* On Thursday I talked with Dr. Abuleish at a pro-peace event at the Jewish Community Center.
* On Friday three of his kids were killed by the Israeli army.
* On Saturday I am sitting down to write this, my eyes covered with tears and my thoughts overwhelmed by the voices.
Let me try to put some sense in these 36 hours.
Dr. Abuleish is a unique person. He is everything I want to be. The only thing bigger than his mind is his soul. The only thing more powerful than his love to humanity is his love to his kids.
Dr. Abuleish, a Palestinian refugee, has worked for years in Israeli hospitals as an OB/GYN, helping everyone in need. He has delivered pregnant settlers women, who opposed his right to exist. Dr. Abuleish is one of the most charming and lovable people I have talked with. You cannot hear him without feeling that he has been here for ever, and has always been your best friend.
Exaxctly 36 hours ago we held a pro-peace event at the Jewish Community Center. The goals of the event were simple - to hear pro-peace voices from Israel, not commonly heard in the main-stream media (and especially in the Jewish community). And, to show that to support Israel means to oppose the war. We asked Dr. Abuleish to speak with us via Skype. He sent us all a clear message - we should stop killing each other and start behaving like neighbors. He told us about an event the other day when a tank targeted his home and was stopped in the last moment. He shared with us earlier that Israel has refused his request to leave his home and find a shelter in a Mosque.
And even in the middle of the war, when tanks threatening his home, his voice for peace was loud and clear.
You can read the event coverage in the local newspaper here. I will try to upload all recordings from it later.
Here are several highlights from the conversation with Abuleish (2 minutes long).
And here is the full version (21 minutes).
As Abouleish said, we all prayed for peace.
On Friday, only few hours later, the soldiers at the IDF fired direct artillery at the Abuleish home. Three of his daughters were killed on the spot. Other relatives, including two of his brothers and two more of his kids, were either severely injured or died, it is not clear to me at this point. This was done while Abouleish was talking on the Israeli TV. Live killing.
(if you cna't see the English captions, click the small triangle on the bottom-right corner and choose the 'cc' option).
You can also read about this here.
And now, Saturday morning, I sit and try to write. My daughter is sound asleep in the arms of her amazing mom and my beloved wife. She is safe in our arms. Abuleish couldn't give even that to his children. As he told us on Thursday night, "I am sitting helpless, looking in my children's eyes, while they're wondering which one of us will be lost"
And the news keep coming. Dr. Abuleish's injured kids were transferred to an Israeli hospital, to get the best treatment they can. "This is the only time it happened this war", Israeli resources say with pride.
I wonder why they don't say it with shame.
The number are still not finite, but at least 300 kids were killed by the Israeli army during this war. Kids. Children. Babies. The net is full of their photos. Estimates say that thousands more were injured. Where are they? Who takes care of them?
Meanwhile, Israel has bombed a hospital in Gaza.
Just so the proportions are clear, Israel has killed in two week of mass murder in Gaza more than the Hamas has killed since the breaking of the second Intifada, at 2000.
We can't say we didn't know. Please, do what you can to stop that. Do what you can to stop any war.
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Ido, thank yo for posting this. It's one of the human faces of a great tragedy, and we've become very closely tied to it here in Pittsburgh.
ReplyDeleteThanks Aya for your kind words. One sees the human faces of this tragedy, as you wrote, and asks himself - was it worth it?
ReplyDeleteI have no doubt that this was not the case here.
thanks.
I was reading some of the things you have written. I, too, come from a place that has sufferred bombs and shellings, I have lived under these cnditions as a child, as a teenager, and as an adult. I just wonder why. Why you as an Israeli care so much? Is it something that you just do to promote Israel? Having suffered so much becuase of Israel, it is a little difficult for me to believe poeple like you who preach what their government does not practice. I hope you are not offended, I do not mean to offend you, I am just a perosn who is trying to understand and figure out this increasing injustice in the World we live in today. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteHi A. What a challenging response! Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to share your reactions. While I have several Palestinian friends (both from Israel and from Palestine) I do not often get to hear these words. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI operate out of two beliefs.
First, everyone should have the opportunity to live prosperous and satisfactory lives. This is true for Gaza as much as it is true for Darfur or Tibet. I focus on Gaza simply since this is closer home and I know more about it. I certainly cannot stand it when my people do such injustice. Chava Alberstein sings: אהבת המולדת הן דבר טבעי הוא, מדוע זה תחדל האהבה בגבול?
"The love for your country is only natural, but why should it stop at the border?"
Second, I believe that we are two nations with a single destiny. I am sure that whatever is good for the Palestinians is good for Israelis.
Last, truth does not depend on the flag in the hospital I was born in. Wrong is wrong even when we do it. I embrace palestinians who criticize their own wrong-doings, understanding that such criticism only makes them stronger.
I work in middle schools at the United States, and just returned from a Math classroom in one school in an under-privileged area. On one of the walls I saw the following:
Life is a series of mistakes and the lessons that can be learned from them."
Thanks again for stopping by. I wish you and your family nothing but peace.
Well, thank you for your response. I still find it very hard to accept and understand...but thank you.
ReplyDelete