Frustration and anger

Dear Kim,

First of all I would like to thank and applaude you for your ”bravery” and ”integrity” in search of the truth. RESPECT to you!‫

I’m an Israeli living in Europe and I write this letter out of frustration and anger of the news media and journalists in Europe/Scandinavia, for the injustice they do to Israel‫,‬ with their lack of journalistic integrity and their corrupt reports!

Since my first days in Europe in 1980 I have seen groups of Palestinians going door to door ‫-‬ spreading their propaganda, lies, and smearing Israel as evil and as the occupier of their land.
Now, 32 years later, you can see it’s not just small time propaganda.
They took over most news medias across Europe and Scandinavia‫,‬ deciding what would be said and shown on the news, and basically portraying the Palestinian terrorists as the under dogs, the freedom fighters, the victims of the conflict. By not reporting the terror attacks on innocents victims – women and children, only reporting when Israel retaliates back, and portraying Israel as the aggressor and as the one who attacked first.

As I’m writing these lines at 12.30 (Tuesday 19.06.12) I see an update on the Israeli news: Children in the south of Israel may not go further than 15 seconds from a bomb shelter.

2 hours later new headlines: 13 Qassam rockets has been fired on Israel.
At 17:00: 33 Qassams rockets and mortars shells has been fired on Israel, targeting innocent civilians!!
20:00: New headlines: More than 100 rockets and mortar shells has been fired on Israel! Did you hear about it‫?

I haven’t heard a word of it on any Dutch, Belgian, German or any European news station, nor on the CNN or the BBC .
When I tell my friends about the rocket attacks they think I’m crazy! Because they haven’t heard one word about it on the news.
Just like a few months ago when the Hamas launched more than 200 rockets in 48 hours‫.‬ Finally when Israel retaliated they said on the news that Israel had attacked Gaza first‫.‬
Shortly after the ceasefire was signed, Hamas still lunched more rockets throughout the whole day.‬
Finally after 12 hours Israel finally retaliated‫,‬ and you guessed it.. in the news they blamed Israel for violating the ceasefire.

So the media hides information and actually falsifies information over events in the Middle East.
Even worse, in schools in Europe kids are getting false education over the history of Palestine and Israel. So they grow up to believe the Arab lies.
Israel is painted by world news media as evil and the big mighty power in the Middle East, if you really look at the map and compare Israel to its Arab neighbours, you’ll see that Israel is the smallest country in the area, with just 7 millions Jews and 1.5 million Arabs.

And to defend it, every Jewish man and woman has to do years of army service.
But did you know that from such a small land comes so much wisdom and knowledge for the benefit of the whole world?
Did you know that there are more Jewish Nobel price winners than of any other country in the world‫?

Inventing technologies for mobile phones, computers, TV, safety and health instruments, green electric cars, water irrigations etc…
Almost every week I read of a new invention that will improve the quality of life some where around the world, also in the medical world‫,‬ Israel invents more cures and medicine than most countries in the world.
The most amazing thing they just developed: A vaccination and cure for cancer which already cures 90% of all cancer sorts and will be available for the whole world in 2020.
When people come to my door to collect donations for fighting cancer, I think to myself, send that money to Israel, the’ll know how to use it the best.

When I think of how much money the Palestinians are getting from around the world every year, and what they do with it: Suicide bombs‫,‬ Qassams rockets and Corrupt‫ ‬private bank accounts – Arafat had 90 million $ in his private bank account.
Did you know that the Palestinians teach and brainwash their children from a very young age, to blow themselves up as suicide bombers and to kill and to hate Jews‫?‬

Although an Israeli hospital will take care of thousands of sick and wounded Palestinians‫,‬ the Palestinians on the other hand lynched to death three Israelis who accidentally entered Palestinian territory.
Although Israel is willing to recognize Palestine as a neighbouring state and give up some of its land for them, the Palestinians are not willing to recognize Israel as the state of the Jewish people‫.‬ Bizarre‫!

Israel is the only land in the Middle East that permits complete freedom of religion to all.
And the only true democracy with freedom of speech and equal rights‫ ,‬to that extent that people who are actually supporting the enemy‫ ‬(Hamas) are members of the Israeli parliament. In any other country those parliament members would be in jail for treason or even be hung‫!‬

Israel has existed for 3500 years as the only state of the Jewish people and has never ever been another state of any other people, in the history on that piece of land. And that’s a fact!‫!‬

Israel is not the only victim of islam, but it is the toughest victim so far.
And yet I see Europe and Scandinavia still supporting the spread of islam and condemning Israel.

But seeing the news reports in Europe and Scandinavia I don’t blame you‫,‬ I probably would condemn Israel too if I did‫’‬t know better‫ ,‬that’s why I find the work of Kim Milrell so important! It’s about the TRUTH and it’s a Moral Obligation to share it!

M.B.

A letter from Telem

Dear Kim, and other people from Sweden 🙂

I would love to share my thoughts about my land, Israel.

I live in a nice settlement called Telem, which is in the territories that Israel released in the war of 1967.
Israel had taken these territories from Jordan. They don’t claim these territories from Israel today.

I feel that the land of Israel belong to the Jewish nation. I feel that I have the right and obligation to protect it.
Of course, other people are invited to stay (especially if they’re generally nice).
Every country has it’s minorities, and residents who are not full rights citizens.

I feel that it’s a true shame for my country, that some of the Arabs who live in Israel lack basic Human Rights.
I think that Israel should take care of it immediately, but absolutely not by giving our land to other people.
No reason to do that, and no logic (especially since we have more than a few examples of how Arab countries run…).

I feel very frustrated to know how the conflict is displayed in the media around the world.
Thank you, Kim, for doing this 🙂

My name is Tali Sapir, and I would gladly keep in touch with whomever wants to 🙂
If anyone wants a place to stay during a trip to Israel, they are invited to contact us, too 🙂

Tali

”Please come and get to know us”

Dear Swedish friends,

We don’t have many opportunities to get to know each other.

I live in a wonderful country: Israel. I have four little girls and have chosen to make the Jewish homeland their home. I hope they will internalize and promote the traditions, values and goals that are what makes Israel the special place that it is. What am I talking about? Some are obvious things: living Jewish lives, celebrating holidays, respecting and helping others, the poor and the weak in our own communities. I hope my kids will grow up to care about others and make the world a better place, in ways you may not know about:

The Israeli humanitarian organization ’Save a Child’s Heart’ (SACH) has repaired the hearts of more than 2,800 children from a wide variety of countries. The organization SACH, located in Israel and staffed by Israelis, treats children from developing countries without regard to race, color, gender, religion, or financial consideration. In first week in June 2012, SACH was treating 30 children from Angola, Ethiopia, Haiti, Iraq, the Palestinian Authority (YES – Palestinian children), Tanzania, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe. Save a Child’s Heart’s mission is to improve the quality of pediatric cardiac care for children from developing countries who suffer from heart disease, and who cannot get adequate medical care in their home countries. It also works to create centers for pediatric cardiac care in these countries.

Israeli agricultural technology is helping the developing world to improve crop yields and food storage. I’m sure you know that Israeli technology is in every computer and cell phone you use, but did you know that Israeli technology and the Israeli development agency, Mashav, specifically focus on helping farmers in the developing world (e.g. in Vietnam and Senegal) on improved irrigation and increasing crop yields? Several Israeli inventions, such as drip-irrigation, dew-catching systems, potatoes that grow well in hot and dry climates are helping the poor to feed themselves instead on relying on handouts.

Israel formally recognizes 15 religions, including Islam, Bah’ai, the Druze religion, and Chaldaic and other Christian denominations. Each religious community freely practices its faith, observes its own holy days and weekly day of rest, and administers its own internal affairs. Israel protects the holy sites of all religions. Israel is the only Middle Eastern country where the Christian population is thriving instead of disappearing. Between 1948 and 1998, Israel’s Christian population grew fourfold, from 34,000 to 130,000. The Bah’ai, a religious group persecuted in Muslim countries, built its world center in Haifa, Israel.

Gays have full rights in Israel, don’t have to hide and even serve in the army without having to hide their sexual identity. Women have full rights in Israel and can hold any professional position, study anywhere and have always had full voting rights. Israeli Arabs are citizens with the same rights as all other citizens. There are Israeli Arabs members of parliament in the Knesset (the parliament), judges in regional courts and in the supreme court and foreign service officers in the Foreign Ministry who serve as ambassadors or consuls, in the Israeli Police Force and in the Israel Defense Forces.

This is Israel. The real Israel. This is MY Israel.

I think you should come to Israel to see that we live in a country with normal problems, like poverty and crime, and abnormal problems, like the threat of nuclear war from Iran, terrorism from Gaza and the Palestinian Authority, from Lebanon and from Egypt. You’ll also see that we are a special country, a country whose diverse populations are knit together and care about each other, a country with an incredible level of joie de vivre, of living each day to the fullest, of cherishing the profane and the divine and of always pushing to do better, to be better.

I know we’d love to show you the real Israel. Please come and get to know us.

”I had a pretty normal childhood, apart from the fact that I spent my last year in kindergarten carrying a gas mask”

Hello,

If you are reading this, first of all thank you! It means you care, and it means you show interest in what I have to say.
I’m thanking you because it’s so hard to find people willing to listen. Today everyone thinks they know everything, and then they don’t want to listen, or even worse, they don’t want to talk.

I will not mention my name for privacy reasons but I will tell my story. I am an Israeli, I love Israel, it is my home, I was born here and so were my parents. My grandparents however were born in Poland, running away from the horrors of the holocaust. They made it to Israel to rebuild their ancestors’ home again (yes! Israelis are originally from Israel!!!). When I was young my mom told me: ”I hope that by the time you’ll be 18 there will be peace and you won’t need to go to the army”, she told that to my brothers as well and my grandparents told it to my parents, and we are still hoping.
Hoping for peace.


I had a pretty normal childhood, apart from the fact that I spent my last year in kindergarten carrying a gas mask and running for shelter from missiles shot at my city (Iraq bombarding Israel in the Gulf War) needless to say this still occurs in many cities in Israel, only this time the missiles are coming from Gaza and Lebanon.
As a teenager I was afraid to take the bus because so many people have lost their lives in terror attacks on buses. In high school our class trips have been secured by security men and sometimes even canceled due to terror threats.

When I was recruited to the army I first encountered the conflict, from the first moment we were taught what it means to be a solider, to protect, to serve and and to be responsible for the safety of the people around you: soldiers and civilians, Israelis and Palestinians, I never shot or hurt anyone, but I was shot at, bombs left on my way and terrorist have tried passing our posts only to attack or explode innocents in Israel. I hated every moment of it, I mean, who would like it? But I did it, because I had to protect my family and loved ones.

I, like many others in Israel, want peace, I don’t want to fear taking the bus, or run to shelters every time I hear a siren, I want to be able to visit Arab countries and live next to an Arab family without being afraid for my safety.

De senaste 4 år bor jag med min flickvän som är svenska, på den här tiden jag besökt Sverige massa gånger. Och jag älskar Sverige, men varje gång när jag försöker prata med en svensk om Israel känner jag att han/hon vill inte prata eller tror att Israel är en fruktansvärt plats. Jag bara ber er, försök lyssna till israeler också, läs nyheter på israelska websidor, inte bara på Aftonbladet och DN. Och om ni träffar någon från Israel, bli inte rädd – vi är ganska snälla. Och om du vill ha en semester, kom till Israel ni kommer inte ångra det.

[The past four years I have been living with my Swedish girlfriend and during this time I have visited Sweden many times. And I love Sweden, but every time I try to talk to a Swede about Israel, I feel that he/she doesn’t want to talk, or believes that Israel is a horrible place. I beg of you, try to listen also to the Israelis and read news on Israeli news sites, not just Aftonbladet and DN. And if you meet someone from Israel, don’t be afraid – we are pretty friendly. And if you need a vacation – come to Israel. You won’t regret it.]

An Israeli

Teenage girl about the army

Letter from Israel: ABOUT THE ARMY.

So, I’m a 17 year old Israeli. I’m a regular teenager. I was born in Caracas, Venezuela and I came to Israel when I was 8.

In a year and a half I’ll go to the army. After finishing high school, EVERYONE, every young man and woman in Israel that turn 18 must go to the army. Only if you have a medical problem you don’t have to go… While young people all over the world goes to college and start a career, we need to defende our country, for 2 years (girls) and 3 years (boys). So for those who think that we are having fun in this Arabs-going-to-kill-us situation, it’s not like that. I will go to the army, of course. I want to go, but nobody asked me if I really like to.

I just wanted to say that. After all most of the soldiers in Israel are teenagers. KIDS, who just graduated from high school.

Want to write a ’letter’ about your army experiences? 
Send it to lettersfromisraeltosweden@gmail.com.