Israelis are tired-tired of war, operations, skirmishes. They would like to raise their children with the knowledge that there will be no more wars.
There is a lie in the land, a grand lie that speaks to those who want someone and some place to hate. That lie is that Israelis are oppressors to be hated and the Arabs are the oppressed. The ideology behind this is colonization which assumes that all white people colonized all other colours. Maybe, but Jews are not white people. We come in all colours, all races. Often one cannot tell a Jew from an Arab. All that this lie accomplishes is the valourization of victimhood. Poor me. Not my fault that I am what I am. It's the fault of "the other."
Too many who have never been to Israel share these lies; have never met an Arab citizen of Israel. Or a Druze. Or a Bedouin.
Too many who share these lies think there is an easy solution. Just divide what little that is left of the state of Israel into two states. One state dedicated to the sanctity of life, equal rights, freedom of speech and religion, and the other to terror. Israel has already been divided into two-states, in 1921 when Britain unilaterally and illegally gave three-quarters of the Mandate of Palestine-designated the Jewish state of Israel to what became known as Jordan. http://www.cilr.org/home/the-levy-report Look how well that is going. The idea that splitting Israel again in two will suddenly change the culture of the Arabs living in the new state is ridiculous. These people have fed their children on hate, not only of Israelis but of Jews. Jews will still be next door-a target for their hate. http://unitedwithisrael.org/the-palestinian-authority-education-system-a-recipe-for-hate-and-terror/
Visit Tel Aviv-you could be in any major world city that hugs the ocean. Go into Northern Israel, into the small towns, and you would be hard pressed not to think that you were in Italy or the south of France. There are supermarkets as large as Loblaws or Wegmans. And those who work there come from all walks of life: a young woman wearing a hijab, an Ethiopian man stocking the shelves. An older woman-a bubbie- at the checkout. Then you find Jews and Arabs working side by side at the local car-wash.
All these people say they have had enough. Sadly the PA and Hamas have not. We see this every day. Terrorism is everywhere in Israel. It has become so common place that main stream media rarely reports it unless a Jewish person kills a Palestinian terrorist. That Jews are murdered does not make their radar.
More times than I can remember there have been peace talks.
The PA will not sign off on two states because they want one state-from the river to the sea. They say it loud and clear. "From the river to the sea Palestine will be free." And to think for a moment that declaring a Palestinian state will lead to a new democracy-forget it. There is no history of a democratic Muslim state anywhere, ever, at any time. The Arab spring fizzled.
It is time to say Kaddish for the two-state solution. Put it in the grave, bury it, mourn over it. Israel is not going away. The Jewish people lived with hate for millennia and have been surrounded by it in their state since the day she was declared a truncated state by the United Nations in 1948 and was summarily attacked by three well prepared Arab states. I can tell you from my visits to Israel that the people have never been more proud of their country. As well they should be.
We are witnessing massive Muslim terror in France. Not since WWII has Paris been under a curfew. The lights dimmed at the Eiffel tower. Her leaders are calling for war. "Faced with war, the country must take appropriate action," Hollande said, adding that France "will be merciless toward the barbarians of Islamic State group." Obama said the attack in Paris is an attack on humanity and universal values.Yet, no such sympathy for the death of Jews from the same type of cowardly terrorism in Israel. No cries for the attacks against humanity and universal values there.
All of Israel will be crying for those who were murdered in Paris-again, because she has had so much experience in burying those murdered by barbarians. She will continue to be a light; this time a light showing the way back to sanity after experiencing the horror of terrorism.
Against all odds, against the rising Jew-hatred in Europe and a lack of allegiance by the US administration, Israel stands firm, a light unto the nations, in the middle of the muck of the misery of the Middle East.
Diane Weber Bederman is a blogger for ‘Times of Israel’, a contributor to Convivium, a national magazine about faith in our community, and also writes about family issues and mental illness. She is a multi-faith endorsed hospital trained chaplain.
