to remove Hamas from rule in the Gaza Strip.
However, there is more in the streets than a call for a ceasefire and a call for peace. There is a continued call for the end of Israel, and that is where the conflict intensifies and the Israel-supporting Jews and Israelis supporting the government's decision to invade Gaza, become more hardened, more embittered and more alienated from the rest of the human population.
The discussion, the demonstration, the debate, the tears, the anger cannot be about bringing an end to the State of Israel; it has to be a call for Israel to abide by international law and to make good on its promises. If anyone, the residents of the West Bank have greater reason to be fed up with Israel's policies than with those in Gaza, because Abbas and Fayad are toeing the line and, still, for the Palestinians the situation under occupation has not improved.
The violence is unforgivable on both sides. How it is that Hamas believes it will prevail with this method of rockets falling, killing, destroying, terrorizing and harassing Israelis of all walks of life, including Arab-Israelis, is incomprehensible. How an organization claiming to be for a living, developing nation could be so willing to jeopardize the lives of so many, filling them with hatred along way is also beyond my capabilities of understanding. But they have a right to resist, but they have a right to a country, but they have a right to Jerusalem, to compensation for refugees...
This is not what Hamas wants. Hamas wants an eternal battle, they will always need an enemy, if it is not the Jews or Israel, it is Fatah. If it is not Fatah, it is the United States, it is Egypt, one day it could be their current sponsor, Iran. They play a despicable game with people's lives, with children's lives. Children who have no choice but to emulate what they see and experience in their environment.
At the Tel Aviv University campus last week, Palestinian and Arab-Israeli students held a protest against the violence. Around a hundred students came out in their keffiyehs and their signs of solidarity with Gaza. They were angry and I found out, extremely sad.
My friend Davide and I spoke to two female demonstrators to ask what they wanted to get out of this demonstration. They wanted a stop to the violence. Telling us about a mother and her four children who were killed that morning in IAF bombings. One of the young women said, "They want all of the land," then thought again, "All of OUR land."
I responded to her, "It's all of our land, there's enough for all of us, and we have to all live here, so what do we do?"
I continued to ask her how do we make it stop? What's our plan? Other Jewish students were coming up to them and asking, "what about the rockets?"
They couldn't answer how to make the rockets stop, and neither were they justifying them.
But I wasn't interested in that argument. I was more concerned with the fact that none of us had a plan or a vision of what instead.
I continued to talk to the other young woman about the situation. She continued to tell me about the brutality, the starving, the suffering. And I told her, "I know, I want it to stop too, but how?"
We looked at each other and I asked her if I could give her a hug. I did, and when I pulled away I could feel tears forming in my eyes. When I looked up at her, she had started crying. There was no more anger in her body language, there was total sadness, defeat and helplessness.
She said, "I am so sad I feel like crying."
"Me too," I said.
Comment
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Comment by Jo Ann Hammond-Meiers on January 4, 2009 at 9:04pm
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All is not "fair in love and war", even though I have heard that is is fair and heard this quote many times in my public education. There is no balance, fairness, or justice in a missile or a bomb. Lawyers may tie things up and that can be a just action to support (who give the authority to kill?). We need to do many actions to really live together, beyond a peaceful co-existence which would be great too.
Thanks everyone for you voices here and your ideas are important and heard. I group therapy -- after the rage and the anger there is often tears, sadness and a time to heal --and it is work for us humans. There is great loss of loved ones, hurt bodies and minds, and trauma. As a therapist for the past 35 years, I see the need to heal. Stopping violence starts with our neighbours -- listening -- even hurting -- but processing and finding some middle ground that is respectful. I see that this is not an easy "emotional" or "rational" task. There are so many important aspects to integrating peace -- and we all must keep the images of peace in our daily experiences. Each of us matters. There is peace, but it is not in this world yet, it is however. Part of the human experience is choosing to be here and then, choosing to help this world as opportunities present themselves -- that is the wave of the future for people and leaders -- using all of our love, education, and presence for peace and a healthier world. This will honor all of our world and increase our honoring of all living creatures including human beings. I think the ipeace talks and the peace cafe are important lines of communication about peaceful intentions. Jo Ann
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Comment by Pedro on January 4, 2009 at 8:57pm
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i love the way y handle the discuss, and the best your hug, sometimes we concentrate to much in the anger and forget what can unite us... a hug is universal link....thank y for share that....
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Comment by Roberto Gamaliel Saldivar Silva on January 4, 2009 at 8:38pm
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WHAT CAN WE DO? WE TALK AND TALK LIKE WORLD LEADERS BUT NEVER COME TO AN END BECAUSE WE HAVE NOT THE STRENGHT TO DO IT WE JUST CAN SAY IT ALL OVER THE WORLD, BUT SEEMS IT IS NOT ENOUGH,HATE AND REVENGE AND HATE AND REVENGE FOR GENERATIONS BETWEEN ISRAEL AND PALESTINIAN CANOT BE STOP JUST THAT WAY, THIS SENSE OF IMPOTENCE(?)IS WHAT GIVES THIS PALE RESULTS AND SEEMS THAT I AM GIVEN BACK THWE HOPE THAT IS ALL WE HAVE RIGHT NOW, SO I BELIEVE THAT WHAT YOU DID, THAT IS A HUGG,BUT A REAL ONE WHERE YOU CAN TRANSMIT REAL FEELINGS PERHAPS COULD DO IT, BUT HOPEFULLY IF WE COULD GIVE TO THE LEADERS ........ IF WE COULD DEMNSTRATE THEM THAT WE DO NOT WANT HATE BUT LOVE,THAT WE DO NOT WANT WAR BUT PEACE SO THE OTHER THING THAT PERHAPS COULD WORK IS PUT ALL OF US AT THE SAME TIME IN A PRAYING,MEDITATION,OR ANY WAY THAT OUR MINDS COULD BE TOGETHER AT THE SAME TIME ALL OVER THE WORLD AND ONE SINGLE FEELING AND ONE SINGLE IDEA ¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡¡PEACE!!!!!!!!!!!!! PEACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.
MAY THE LOVE RAIN AS A STORM ALL OVER YOU
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Comment by Sharon R. Aldridge on January 4, 2009 at 8:33pm
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Heidi, your thoughT-provoking post made me cry, as well. Thanks for sharing. I think that we are all at the point where we want the violence to end. I am now afraid for future generations on both the Israeli and the Palestinian side, if this violence continues.I thank God for the creation of this site. My prayers are with all of you. Sharon
PS: And HAPPY BIRTHDAY, HEIDI!
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Comment by Karina on January 4, 2009 at 8:32pm
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There are to many people who doesn´t want peace. That is the problem. They don´t want the hug....
Warm hug from Spain
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Comment by think peace on January 4, 2009 at 8:29pm
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among all species only humans can kill members of their kind
Salam
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Comment by frank rupp on January 4, 2009 at 8:15pm
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I always wonder where the LAWYERS are in all this. Isn't there legal precedent for accountability of the leaders, generals and rabbis, who condone and perpetrate these senseless killings? When anyone else goes out and kills someone, they end up in jail. Are leaders and generals immune from prosecution? Did the People give them the License to KILL?
Let the Lawyers get busy, and tie this up in the courts for the next 50 years! Surely by then we will All have Awakened and see with open eyes what this all is - just endless Illusions we keep creating. ENUF - Peace is Now. West :-)
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Comment by Lidewy on January 4, 2009 at 8:12pm
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Thank you Heidi, todah meod for sharing your recent experiences. It is indeed much easier to protest, to discuss, to cry out loud than to come up with a true solution. How can we offer a solution for something that we would never have started in the first place? It is alien from our spirit, from that what we know that we are. The army, war, fighting with more than words I have always found such a male thing, I'm quite sure that the vast majority of women wouldn't fight with weapons. Fighting only can stop when one of the parties involved makes a concious decision to stop, even when this makes one the perfect target for a successful attack. Of course this is easier to say than to do, but what you did, the hug, and the tears, the deep emotion that you both felt, are part of that first step. Maybe it is the women on both sides of the border that should move, even during the fighting. Just hugging each other, giving respect to each other, despite all the horrible differences. Aren't we all One? To give respect is to show understanding for each other's fears, desires, dreams, visions. If I can't give my child enough to eat, I want this to be recognised, if I have to pick up my kids from the playground when the sirens tell me that they can be killed from a missile within a few seconds, I want this to be recognised, acknowledged as well. There are always two sides to each story, maybe the solution is to find the other side and acknowledge it, respect it. Find the cause, the foundation, the soil of the seed that was planted to understand what the true reason is, how terrible the actions may be. Until then, showing respect like you both did, is also putting seeds in the soil, a soil that allows for more understanding, more chances for peace, and writing about it, sharing your feelings, is really a big step! In peace and light, Li
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Comment by Jerry Yellin on January 4, 2009 at 7:59pm
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Peace can only come to those who join together as human beings, not allowing land, religion, ideology, race, borders, politics and power overcome the basic qualities of all of us.
Jerry
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Comment by Noel on January 4, 2009 at 7:53pm
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This world is a Dream. There is Peace inside all of us,beyond the body and the mind.
I know because i have merged with Infinite being beyond space and time.
Noel.
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