Once in a while, I receive different reactions from friends all over the world that are concerned or identify with what\u2019s happening in Israel. The impressions that these people receive are brought to them by the media whose representation of what is happening is generally far removed from reality. The conflict has been exploited for 90 years by various leaders in order to amass political power, and monetary wealth from the arms trade. I am convinced, if it were not for those very politicians, and if the residents were able to communicate directly, the conflict would have been resolved long ago. Even if disagreements remained, they would not have turned violent. Mutual respect, especially in the Middle East, is the key to peace, friendship, and mutual trust. This story illustrates better than anything my point:<\/p>\n
A few years ago, I was requested to accompany a British tourist to Jerusalem. The tourist was Christian so I took him to the Church of the Holy Sepulcher in the Old City. It was Friday and after the visit at the church, he wanted to withdraw cash from one of the banks, 1000$. He needed it for his return flight on Saturday evening, after the Sabbath. Due to a technical problem, he was not able to withdraw cash- He found out that he would have to wait 24 hours before he could withdraw the money. We had a problem, I didn\u2019t have a credit card and what\u2019s more, we were both dependant on public transportation that was about to end its service in two hours. I called the man who requested me to accompany the tourist, and he reminded that I could always turn to Ibrahim. Ibrahim was a Muslim Arab from East Jerusalem whom I met a little while before then.
\nI met him at a time that he was hosting a group of Jewish Israelis- I was a bit surprised from this. However, he explained to me that since he is named after he who is considered the father of the Semite religions, he sees everyone as his sons and he welcomes anyone who desires peace to his home. So, I phoned Ibrahim and twenty minutes later we met with him. I explained to him the situation and in a matter of seconds he pulled out a wad of bills and started to count them off.
\nI observed this and I continued in Hebrew\u201d Listen, Ibrahim, I really respect your good intentions but I don\u2019t know this tourist and I truly hope that he will return the money. \u201cDon\u2019t worry; it will be all right, \u201cwas his answer.<\/p>\n
\u201cI trust him\u201d, so there the three of us stood, a skeptical Jewish tourist guide (me), The Arab Palestinian Muslim and the Christian guest who need help in the center of Jerusalem. Ibrahim handed him the money, and after we thanked him and exchanged telephone numbers, we went our separate ways; the tourist to his hotel and I to Tel Aviv. On Sunday I called Ibrahim to see if the loan was returned. \u201cOf course\u201d, he replied, \u201cyou didn\u2019t need to worry\u201d.
\nThis story illustrates possibly more than anything else the need for direct communication between people and nations, removed from politics and the impressions of the media that is always looking for the violence and blood to excite us all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"