correspondence from friends on both sides of the conflict!

Dear all,

i am a lebanese muslim living in new york..i studied in canada and befriended an Israeli jewish student..to be honest we were both intimidated by the other becaus of the history of hate in the middle east but once we got to know each other and dissolved the misunderstanding..we created a friendship. She sent me this email she posted on a university server in toronto, the same university we studied in..the degree of hatred among students as a result of the current crisis in the middle east is heart breaking...and i inturn told her of the degree of hatred being created on craigslist (politics section) ..HENCE OUR DECISION TO POST IT ALSO ON CRAIGSLIST

...hatred is not a means to an end..only by accepting mistakes done on either side can an understanding be reached and pride be raised down. read below and please spread it with understanding...this is coming from both sides of the border (from an Israeli and a lebanese...a jew and a muslim..it can happen but only through understanding and acceptance).

HERE ARE HER WORDS SENT TO THE UNIVERSITY SERVER:


Hi Everyone, I think it's the first time I am writing on this listserve this year. I was an intern with CISEPO in Israel last year (just thought to introduce myself first). I read your comments about the Middle East and I really hope everyone’s families are ok and safe, as well as the interns. I know that in Israel many people had to evacuate their house and move to the south, otherwise their houses might be bombed by the Hezbollah (many houses and people were killed and injured already). I also heard and read about the families in Lebanon who are trapped with not a lot of water, electricity and food, and their movement is restricted. Neither one of these sides deserves to be in that situation. No parent should worry about the health of her children and we all have the right to live in peace. After having the internship in Israel last year and meeting with a wide variety of people from different religions, cultures and backgrounds I think that the categories of “terrorism” and “defense” are in sufficient to explain the situation in the middle east, and that the situation is more complicated than can be described the word “hatred”. For many years Jews, Muslims and Christians worked, did business, studies, shared their food, danced, and socialized together. I believe most of the Muslims and Israelis want peace, and want to return to the days they could do all those things together. I believe it is possible. I think that we need to take a step back from the conflict and look beyond hatred, anger and fear. The Middle East, like many other areas in the world is subjected to manipulations of the military industrial complex (i.e companies who sell weapons), that earns its living from selling weapons to unstable areas. The region is also subjected to the interests of other political interests that are not talked about is the media, rather in the backrooms. At the moment there are a few weapon companies that are probably very happy their weapons are being used, as they increase their profits. Israelis’, Palestinians’, Jordanians’, Egyptians’, Lebanese’s (and the rest of the countries in the region) lives are affected by those economic forces. If we surrender to violence, we fell into the mouse trap and we serve those company’s interests. In the face of the events in the past few weeks, we are falling. But we can stop it, if we want to. On the surface and in the media the Middle East crisis happens because of hatred. But if you actually go to the region and speak with people, most of them want peace. Most of them do not want to be involved in this conflict that ruins everyone’s lives. An attempt to blame either side is the wrong way to go. Instead we need to cooperate. Cooperation is harder than finding whose fault it is (especially if you look at history the region was colonized, a fact that is one of the major causes to the current conflict); to cooperate is also harder than to turn to violence, but it is possible! I saw that cooperation is possible during my internship in Israel last year with CISEPO. CISEPO succeeds to bring health professionals, academics together to create networks of knowledge and expertise in the region. And it works! I wonder what are this year interns’ thoughts about it… and what your experiences are. We all have to step back and see how this thing can be solved. This crisis, can not be solved by more violence, more hatread and fear from the Other (from any side).

I hope everyone is safe and enjoy their internships