Thoughts of a Palestinian-American

The Shalom Center believes it is important that a wide spectrum of ideas are available to the Jewish and allied communities in the ferment of present debate and discussion on the future of Judaism and the Jewish people. That is likely to include ideas that do not accord with those held by The Shalom Center as a body. "Prophetic Voices" will be the platform for presenting a spectrum of such ideas to the world. The forum will be edited by Rabbi Arthur Waskow with this goal in mind. Calls for specific actions with a date, place, etc., will be published only if the Call fits into The Shalom Center policy about such actions.

Dear companions,

Thank you to Ellen Berkowitz, a member of Mishkan Shalom, an activist progressive Reconstructionist shul in Philadelphia, for sending me the following outcry and plea from the Facebook of Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib. He is a Palestinian who has had 31 relatives killed in Gaza, by Israeli military action, and still shows it is possible to care about both peoples. — And Thank God — Allah and YHWH, Yahhh, Breath of life — for Ellen and Ahmed and all who are like them. Prophetic voices, truly.

— AW, ed.

300 days since the criminals in Hamas decided to destroy the Palestinian people in Gaza with a despicable attack that destabilized and changed the Middle East forever.

300 days since the lives of thousands of Israeli civilians’ families and survivors have never been the same.

300 days of unrelenting warfare against the entirety of the Gaza Strip and all of its inhabitants.

300 days of an adrenaline rush that has undermined my health and well-being and that of millions of Palestinians and their loved ones.

300 days of uncertainty for the hostage families and those who remain in Hamas’s criminal and cruel captivity.

300 days of criminal negligence, recklessness, and indifference by Hamas and Israel, with 2.3 million civilians stuck in between a ferocious, merciless military and a ruthless terror group.

300 days of worrying about my family, dealing with the loss of so many of them, not knowing how the rest will survive the war, and always being concerned if they’re still alive.

Still, I'm blessed to have found positive opportunities amidst the horrendous suffering and tragedies:

300 days of building new bridges, alliances, and friendships across political aisles and differences.

300 days of speaking out against terror, violence, hatred, extremism, and vitriol.

300 days of challenging entrenched narratives and delusions that have failed the Palestinian people for decades.

300 days of confronting malevolent players and faux activists, academics, and experts who leverage their credentials to perpetuate divisiveness and inaction.

300 days of promoting humanity, empathy, kindness, healing, and reconciliation as means for obtaining peace and coexistence.

300 days of rejecting unhelpful and ineffective rhetoric and action that harms the just and urgent aspirations of the Palestinian people.

300 days of creating a new narrative, a third way, and the ability to hold multiple truths simultaneously without one canceling out the other.

300 days of making it possible to be pro-Palestine and anti-occupation while also being anti-Hamas and pro-peace and coexistence.

I’m tired; I miss my quiet life. But there’s no going back – only forward. The Palestinian and Israeli people’s futures are intertwined, and both will have to forge a different path forward.