Månad: april 2012

”They tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat”

The obsession with Israel is something I’ve really struggled… I honestly don’t get it why people obsess over us this much when there are places who need the world’s attention much more than those ”Palestinians”. For example, the Tibetan people… China has been occupying their lands for a long long time… and no one (well, except maybe Richard Gere) is doing anything. But maybe that’s because it’s China doing the occupation.

Besides, I’m not sure how the conflict between us and the Arabs is portrayed in the Swedish media, but I guess since people don’t know the history and origins of this conflict, it’s easy to get wrapped up in the ”visual”.

I guess that if you ask me how I view things, well, we have this saying about Jewish holidays: ”They tried to kill us, they failed, let’s eat”. I guess that sums up the Jewish ”experience”.

I guess the best way to describe the way I feel when I see what is written about Israel is first frustration, then anger, and sometimes even amusement (at the ignorance of people). I think that most of the time those of us who support our country (even though we don’t agree with everything it does), feel just alone.

Take the recent ”round” of violence that was in Gaza a couple of weeks ago. Luckily for us there were no fatalities on Israel’s side, and the Arabs had around 20 dead, the overwhelming majority of them were people who actively fired rockets. How was it portrayed? That Israel attacked and ”Palestinians” were killed. No mention of the fact that these were surgical strikes against people aiming at cities, towns and specifically civilians. No mention that Israel takes the most care (out of any country in the world, including all European countries) to avoid hitting civilians.

But I guess that in order to change the minds of people, they first have to be educated about history. I guess you could put a poll up on your blog with a question asking something like this:

”When did Jews come to what is known today as Israel?” and give the following options to answer:

1. Jews have always lived there
2. The middle-ages
3. The 18 hundreds
4. After the second world war.

I guess that based on how many people answer either 3 and 4 you’ll know how much ignorance there is. The correct answer is 1. 🙂

”A dude”

”For some reason the Israeli people are always referred to as one; as the government”

Dear Swedes,

Four months ago I finally made the decision to move to Israel. I was born here, but have been living in Denmark with my Danish mother since the age of two. I was raised as a Christian, with Danish values and with a “Robin Hood-idealism” that always told me, that I should always cheer for the weak and suppressed.

When I decided to move here, quite a lot of people asked me how I could support the Israeli government and its policies towards the Palestinians. I never quite understood this question.

Israel is so much more than war and politics. A huge amount of the Swedes must also live in a country without supporting the government! In Scandinavia many of us are raised with the idea that generalization is bad. It’s not correct to say that all Muslims are criminals or that all blondes are stupid. But for some reason the Israeli people are always referred to as one; as the government.

I honestly don’t know much about Israeli politics, and I don’t know much about the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, but I do know one thing: the Scandinavian media should NOT be the people’s source of reality! It has happened a thousand times that my Danish friends expected me to explain the actions of “the Israeli monster”. They’d heard a new story about a missile attack from Israel, and many times they actually almost convinced me that my country of birth was like the new Hitler; torturing the poor Palestinians that were unable to fight back. That was until I visited Israeli news sites and read the articles about the reasons for the attacks.

For some reason the Scandinavian media has decided to make the people hate Israel. I don’t know why, and I’m not saying that Israel is a saint in this conflict. I’m just saying that there are always two sides of the story, but in Scandinavia you only hear one of them!

Another important information, that may surprise a few Swedes is, that Israel never aims to hurt any civilians! There is always a reason for the act – then the individual can decide for itself whether it thinks it’s a good one. Israel doesn’t wish to hurt the Palestinians. The government is simply trying to defend the country and protect its people!

People forget (or don’t know) that Israel is a country just like any other. We go out, we laugh, and we travel and have family dinners. When I say that I think the Scandinavians could learn a lot from the Israelis, people look at me like I’m crazy! But I do think that Israelis are some of the kindest, most open and warm-hearted people I’ve ever met. The mentality is not aggressive or war-minded. People don’t believe me when I say so, but the few that take the chance and come to see the country with their own eyes, they always come back.

We have SO much to show you; we are SO much more than war and politics; we are tired of being misunderstood!

Maja Olsen

”We love living, and we’ll do everything in our power to safeguard life”

Dear Kim,

You asked for letters from Israelis so here is my two-cents-worth.
I actually don’t want to write about conflicts. I don’t want to write about Gaza or the Palestinians.
What I always wanted is for people around the world to understand what we are really like, and not what is shown on television.
So what are we like? I guess the best way is to describe what I like best about Israel.
First and foremost I love the food! Almost any restaurant you walk into in Israel you are sure to get freshly made excellent food. Since there are both eastern and western influences, the fusion here is fantastic.
We are a free spirited nation, full of ambition, color, diversity, creativity and spirituality. This is why we are so successful in information technologies. We can improvise and innovate better than any other nation.
We love living, and we’ll do everything in our power to safeguard life. That is why we have so many medical instrument companies and start-ups. Medical care is one of the top priorities in the country.
I guess I will stop here and continue this another day because it is getting late.

Best regards,

Yishai