Two tales for one independence

Three years ago i had a chance to work on the bi-lingual school in Jerusalem, where Arab and Jewish kids study together. Wonderful and hopeful place. They tend to mark every event of both people and three religions, the only time during the whole year when they separate between the kids being on Memorial Day \ Independence Day, when the Jews go have their ceremony, and the Arabs stay in class and discuss the situation. After that they meet again for a joint, calm ceremony in which the speak and sing peace. I was given the honor of staying with the Arabs, rather than going to another ceremony, of which i've attended so many. The Arab teacher held a discussion with them, of which I could only understood a small part. I think the major thing she told them, is that this is not only their land, but also their state as anybody else’s, and they shouldn’t forget this. It was a special experience anyway.

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As I came to Qingdao, I met this young Israeli traveler in the hostel. I could easily see by the way he spoke and dressed that he was fresh out of the army. He seemed pretty happy to meet me. We had a breakfast together (I bought him sesame sauce, better known has tahini in our places, and gave him a feeling of home). He told me about his life in the north of Israel, the high-tech job he was newly fired from, and the upcoming studies. We didn’t touch politics, and with our farewell we exchanged, as common nowadays, our names so that we become facebook palls. Two weeks ago I ran into a list of facebook groups you get for right “hate arabs” on facebook. Despicable stuff, ranging from idiotic teenager racism ("i hate them, they are so fucking stinkyyyyyyy!! @#$@$") to downright Nazism (“kill all the Arabs \ drop an atom on Gaza!"). Just as in the movies, i went into one on the more "moderate" pages, and there pops my friend's picture as one of the group's members. I immediately wrote him something in the likes of “what the fuck?!”, and he answered, polite as always, that he has tried to been a good guy, but eventually realized most Arabs don't want us here. well, he's right at that.

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I don’t really know what to make of these two stories, just wanted to tell them. My opinion about the future of the land is likewise obvious and obscure, but is based on the (maybe too) simple idea that both people will either die or live together - israelistine is not a zero-sum game. I am hopeful enough to believe that people will eventually have to face it.

Regarding the actual state of Israel (with 61 of age, not a kid anymore, but a very annoying adult) – it’s hard to love a state that is doing the things i've seen, and in which i can find so many faults. But hey – this is what I have, and I am sure happy it's still there, despite great efforts by both Jewish and Muslim radicals to destroy it. Who else will save me once the Chinese get furious for me eating all the rice, or the Germans get mad again? At which other country can i allow myself to sit in prison for my beliefs? And honestly, I have a thing for Bibi, not of today.

If all that isn’t enough, I think I'll continue to be happy about it existence thanks to the wonderful power of spite – a state so widely and thoroughly hated (including by some of my friends) must have something to it. An israelless world would be just too boring, wouldn’t it?