Hi Kim,
My name is Tomer and I am an Israeli.
I am neither a peace activist nor a religious settler.
I am just like you, a tax payer.
Being the fact that I love Sweden and I have read your article that was published in Ynet, I just wanted to share some more light on the relationship between Swedes and Israelis and how Israelis are foreseen in Sweden.
I used to have a friend whom I met via couch surfing, she is Swedish and she was, at that time living in Biet-Lehem.
When she was coming to visit me in Tel Aviv, almost no conversation went without me being accused of being the occupier and the root of all evil. Of course it was related to the Palestinians.
And this is not only her – this is every single tourist that I meet in Israel or abroad.
Having this been said – when they come (everyone – especially women) to Israel, they love it here! They enjoy hanging out, going to bars, clubs, travelling across the country, eating delicious food and what not!
Don’t even get me started on the “love” part.
So many stories about Scandinavian girls falling for Israelis…
I am saying this from experience, being a host for a number of such people.
All of these people have one thing In common – they love Israel when they are here!
They love Israelis for what we represent and on the other hand it is so comfortable for them to criticize us about out “actions” because they know that we won’t react with drastic measures, why? Because we understand right from wrong!
I want to see those people say something nice about their Israeli friends when they encounter an Arab in or outside of the Middle East.
I think these people are fake.
I know the situation in Sweden. I have many Swedish friends, real friends, who tell me that there are certain streets that you don’t want to visit.
That you are afraid to say what’s on your mind about certain people, in a fear that you’ll get beaten up or whatever and that you always see the Israelis as the bad people although in your heart you love us and stand behind us.
I don’t know if it falls on deaf ears or not but if there’s something that I can do to help the brand of “Israel” and “Israelis” to flourish in your beautiful country, let me know.
Cheers
Tomer
