My Israeli Friend…

When I sit in front of the TV and I watch all those scenes of violence and killings, I remember a saying of my grandfather's - my grandfather was known for his wisdom. On certain occasions he would reiterate an expression which was clear to all those around, except me, as I was too little at the time. I did not appreciate the weight of that expression - "Blessed are the youth" - until I became one myself.

In Gaza and elsewhere, horrifying events are taking place and they are changing the concept of humanity from A to Z. But, in their essence, they do not change the fact that I am a youth and on the other side there is a youth - it is you.

I, as a Palestinian youth, I yearn to live out my youth, with all that this word implies… I want to chart my future and live my rosy dreams… And, in all certainty, this is what you, too, wish.

If our dreams are one and the same - and they are all rosy - then why do we stand each on his side? A big question that calls for an answer and the answer resides in knowing what unites us and what separates us.

You and I, my friend, when we encounter a traffic accident along the road, our humanity drives us to offer assistance without hesitation, irrespective of the color, race or creed of the victim. And this is what unites us - our humanity. Then how can we, on the next day, pull the trigger which, with our own hands, will end the life of the person we saved the day before? The simple answer is that what unites us is humanity and what separates us is politics.

My friend, humanity is what should unite us because all peoples share in this life, and no two people will disagree on that. All the accomplishments of humanity are for humanity in its entirety.

The political concept acquires a hostile characteristic on the ground because it predominates over all others. And it is a major catastrophe when the concept of humanity is absent from the hearts and minds of politicians.

And this, sadly, is the reality in our region. Politicians believe that politics are removed from concepts of humanity, but are akin to interests and the acquisition of gains, albeit at the expense of the pain and suffering of the others.

My friend, you and I are the fuel of wars. Politicians ignite us. We are its instruments and, unfortunately, we are the ones that get burned by it because the political, the forger of reality, depends on us whether in advance planning or spontaneously.

When we were little, we did not comprehend nor did we control our orientation; now that we are at the gates of adulthood, what moves us is not experience or understanding, but what we have received from education, orientation and mobilization, far removed from the concepts of peace and love… Our intellectual makeup was fragile, but after experience, we realized we were on a path we had not chosen.

Some weeks ago, upon completing their service in the city of Hebron, the soldiers went to some houses to express regret to the people about the humiliation and aggravation they had caused them. The experience had proved too harsh for their human sensibilities - but after it was too late.

My friend, we have to agree, you and I, that enmity and hate are purely radical political concepts, not religious or ideological. There is not one heavenly religion that condones what is happening and what has happened in Gaza and other conflict areas.

And we have to agree that the culture of peace is much more difficult than the culture of war because it is easy to destroy a house with one blow, but it is not easy to rebuild it.

My friend, from here on our defining compass must be what has taken place in Gaza. We have to choose: Do we remain the instrument and victim of war, killing and destruction? Or do we become the gateway to peace?

We have to take a serious stand with ourselves and with our humanity. And our choice should be between two alternatives; there is no third. Either peace or peace because the other is not a choice but devastation.

My Israeli friend, peace is made by two parties. It is not achieved except with the simultaneous conviction of both sides that circumstances and the situation are ripe. There is no room for saying that the time is not suitable for peace or that circumstances are not conducive to it. These are the justifications of politicians who reject peace. And one party's conviction is not enough because it would indicate the transformation of that party into a hostile side under the guise of self-defense and we will persist in an unending cycle of violence. As for negativism and non-interventionism, they leave the field wide open for extremists and we remain the fuel of this abhorrent extremism.

My friend, our story has become bigger than what can be apprehended or not. Those who die, those who are terrified or lose loved ones and all that is dear to them, they are you and I and we are human and it is a disgrace for anyone who upholds humanity that there should exist a market for human beings, and that there should exist a selling and buying price and that one human being should be dearer than another. And the bigger catastrophe is when you and I, my friend, become without a price because we fall below the exchange rate and we do not find a place on the stock exchange - excuse me - on the list of humans, although we all descend from Adam and Adam from the earth of this hallowed land.

My friend, I do not believe, and you should not believe, that what has happened in Gaza is a war with vanquished and victor.

After the enormity of what has occurred in Gaza, we should, supposedly, have emerged from the stage of idiocy, naïveté and disregard for our intellects. It is the souls and human consciences that win or are defeated. When the sun is covered by clouds it is not defeated nor are the clouds victorious.

My friend, the mother who beholds the sight of a dismembered child will cry whether she is my mother or your mother because she imagines that the child is hers. How is it then when the child is really hers? Or my brother or your brother?

My friend, the killer and the killed are both losers because the killed will have lost his life and the killer his humanity. He will have only gained enemies and this is the biggest loss.

I, as a Palestinian youth, was born in a refugee camp; the sun does not enter our house. My experience in this conflict has been bitter… like that of the soldiers who have served in Hebron. There is no light for me at the end of the tunnel. I suffer deprivation in all its forms and shapes.

And from between the alleys and poverty, do not be surprised, my friend, if I extend my hand to you, with dignity and pride. Stretch out your hand so that together we will shout out loud, perhaps to shake their minds and consciences: "Enough, enough, enough. We do not want to stay a killing machine. We do not want to be victims and we do not want to be executioners."

We have an Arabic proverb which says that a hand cannot clap alone. Your role and mine complement each other. We have to be convinced that the culture that must prevail is the culture of peace, the culture of nonviolence and the culture of love and respect so that we can live our youth and realize our rosy dreams.

To you, my friend, I tell this story and moral: One day a cat and a dog struck a friendship and made a pact of loyalty and honesty. When the dog got hungry, he said to the cat: "I am hungry and if I don't eat you I will die." To which the cat responded, "You can eat me, but tomorrow you will get hungry again and you will not find anything to eat. What do you say if we joined forces and searched for food together?" The dog got convinced. They searched for food and found it.

My friend, it is not important that I be a dog or a cat. What is important is that we cooperate in the search for life. And we will surely find it.

We always hear it said that the youths are the ones who can effect a change. They are the hope of the future… They are the vanguard. But where is the opportunity through which they can make a difference? If we want to wait for the opportunity to come to us and we stay in our places, be sure, my friend, we will never get it. And waiting for an opportunity is the justification of the impotent and those who avoid facing the truth. It is a thousand times better to light a candle than to curse the dark. Let us get to work. There are many candles lit along the way. Let us follow suit and light our candle. And let us protect those candles from the storms of hatred and extremism so that they do not go out. Let us protect them with our efforts, our sweat, our prose, our poetry, our art and our song. And with all the talent we can invest in the interest of peace. Let us participate effectively and proclaim loud and clear: Enough killings, suffering and injustice. Yes to peace, yes to life, and yes to rosy dreams.

Let us work hand in hand. The road of a thousand miles starts but with one step. Let our first step be a youth campaign with the heading "Blessed are the youth" in order to activate the role of the youths in the upholding of peace.

Let the beginning be a communication through electronic mail, and this is my statement with which I inaugurate the site: "To every Israeli youth, I am a youth like you: my dreams are rosy like your dreams. Let us together create that dream, create that light at the end of the tunnel."

Translated from the Arabic.