Israel Makes My Heart Break
My heart is breaking for the people of Palestine. Hold on to your courage, your resolve and your strength dear people of Gaza. I know that you are bleeding right now, and that your children are dying…but hold on just a little longer! Palestine, you have been robbed for 60 years, your land taken over and your dignity crushed and still you exist! You are a people of amazing strength. People from all over the world are appalled at how you have been treated and many have risked their reputations and even their very lives to champion your cause. If I speak on your behalf would I be considered a bad Jew and a traitor to my people? If I cry out for justice, will justice be denied me because I opened my mouth? Israel makes my heart break because they have forgotten how to be generous, hospitable, forgiving and loving to those they share the land with. My heart breaks because Israel is supposed to be the “Apple of Gods eye!” How rotten this apple has become and how irritating to the Eye of the Almighty.
We are family, you and I. You are my sisters and my brothers and we have the same blood pumping through our hearts…the blood of our Father Abraham! I know that you love our father Abraham and it is evidenced by how you hold Hebron as a treasure! Religiously we are different, but I couldn’t hold that against you. If my brother or sister in my immediate family had a different religious view than I, I would still love them.
You are a beautiful people, hospitable, lovely and strong. I understand why the rockets fly over to the other 
side, and it seems that there has been a lot of revisions to the historical record in the last 70 years. The revision seems to be that you are some how terrorists because you want your land back…land that was taken from you when Israel became a state. Why does that make you a terrorist? How can you be a terrorist if you are being occupied? It doesn’t make sense to me. And now you are being crushed once more. Why is it that Israel can defend itself from bombs, but Palestine can not? If I say such things will I now be thought of as a terrorist too? If I decide to apply for dual citizenship in Israel, will I be denied because of what I am saying today? Would I be spit upon and rejected by my people because I refuse to stand in solidarity with them regardless of your treatment? Will I be snubbed by the Jewish community and Christian community because I refuse to turn a blind eye to those who are being mistreated, abused, starved, killed and maimed? How can I do such a thing? How can they do such a thing? That makes my heart even more sick.
I know that there will be those who will be very offended and become extremely defensive to this blog entry, but, to you I say don’t be like a spoiled child with an ever increasing thirst for more and more! You have the best of the land, the backing of very powerful nations and great military strength. Don’t come crying to me about how you are treated…I think you have made out quite well for yourselves. This has not been a fair fight from the beginning, and while bloodshed on both sides is quite deplorable, nothing in my eyes seems to be able to compare to the evidence of war crimes, unethical and inhumane treatment of the Palestinian people.
The following two tables were taken from “If Americans Knew“:
The Impact of the Conflict
on Children
123 Israeli children have been killed by Palestinians and 1,050 Palestinian children have been killed by Israelis since September 29, 2000.
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“The majority of these [Palestinian] children were killed and injured while going about normal daily activities, such as going to school, playing, shopping, or simply being in their homes. Sixty-four percent of children killed during the first six months of 2003 died as a result of Israeli air and ground attacks, or from indiscriminate fire from Israeli soldiers.” |
Source: These numbers are from Remember These Children, a coalition of groups calling for an end to the killing of children and a fair resolution of the conflict. (View the complete list of the victims, which was last updated on July 17, 2008.)
December 2008 - January 2009 Attack on Gaza
This section contains articles on the December 2008 - January 2009 attack on the people of Gaza.
Palestinians & Israelis Killed
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Palestinians & Israelis Injured
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Source: The Guardian |
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dragonfly52 on Fri, 9th Jan 2009 2:53 am
A very inspiring view from a very inspiring woman.
dragonfly52 on Fri, 9th Jan 2009 4:54 am
A warm, caring, open response from an inspiring woman. A Jewish woman not wearing blinkers
BTW I love your bald look. It’s very beautiful and very feminine.
Bobby Revell on Sat, 10th Jan 2009 3:58 am
Hi Angela,
I wish I had the answers to this dilemma, but like most people, I can barely wrap my mind around this violence. I was raised as a Christian, but horrified my family when I rejected it at age thirteen during studies of Zen. My dad thought I was insane and the very idea of a 13 year old kid making decisions about God seemed outlandish to him–they came to realize I am still a good person.
From watching the extremely biased news about why this “war” is going on, we are led to believe that Israel is simply defending themselves and can basically do no wrong. I am assuming you are Jewish? My great great grandfather was a German Jew, though to my knowledge did not die in the holocaust.
It makes me sick to think about innocent children dying because adults cannot get along. When it comes down to it, all war is not only stupid, it is childish and it is the innocent children who pay the ultimate price . . . their lives. I feel the same way about America killing thousands of children in Iraq because of one Administration’s foolishness.
On one hand, all religions are supposed to be about love; on the other, it breeds violence and deep hatred. When America gets hit by another terror attack, I am afraid of what might be done in retaliation: more war, more killing and more hatred–a self generating pool of endless, mindless violence.
kipstreg on Thu, 15th Jan 2009 4:03 am
That’s the problem with categorising people.To pigeon hole people into sub groups such as Jewish/Christian/Moslem/Hindu/Buddhist/atheist etc has proven to be a cause of untold heartache and violence.
Why has compassionate humanism become an option?
moneeza on Thu, 5th Aug 2010 3:37 am
Hi Angela
Today i was teaching my year 7 students about humanity, and we came to the topic of Palestine and Israel. I am a Muslim and I teach at an Islamic school. My students reacted to the topic very negatively and at once began throwing their opinions at me. I listened to them and let them vent. once they had calmed down i started talking about the holocaust. I tried to make them guess the number of jews killed. some guessed 100,000 others 2 million. when they heard 6 million, many couldnt believe such a thing could happpen. I tired ot make it dawn on them what huge a crime was commited against the jewish people. I asked them how many people had relatives that went to hajj last year. nearly all put their hand up. then I told them that imagine all of the people at hajj died last year and that would only be half of the number of Jews taht died in the Holocaust. The look on their faces was pure shock.
one of my students asked me. ‘but Miss, why should we feel sorry for them when they kill so many Muslims every day?’
to that questions, im glad i know have a reply after reading your blog. I want to show them that it is wrong what is being done to us now, but it was also very wrong what was done to them. and on both sides we have people that try to foster positivity and understnading. It will be awe inspiring when i read your blog to them tomorrow morning.
I wish you lived in Australia and could come visit our school.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with the world.
Sincerely,
Moneeza
Angela on Thu, 5th Aug 2010 7:22 am
Hi Moneeza,
Thank you so much for your kind words! I wish I could come and visit your school too all the way down under.
I’m always amazed at how the impact of political arguments, one sided news stories and even a parent’s strong opinion about the struggle between Israel and Palestine can negatively affect children. We need balance when speaking to young ones, so their minds can begin to understand the moral and ethical dilemma on both sides. If we don’t do that, they will hold a false version of the truth close to their hearts and become embittered, losing their humanity. Our humanity is a precious gift from the Almighty, and robbing our young ones of such a gift is like slapping God in the face.
Thank you for showing a balanced view from both sides of the conflict, and preserving your student’s humanity!
Angela
Sanam Rashid on Fri, 20th May 2011 7:24 pm
I read your blog, and I most certainly changed my opinion of Jews…well I guess not all of you are bad. I feel the same as you; your words are so strong and I even posted this on my facebook wall.
May God guarantee you heaven. Ameen.