It
seems that no matter what you do, if you're a little western country in the
middle east, you will never win global opinion.
Maybe
if we didn't have a strong army that protect us, if we let anyone into our
country, if we just raised our hands above our heads every time a missile is
lunched at our homes and take ever so meaningful pictures that will sell great
on the news stands around the world. Maybe then you would like us better.
Maybe
if we came to you in swarms of refugees to knock on your doors and beg you for some help and human compassion, so
you can feel good and generous and tolerant towards humanity, maybe then you
would like us better.
Maybe
if we gave every Palestinian a small house and some land in our country, and
reduce ourselves to the minimum space necessary for us to live in, and give up
our well being, our future, our ability to grow and expand and be better, Hell
- give up our Freedom - maybe then you will like us better.
FREEDOM
- that's what it's all about, isn't it? What makes someone free?
The
Palestinians aren't free, but are we? Are Israelis free?
I
think we are.... I know I feel free.
I'm free to state my opinion on every subject
I feel like, I'm free to wear or not wear any piece of clothing I like, I'm
free to write here anything I want.... not so sure about that actually.
What if my opinion aggravates someone, what if
they feel that words such as these are better not said, and there may even be
some people who feels that I deserve to die for saying some things... does that
sound realistic to you? Does it sounds like Freedom?
I
think the truth is - Freedom is given to you, you can't just take it away, or decide
that your free, just like that.
You
can fight for freedom, you can chase freedom (like those poor refugees that are
now swarming Europe with their staggering amount and unthinkable human condition),
you can die for freedom, and for some, death is just a different kind of
freedom and I don't judge that.
But
- unless your opponent gives up, give in, fail, die or decides to cooperate
with you, you will not reach your freedom.
Even
if there's no one that stands in your way, even if you already won all the wars,
worked the land, wrote the rules, enforced them, build your home and your
roads, asked the whole world for permission to let you have your Freedom in
this place, and they said YES, even then - Your freedom is always
questioned.
Because
at that point you discover that Freedom has a price. Different price in different places in the world, but there's
always a price, and all free countries will pay it.
Take
Germany for example, for them Freedom means to prevent war at any cost. So they
pay the debt of other countries to keep them in the European Union, they take
in immigrants and refugees and pay for that in more than money.Many other
things they're paying for, like the Holocaust survivors around the world that
are getting monthly payments as compensation from Germany for the atrocities of
world war II, to which they feel responsible, and that's the price of
their Freedom.
There
are many more examples on the tip of my tongue, like September 11 and the
ongoing activity of US army in the middle east, paying with lives and many
millions of dollars for their Freedom.
My
point is, there isn't a person on the face of the planet that will say no to
freedom, including the most fundamentalists who feels that freedom is so far from
them, they have to wait for God to give it to them, and then making up all
kinds of terrible unspeakable acts to get back at everyone else who don't share
their point of view.
I'm
an Israeli and a Jew, and I feel free. My Grandparents paid for that Freedom in
the Germans infernos.
Many
families in Israel paid for it in the lives of their husbands and sons who
fought and are still fighting in the arm.
I
pay for it every day with the clear knowing that the next war is always around
the corner.
One
day I will find myself running with my children in my hands to look for shelter
from the bombs, and hope that we'll get there on time.
That is the price we pay, that, and the
headlines in world media talking about Palestinians casualties as if Israeli
soldiers are hunting them for recreation. As if the Palestinians have no side
in the situation, as if 13 and 15 and 18 year old boys are not out on the
streets throwing stones and using actual fire arms against the soldiers.
I
understands this is their fight for freedom, and they have every right to fight
it, as painful and unfortunate as it may be.
But
the point you have to understand is that Israel is not fighting for freedom, it
is protecting it. Which means, we're not out looking for trouble, we're just
doing what we can and what we feel needs to be done, to protect OUR Freedom in
OUR country.
So
when you see Palestinians casualties in the news, just keep in mind that
there's always
more
to this story. Like every coin, this one has also 2 sides, and stones can kill
and have killed in the past.
I'm
sorry if this sounds cold, but if you throw a stone at a soldier, what do you
expect? that he will throw it back?
Israeli
soldiers are not mercenaries, they are
our sons and daughters, husbands, friends and neighbors and in every move they
make, in every action they take, they have all of us, all the citizens of
Israel in their minds, and they know very well what their fighting for, and
what it takes to protect OUR Freedom.
I
mean, what choice do we have? We suffered the consequences of not having our
own country many years ago, and we're not about to forget it.
The
Palestinians will have to find their own way to a country of their own, to get
someone to give them THEIR Freedom, and I'll be the first to congratulate them.
Sadly,
they don't seem to have found the right track to a solution just yet.
