FORWARD TO THIS POST: I love all children. I have spent my entire career surrounding myself with as much as them as possible. They are born in true innocence. They sparkle with possibility.
Every child’s life is important to me.
I am a Jew, I value life. That is our only doctrine.
Gaza has elected Hamas as their leaders. The adults are only 50% of the population so they speak for many others without a voice, the children. The other 50% are being led (and taught) by humans that don’t believe in humanity and live a doctrine of hate. True terrorists. That want Jews, homosexuals and others to die.
And don’t accuse me of being indoctrinated by some agenda or media. I saw this with my own eyes. I’ve visited 100s of schools. I’ve seen all kids of schools. But not like these. Children used as weapons of indoctrination and war.
I saw what a childhood raised under hate in 2006 looks like and the consequences of that childhood today in 2023. No longer children…they are adults.
Story below
There is a town called Kiryat Shmona in Northern Israel, on the Lebanese border. I had the opportunity to visit this town with my parents in the late 2000’s. It was a stunning example of a peaceful co-existence between Lebanon and Israel as only months ago rockets were shooting over the border. I can attest to those rockets as I also saw those too with my own eyes.
INSERT PHOTO OF ROCKET (This photo may have burned in a family fire (still looking)
Above is a photo I can never forget. My parents and I in 2006 holding a katyusha rocket found in Israel that was fired from the Lebanese border. I note the kind of rocket as this is a CHOICE. These rockets don’t blow up targets, their purpose is to bring chaos as they don’t “up,” they blow “out” releasing 100s of metal balls in all directions to kill as many as possible.
And where were we holding this rocket? In a school. Yes, a school. Luckily Israeli schools were on summer break and no kids were hurt. But there we were in my own personal sanctuary, a school. Surrounded by children’s books and colorful artwork there was a bomb.
Thus, being in Israel months later and witnessing this peaceful co-existence between Kiryat Shmona and their Muslin neighboring town under Hezbollah rule, was remarkable (to say the least).
It stood for hope. A symbol for peace, a symbol for a brighter future. We were there to witness it. To learn how it worked, and support in any way we could. We all wanted peace in the Middle East and this town had a recipe for success.
So how did they do it?
The Jews provided health care and basic needs to the muslims to alleviate the suffering over there. Not that either had better land to work with, but where the Israel side planted vegetables and made a village/ a kibbutz (a communal living group/ living off the land), next door was just dirt. It was a slum with no resources. In this partnership the Jews made sure no one starved in that town anymore and received medical treatment at their clinics.
In return? Peace.
That was the deal, just stop hurting us. And don’t get me wrong it was a good deal. It made all the sense in the world, helping these people out of poverty is the Jewish thing to do. And it was working! The religious leaders of both communities communicated and forged a friendship. The rabbi had visited and been invited into the mosque a few times even. Truly a beautiful moment of possibility.
Upon hearing that “wealthy New Yorkers’ ‘ were coming to see this beautiful coexistence, the Muslim neighborhood invited us to cross the border into their town. They wanted to talk to us about investing directly into their city. To pull off this visit, we had to be escorted by the military and driven in an armored bus. The drive was not long, but the ordeal was. Watching our soldiers with their guns, their soldiers with their guns talking, checking documents, checking everything.
And we were finally cleared to get off that bus…who got off the bus first?
Oh you know I did. It felt so exciting to be part of a new future for Israel. Writing this now as a 43 year old woman, I have no pride in this fact. That was not brave. That was just stupid.
But I digress…
The leaders were excited to greet the men with papers waving in their hands. Very excited about drawings (architecture plans). Immediately it became clear that these Muslim men were not expecting women to be coming off this bus. They were under the impression that we were doing “business” and when a woman came near to those conversations (AKA me), they would immediately stop talking. So the women were delegated to a different tour.
And if you know me, I had one objective. “Can I see your school?”
This to me is where you see the true culture as school is a universal concept (although it is not universally applied). Even indigenous cultures in the middle of nowhere, have the concept of school. I am privileged to have had the opportunity to see schools in over 40 countries around the world. I have seen everything from a mat with sticks in the amazon forest, to the most high-tech schools in the world.
But this school…this I was not prepared for.
It was not the lack of furniture, light, or the amount of dirt that surprised me. This I’ve seen before. Instead what shocked me was the choices within it. The room was barren and there were no objects (books, toys, paper, markers, etc) beyond furniture…With the exception of two posters on the wall.
One of the posters had color (black, white and red) vs the other (just black and white.) The red in the room of darkness attracted my eyes as it is rare to walk into a classroom and not be bombarded by colors. As this was the most colorful thing in the room, my eyes went there. The “red” was used to depict blood. The poster was a drawing of Ariel Sharon (former prime minister of Israel) eating cereal, but instead of cheerios in the bowl, it was the faces of children. Somehow implying that the prime minister’s morning whea
ties are beheaded Muslim children.
That was the inspiration that they put on their walls. Instead of the alphabet or a welcome sign, a heart, a map, they put a picture depicting beheaded children being eaten for breakfast.
That is a choice.
These children are being raised in fear and a good dose of hatred.
And what did they want us, “wealthy New Yorkers,” to invest in? What did this neighborhood slum with no running water, grocery store, no books or toys for children, etc want?
A soccer stadium. I kid you not. That is what they wanted for their town.
I think it was that day when I learned something. Humanity is a learned trait. The idea of valuing life is a learned trait. It is not an inherent truth as I saw what it looks like to grow hate. It started right there in that classroom.
And these children are now adults, 20 years later.
Groomed for hate. Groomed for war.
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