December 29, 2008
You’ve got the war covered from all the different sides. Let me take some different sides. What if I am a man in Sderot whose business has been destroyed over the past few years, and his entire self-image as a man because he can’t control anything that happens to him? And he’s been saying – even on tv – let’s work this thing out with the Hamas so they won’t throw indiscriminate rockets on the population for a while and maybe allow us to open the gates like we did before? What if you’re this man and you start hearing the bombing in Gaza one day and the rockets stop falling on you? You know how awful it is to feel that terror the Gazans are feeling, but a little relief and joy creeps into you. And you remember how terrible you felt whenever the Gszans passed out candies and celebrated when your garage went up in smoke, and you feel like maybe this is the time to pass out candies too. And you are torn.
And what if you are an Arab student from Nazareth studying at Tel Aviv University? Maybe you have Jewish friends, and when you’re at the university it feels almost normal. But you know that one of the guys in your class is a pilot and maybe he missed class yesterday because he was bombing. And maybe you’ve got an exam today and can’t concentrate. But school is going on as usual, except for the demonstration today at 12 at the entrance to the university. Would you be able to take your exam?
At twelve I thought to go to see the demonstration against the war. But because it was raining, and I seem to have caught some evil cold in my chest, I decided to skip checking it out and go to my office instead. At the university a class was just getting out and students were examining the midterms that had just been returned. Jews and Arabs seemed unaware of the demonstration a hundred meters away. And when I spoke to some, this fact was confirmed. Later, when I saw it on TV, however, it looked serious.
Do I want the war to stop? I do. Do I want the years of rockets to end? I do. Is there a way to discuss this? I doubt it.
Do I justify Israel’s war right now? (Gulp) Yes. The fact that 340 people have been killed does not escape me, and the fact that at least 180 were Hamas leaders does not mollify me, but I can’t see the alternative. I do, however, want to reevaluate my position and the position of my country every day, with every move.
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