Friday, October 31, 2014

One Man's Reaction to Gaza's Suffering




Fadi is not your average Palestinian, not that I can tell you who is. Just he has a great sense of humor that he uses to flavor his astute analyses of world affairs and his efforts to make a difference for his country and his family. One example of the latter is that for the last 2 years he accepted an invitation to participate in a dialogue program sponsored by Holy Land Trust, a large NGO in Bethlehem. He opened his home to Jews who had come to Jerusalem from abroad and wanted to meet Palestinians. They came for dinner, conversation and to spend the night. The idea was to let them see Palestinians as real people and thus change their attitudes towards them. Fadi thinks he may have made an impact in this way, but after what happened in Gaza, he simply has no stomach for hosting Jews any more. He thinks they know what Israel is doing in their name, and he wants them to do something about it, not come to his house to talk about it.

P.S. Fadi knows there are Jewish Israelis doing good things. He mentioned the Army Unit that spies on Palestinians using the internet, and how some of the soldiers in that unit refused to partake of that activity.

P.S.S. Fadi is a father of 4, ranging in age from 24 to 14, a hospital receptionist, a loving husband, and a superb soccer player. I first met him when I was a paying guest in his home in 2008.

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