Real Co-Existence Between Arabs and Jews
Dear Peacemakers,
Yesterday I had the hounor to meet Ruthy Miller and her husband in my home. They are two people who are making history in the relations between Arabs and Jews in this area.
They are the real co-existance between Arabs and Jews.
I attached a report from the Independent Newspaper which published in the United Kingdom:
Living Experience: The enemy within
While conflict rages around them, one Israeli woman has taken a bold step by welcoming into her household a Palestinian man and his sick son
By Diane Taylor
Sunday, 16 March 2008
There has never been any love lost between the Israeli government and the Hamas-led administration in neighbouring Gaza, but this month has seen the violence escalate again. Following rocket attacks by Hamas on Israeli towns, Israel retaliated in a five-day operation that left more than 100 Palestinians dead. Last week, Israel's Deputy Defence Minister, Matan Vilnai, issued a warning that Palestinians faced a "shoah" (the Hebrew word for a great disaster, often used to refer to the Holocaust) if they continued to fire rockets into Israel. Commentators now say the aspirations of the two sides are so far apart that any sort of peace deal seems impossible.
It is against this backdrop of hatred and carnage that a five-year-old boy and his father have found themselves living with the "enemy", an Israeli family in Ramat Gan, a town bordering Tel Aviv.
Sayed Murannakh and his five-year-old son, Muhammad (known as Hamady), had come to Israel from Gaza after Hamady was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Sayed had lobbied the Israeli government for permission to have his son treated in Israel, where the facilities are far superior to those in Gaza.
When Hamady's treatment finally began in the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center last May, an Israeli woman, Ruth Mueller, 55, was making daily visits there to her niece, who had been injured in a car crash. "I noticed that Sayed never left Hamady's side," she says. "He was absolutely devoted to him and I could see there was a very special bond between them." It wasn't long before they got chatting. Hamady spoke no Hebrew but Sayed, who had worked as an electrician on building sites throughout Israel before they stopped giving work permits to Palestinians, spoke the language fluently.
Due to the recent violent incursions, movement of Palestinians out of Gaza into Israel is virtually impossible. All Palestinians in Israel are considered a security risk, so Sayed and Hamady were closely monitored. During the surgery and subsequent radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment they were instructed to remain within the hospital at all times. So Ruth began to meet with them every day, bringing with her small gifts for Hamady from the outside world.
By the time Ruth's niece had been discharged from hospital, such a strong bond had developed between the threesome that Ruth continued to visit every day. "My family told me I was crazy to go all the time but I felt I'd started something and wanted to see it through," she says. "I would spend two or three hours playing with Hamady and talking to Sayed about our families, what had happened in the news, all kinds of things. As strangers in my country, I wanted to welcome them. Sayed had left his wife and six other children behind for an indefinite period in order to save Hamady's life."
However, at the end of November last year, following a visit back to Gaza to see their family between treatments, Sayed and Hamady lost their hospital room. For a while it looked as if the entire treatment process would be in jeopardy, until Ruth stepped forward and offered them a place to stay in her small three-bedroom flat. "I invited them to move in with us," she says. "I don't know what my neighbours thought about us moving two Palestinians into our home, but what I do in my flat is my own business." Over time, the rest of Ruth's family – her husband, Steven, and their children aged 16, 24 and 26 – have also became deeply involved.
"Of course it's been very upsetting to see Hamady so sick, but Sayed has got used to that and so have we," says Ruth. "It has become part of his life and part of our lives too. At the moment Hamady is well, but we don't know what the future holds."
Sayed has taken great care throughout the gruelling treatment to explain to Hamady what is going on. "He has been incredibly brave throughout," says Sayed. "He is a long way from home, but he is always very co-operative." Every night after the hospital visits Hamady falls asleep on Ruth's sofa, clutching Sayed's hand.
The harmonious union of the two sides, especially in the light of current bloodshed, is so unprecedented that Ruth got a visit from Fredi Gruber, of Israel's Channel 1 TV station, who featured them all on a news programme a fortnight ago. "There's a process of demonisation of Arabs," says Gruber. "We are talking about 1.5m people in Gaza who are all different from each other. You can't label them all as terrorists.
"What has happened here shows that a humanistic approach is also an option – there is a way for Israelis to live in peace with Palestinians. The Muellers are a typical Israeli family, they're not big political activists. Dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians is one thing but for an Israeli family to move a Palestinian father and son into their living-room for several months is quite another."
Ruth is more matter of fact about the situation. "We share the same ideology," she says simply. "Sayed is a true peace lover and so am I. We both seek to solve problems not in a violent way." Living under one roof has proved to be a harmonious experience that the leaders of the Israeli government and Hamas could perhaps pick up tips from.
"Sayed is a darling. If I say I'm going to do the washing-up or make a cup of tea he jumps up to do it before I can," says Ruth. "It is a heavy burden looking after a sick child by yourself and with this arrangement Sayed has been able to share that burden."
This week, Hamady's treatment comes to an end and father and son are soon due to head home. Although it is too early to say what the long-term outlook is, in the short term Sayed is unequivocal: "Without doubt this treatment has saved his life. It has been such an enormous help living here."
And has the escalating conflict between Israel and Gaza caused problems in their relationship? "Not at all," they both reply. "We are both anti-war and peace-loving. When we see on the news that people are dying in the conflict, it hurts us both, no matter which side they're on."
"Living with the 'enemy' is an experience I never thought I'd have, but it shows that like-minded people can live together in peace. even if they come from opposing cultures," says Ruth. "You can gain so much from other people if your mind is open."
Yesterday I had the hounor to meet Ruthy Miller and her husband in my home. They are two people who are making history in the relations between Arabs and Jews in this area.
They are the real co-existance between Arabs and Jews.
I attached a report from the Independent Newspaper which published in the United Kingdom:
Living Experience: The enemy within
While conflict rages around them, one Israeli woman has taken a bold step by welcoming into her household a Palestinian man and his sick son
By Diane Taylor
Sunday, 16 March 2008
There has never been any love lost between the Israeli government and the Hamas-led administration in neighbouring Gaza, but this month has seen the violence escalate again. Following rocket attacks by Hamas on Israeli towns, Israel retaliated in a five-day operation that left more than 100 Palestinians dead. Last week, Israel's Deputy Defence Minister, Matan Vilnai, issued a warning that Palestinians faced a "shoah" (the Hebrew word for a great disaster, often used to refer to the Holocaust) if they continued to fire rockets into Israel. Commentators now say the aspirations of the two sides are so far apart that any sort of peace deal seems impossible.
It is against this backdrop of hatred and carnage that a five-year-old boy and his father have found themselves living with the "enemy", an Israeli family in Ramat Gan, a town bordering Tel Aviv.
Sayed Murannakh and his five-year-old son, Muhammad (known as Hamady), had come to Israel from Gaza after Hamady was diagnosed with a brain tumour. Sayed had lobbied the Israeli government for permission to have his son treated in Israel, where the facilities are far superior to those in Gaza.
When Hamady's treatment finally began in the Tel Aviv Sourasky Medical Center last May, an Israeli woman, Ruth Mueller, 55, was making daily visits there to her niece, who had been injured in a car crash. "I noticed that Sayed never left Hamady's side," she says. "He was absolutely devoted to him and I could see there was a very special bond between them." It wasn't long before they got chatting. Hamady spoke no Hebrew but Sayed, who had worked as an electrician on building sites throughout Israel before they stopped giving work permits to Palestinians, spoke the language fluently.
Due to the recent violent incursions, movement of Palestinians out of Gaza into Israel is virtually impossible. All Palestinians in Israel are considered a security risk, so Sayed and Hamady were closely monitored. During the surgery and subsequent radiotherapy and chemotherapy treatment they were instructed to remain within the hospital at all times. So Ruth began to meet with them every day, bringing with her small gifts for Hamady from the outside world.
By the time Ruth's niece had been discharged from hospital, such a strong bond had developed between the threesome that Ruth continued to visit every day. "My family told me I was crazy to go all the time but I felt I'd started something and wanted to see it through," she says. "I would spend two or three hours playing with Hamady and talking to Sayed about our families, what had happened in the news, all kinds of things. As strangers in my country, I wanted to welcome them. Sayed had left his wife and six other children behind for an indefinite period in order to save Hamady's life."
However, at the end of November last year, following a visit back to Gaza to see their family between treatments, Sayed and Hamady lost their hospital room. For a while it looked as if the entire treatment process would be in jeopardy, until Ruth stepped forward and offered them a place to stay in her small three-bedroom flat. "I invited them to move in with us," she says. "I don't know what my neighbours thought about us moving two Palestinians into our home, but what I do in my flat is my own business." Over time, the rest of Ruth's family – her husband, Steven, and their children aged 16, 24 and 26 – have also became deeply involved.
"Of course it's been very upsetting to see Hamady so sick, but Sayed has got used to that and so have we," says Ruth. "It has become part of his life and part of our lives too. At the moment Hamady is well, but we don't know what the future holds."
Sayed has taken great care throughout the gruelling treatment to explain to Hamady what is going on. "He has been incredibly brave throughout," says Sayed. "He is a long way from home, but he is always very co-operative." Every night after the hospital visits Hamady falls asleep on Ruth's sofa, clutching Sayed's hand.
The harmonious union of the two sides, especially in the light of current bloodshed, is so unprecedented that Ruth got a visit from Fredi Gruber, of Israel's Channel 1 TV station, who featured them all on a news programme a fortnight ago. "There's a process of demonisation of Arabs," says Gruber. "We are talking about 1.5m people in Gaza who are all different from each other. You can't label them all as terrorists.
"What has happened here shows that a humanistic approach is also an option – there is a way for Israelis to live in peace with Palestinians. The Muellers are a typical Israeli family, they're not big political activists. Dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians is one thing but for an Israeli family to move a Palestinian father and son into their living-room for several months is quite another."
Ruth is more matter of fact about the situation. "We share the same ideology," she says simply. "Sayed is a true peace lover and so am I. We both seek to solve problems not in a violent way." Living under one roof has proved to be a harmonious experience that the leaders of the Israeli government and Hamas could perhaps pick up tips from.
"Sayed is a darling. If I say I'm going to do the washing-up or make a cup of tea he jumps up to do it before I can," says Ruth. "It is a heavy burden looking after a sick child by yourself and with this arrangement Sayed has been able to share that burden."
This week, Hamady's treatment comes to an end and father and son are soon due to head home. Although it is too early to say what the long-term outlook is, in the short term Sayed is unequivocal: "Without doubt this treatment has saved his life. It has been such an enormous help living here."
And has the escalating conflict between Israel and Gaza caused problems in their relationship? "Not at all," they both reply. "We are both anti-war and peace-loving. When we see on the news that people are dying in the conflict, it hurts us both, no matter which side they're on."
"Living with the 'enemy' is an experience I never thought I'd have, but it shows that like-minded people can live together in peace. even if they come from opposing cultures," says Ruth. "You can gain so much from other people if your mind is open."
Tags: Arabs, Co-existance, Jews
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Mazin Qumsiyeh on -
"Smadar": First, I am not a muslim. Second, South African apartheid apologists used to say the same thing (how many Black african countries are respecting human rights or are democratic). The answer to this racist attitude is obvious to anyone who uses neurons for thinking. And it is really pittiful that you are trying to change the subject. Third, If you are really interested in helping Palestinian women, please come to Palestine and I can introduce you to feminists here that you can work with to advance women's rights. But if you are merely interested in scoring points, I am afraid your arrows missed by a mile.
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Permalink Reply by Jennifer A. Miskin-Flake on -
There are very few people in this world who work as hard as Mazin does on a daily basis in the real world for the things he believes in. Mazin is a person who acts.
We don't have to agree on every point in order to be people that understand one another and get along. Perfect agreement isn't peace. We can all refine our ideas by communicating. I hope to continue to hear what you believe in, Smadar, I have been impressed by some of your comments.
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Permalink Reply by HYaari on -
Neri, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is far from being universal. It is, in fact, rejected by most Arab and Muslim states since it contains elements that are considered hostile to Islam.
http://europenews.dk/en/node/3847
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Permalink Reply by Mazin Qumsiyeh on
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HYaari: You distort again
according to the UN http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu6/2/fs2.htm
As at 30 September 1995, the Covenant had been ratified or acceded to by 132 States:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Hungary, Iceland, India, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Rwanda, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, San Marino, Senegal, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syrian Arab Republic, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States of America, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
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Permalink Reply by Mazin Qumsiyeh on
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Here are news of interest on issues of coexistance
Shas min.: Reform conversions will prompt influx of Palestinians to Israel
By Yair Ettinger, Haaretz Correspondent
Tags: Israel News, Reform
The religious parties in the Knesset are demanding that the government amend the law to make the Chief Rabbinate the only body authorized to deal with matters of conversion in Israel.
Interior Minister Eli Yishai, chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, warned that if non-Orthodox conversion is recognized in Israel, "there are hundreds of foreign workers and Palestinians who will take advantage of the Reform conversion in order to gain Israeli citizenship."
Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, who heads conversions in Israel, along with Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi Yona Metzger, held an emergency meeting at their office on Sunday, attended by the religious ministers and MKs, in order to formulate a response to last week's Supreme Court ruling affecting conversion.
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In its decision, the Supreme Court ordered the state to fund conversion centers that are being run by the Reform movement in Israel.
Amar warned that the Supreme Court ruling is part of a broader effort by the court to undermine the power of the Chief Rabbinate and of Jewish orthodoxy in Israel.
"The next step of the Supreme Court will be to recognize Reform conversions," Amar said.
Currently the state does not recognize reform or conservative conversions, unless these are started with studies in recognized Reform and Conservative centers out of the country and given a final test and seal of approval from the Orthodox Rabbinate here.
At the meeting, Shas ministers Yishai, Ariel Atias and Yaakov Margi were in attendance, as was Deputy Health Minister Yaakov Litzman, MKs of United Torah Judaism and MK Uri Orbach of Habayit Hayehudi.
Minister of Religious Affairs Margi said that "the Supreme Court is forcing all those who preserve the Jewish halakha and Jewish identity into maintaining genealogical registers, which is causing friction within the nation."
The religious ministers agreed their parties will propose a bill, that Shas says was guaranteed to it by Likud as part of the coalition agreements, which will amend the law in Israel so that conversion will be defined as one of the Chief Rabbinate's official tasks.
The coalition agreement with Likud did not specify that conversion will be solely the responsibility of the Chief Rabbinate. However, the ultra-Orthodox MKs said on Sunday that they are demanding such exclusive authority.
In the past Rabbinical courts dealt with conversions but because of the Haredi opposition to the matter, the government of Ariel Sharon decided to set up special courts for conversion. These Orthodox courts were headed until last year by Rabbi Haim Druckman.
However, because of claims by the ultra-Orthodox that conversions handled by these courts were not being carried out according to halakha, a crisis erupted which was also deliberated by the Supreme court.
Orbach said that, "Conversions must be done only according to halakha. There is debate over the appropriate halakhic approach to conversions, and I have my practical differences with the ultra-Orthodox, but I agree with them in the principle stances that Reform conversions are not conversions. As far as the law is concerned, I believe, as I do in other matters, that the Supreme Court is intervening in many issues where it should not intervene."
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Permalink Reply by Mazin Qumsiyeh on
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I guess you did not read the article. But then again that is not surprising. My reaction to you is I suppose like the reaction that a black man gets when a white racist says "it is none of your business that we are developing apartheid laws, this is white business only." Now where else in the world today do you say a government debating conversions and the risk taht easier conversions would make it as loophole for natives to get around a racist law that gives citizenship to Jews and denies it to natives. Only in the "only democracy in the Middle East". If this was a skit on late night comedy, it would have been deemed to improbable to be funny..
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Permalink Reply by HYaari on
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Smadar, since Mazin is a Lutheran, we might want to open up a thread whose aim is to discuss Lutheran church by-laws and membership policies. Then, we could compare the Lutheran Church's policies to those of apartheid South Africa and Nazi Germany. After all, the Lutheran Church might actually have some standards for whom it admits into its ranks.
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Permalink Reply by Benjamin Ouriel on -
Beautiful. This shows that the real peace happens during everyday activity between ORDINARY people (NOT politicians).
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Permalink Reply by Ibrahim Fathi on -
مرحبا غسان
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