These days there’s no escaping the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The war has escalated to headline level once again, and I must admit that I am taking it all in with a great mixture of fear, sadness and – I am ashamed to say – immunity. Because we have seen and heard it all before.
It’s like a fight between kids who are eager to place blame, but not so good at looking for a permanent solution. Part of me is sick and tired of it all, but then again, who am I to be sick and tired of something that people are clearly willing to die for?
However, while I am still struggling to understand why the situation has to be so inflamed, my thoughts are going to the people who live on both sides of that much debated, criss cross border. A great majority of them is also sick and tired of living in a war zone. My thoughts go to the people who we met during a recent trip to the holy land:
– the young Palestinian boy living in Aida Camp
– the young, Palestinian mother and her newly born baby
– the Palestinian girl walking through an area of town where the Israeli have closed down local businesses and painted the star of David on the closed down shop fronts
– the young, Israeli soldier girl
– the little, Jewish boy celebrating purim with a cigar
And finally, the Israeli pancake flipper. After all, some things are international…