2006-07-19 Amotz Brandes-Commentary
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 Amotz
Brandes
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'Where are the Muslim and Palestinian
teachers who educate against terrorism?'
Jewishsightseeing.com,
,July 19, 2006
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2006-07-19 Amotz Brandes-Commentary |
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Commentary 'Where are the Muslim and Palestinian teachers who educate against terrorism?' Jewishsightseeing.com,
,July 19, 2006 |
| By Amotz Brandes CANOGA PARK, Calif.—Many of my friends contacted me in the last few days to ask for my opinion about the situation in Israel. This prompted me to share with you my thoughts about the current situation in Israel. You and I might not share the same political views and you might not agree with what I am about to say. But I know for a fact that every Israeli soldier today is fighting to protect his mother, wife sister, father and child…they are not fighting for oil or economic interests or control. They are fighting to physically protect the lives of fellow Israelis and loved ones. Many people in the West find it hard to believe that an advanced, Western and democratic nation still needs to defend itself against people who want to destroy it, but this is the truth of the matter. Israel must face thousands of people whose daily activities involve finding ways to kill Israelis wherever they are and whose entire stated mission in life is the destruction of Israel. Israelis are war weary. We have all suffered the loss of loved ones and comrades and we really do not want to fight anymore. With it, we are constantly dragged into what is wrongly being labeled as the “Cycle of Violence.” It is not a cycle, but rather the constant provocation and killing done by terrorists and megalomaniac leaders in the name of historical justice, vendetta and Allah. No nation in the world has ever produced the amount of peace literature and poetry that Israel has produced in its 58 years of existence. No country in the world have ever given up more than Israel has for the sake of peace. If you are looking for voices of peace, don’t look for them on the Palestinian and Arab side, because the voices there are too weak to be heard. The voices there are superficial, irrelevant and lack self criticism and courage. Listen to Israel, to its soldiers, to its youth and to its citizens and you will hear a true cry for peace that comes from the inner soul of every Israeli. It’s a true, crisp sound that comes out of strength and not out of fear…out of motivation to become better for ourselves and for others. We had our share of mistakes in the past. We have been intoxicated by our false confidence, we were insensitive and shortsighted, and at times, we were even unjust and unfair. But, we never lost our willingness to criticize our own doings and to pursue peace at all costs. The recent events in Israel that involved the uncalled for kidnapping and killing of our soldiers from within our internationally recognized borders serve to underscore the unwillingness of our neighbors to pursue peace, development and better lives for themselves. The Lebanese and Palestinian people are inherently weak societies because they do not have the courage and the commitment to stand as nations against the militants and the religious extremists that their societies produce. Out of lack of courage, they choose to bow to the forces that dictate terror and not to the forces that promote peace, development, self criticism and democracy. Almost every society in the world has its terrorists and extremists. The U.S had Timothy McVeigh and the Uni-Bomber and Israel had Yigal Amir (who assassinated Prime Minister Rabin) and Baruch Goldstein. A terrorist is a terrorist no matter which god or motive he/she is serving. The main difference between Palestinian and Muslim terrorists and other world terrorists does not lie in the modus operandi or in the motives; it lies in the response of the societies who produced these terrorists, to their horrific acts. Think about the American self examination that followed the Columbine shooting or the Oklahoma City bombing, consider the sense of guilt and shame that every Israeli felt after the assassination of Prime Minister Rabin or the massacre in Hebron— two acts carried out by Jewish terrorists. And on the other hand, try to examine the Palestinian and Muslim response to terrorist acts done by people who were educated and nurtured by their own societies. Picture the roof top celebrations by Palestinians on the day of 9/11 or the “block parties” following the murders of innocent people in Tel-Aviv, Madrid and London and the recent abduction and killing of Israeli soldiers from within Israel. And ask yourself:" Where are the Muslim and Palestinian teachers who educate against terrorism?" Where are the Muslim and Palestinian fathers and mothers who punish the child who wishes to become a suicide bomber when he grows up? Where are the Muslim religious leaders who teach about the “religion of peace” and tolerance? Where are the Palestinian leaders and heads of state who fight and destroy terrorism wherever it is? Where are the Muslim and Palestinian academics who speak against this evil behavior and promote justice and democracy? Where are the Muslim and Palestinian poets and the writers who speak out in the name of humanity and against terrorism? If they do exist, no one in the world can hear them! Amos Oz, a famous Israeli writer, once noted that the Palestinian-Israeli conflict will reach the beginning of its end once both sides will recognize each other as victims of the same conflict. I believe that the beginning of the end will come once Palestinians, Muslims and Arabs will gain the courage to face the reality that they are fallible, they are unjust, violent, brutal and extreme. This realization that every society in history must embrace before it can become a democracy. Regretfully, I must say that from where I stand, the day when the Arab, Muslim and Palestinian world will change, and truly embrace democracy and its principles, is very far off, unforeseen. . When that day comes, peace will also come to Israel and the Middle East. * * * On a more personal note: For every soldier (or citizen) killed in Israel the God-who’s-full-of-mercy (El Male Rahamim) Jewish prayer is read/sang over the soldier’s grave. Yehuda Amichai, one of Israel’s greatest poets wrote the poem, God Full of Mercy and utilized the prayer as the subtext. “Sorat El Fatiha," is the first verse of the Koran and it begins with “in the name of Allah, the all Merciful”. When Anwar Sadat, the President of Egypt came to Israel in 1977 to speak at the Israeli Parliament and commence the peace talks with Israel he began his speech with this Koran verse. He was assassinated in 1981 by Muslim extremists who sought revenge on Sadat for the peace treaty he signed with Israel. Sadat was a lone and courageous voice for peace in the Arab World. I wish there more courageous people like him today. Amichai fought in the Israeli independence war in 1948. Regretfully, his poem is still relevant to many Israeli soldiers today (3 and 4 generations later) who fight to protect Israel and Israelis. God Full of Mercy God-Full-of-Mercy, the prayer for the dead. If God was not full of mercy, Mercy would have been in the world, Not just in Him. I, who plucked flowers in the hills And looked down into all the valleys, I, who brought corpses down from the hills, Can tell you that the world is empty of mercy. I, who was King of Salt at the seashore, Who stood without a decision at my window, Who counted the steps of angels, Whose heart lifted weights of anguish In the horrible contests. I, who use only a small part Of the words in the dictionary. I, who must decipher riddles I don't want to decipher, Know that if not for the God-full-of-mercy There would be mercy in the world, Not just in Him. As I am writing to you these words, my 87-year-old grandmother and 85-year-old grandfather are sleeping in their Kibbutz houses only three miles from the Lebanese border. My parents are in their Galilee house watching the news which is regularly interrupted by the occasional sounds of whistling Katyusha rockets falling in and around their town and neighborhood. If I were in Israel I might have been called to serve in the Northern border or in Gaza in my reserve unit. Since I am currently here in the Los Angeles area, I do my best to support our efforts in Israel and utilize the only weapons I have here; my thoughts, my words and my laptop. May the true spirit and strength of the Israeli people prevail as it always has! Brandes, an Israeli, currently resides in Canoga Park, California. His essay is reprinted with permission. |