The Hurt I Feel; The Hope I Have | Teen Ink

The Hurt I Feel; The Hope I Have

April 1, 2009
By JoyousLife BRONZE, Brooklyn, New York
JoyousLife BRONZE, Brooklyn, New York
4 articles 0 photos 4 comments

I’m sure you all know the feeling- the immense frustration that stems from knowing an undeniable fact while others insist on seeing things in a false, distorted way. We all know this feeling from when we are very young: when our sister convinces our mother that we hit her first and she is believed, or when the teacher decides you were talking in class and won’t budge from that position. Even over such petty issues that feeling of frustration and injustice is intense. But sometimes the stakes are higher. What do you do, how do you feel, when it’s not just a lollipop or grade in dispute, but your nation, religion, culture, land? I turn on the radio and hear about Israel and my heart aches. I watch videos online where people post comments like ‘Fuck the Jews’ and ‘Hitler should have finished what he started’. Each of these comments hits me like a blow to the chest. I feel like standing up and shouting, “But I don’t even know you! Do you even know a Jew? Any Jew? Or do just believe whatever you read and see and hear? Are you one of the people who still honestly believe that Jews have horns? Would you snatch off my brother’s yarmulke in the street to check?” I want to tell them that they don’t know me; they don’t know my aspirations and my dreams, what I love and what I hate. They don’t know that I don’t hate. Have they been to Israel? Some post their countries with their comments; they cover the globe. Have they seen the beautiful land and people they rail against? I lived there for a year; I saw Arabs, Muslims, Jews and Israelis co-exist in peace. I helped an Arab taxi-driver read his immigrant application to the U.S., and I was helped when an Israeli stranger offered me money when I had none. I saw the other side too. I was part of a lock-down when three terrorists were loose in Jerusalem, and I was there when the massacre at Yeshivas Mercaz Harav Kook took place. I don’t believe that being Arab or Israeli or Muslim or Jewish condemns a person to a life of hate. Because along with the awful, hurtful posts that misrepresent Judaism and twist the Talmud out of context are posts that give me hope. There are the careful, patient, futile posters who calmly and logically refute every point of the hate-filled virtriol that some people spew, and try to show them that data can be twisted two ways. There are those that simply post wishes for peace and an end to war. There are those who make the careful distinctions between Arab and Muslim, Jew and Israeli, and hate neither. There is the self-identified non-Arab Muslim who signs his posts Allah Hafiz / Shalom. I wish with all my heart to go back to Israel, no matter how dangerous. And it *is* dangerous. But it is also one of the most special places on Earth, and the secret of peace is contained within the humanity of its diverse citizens. And so I hope, G-d willing, Inshallah, Im Yirtzeh Hashem, to see you there, in peace.

The author's comments:
I spent a year after high school studying in Israel and touring there too. I wish you all (and myself!) the incredible oppurtunity to visit that amazing country and see- and judge- for yourselves.
Pray for peace and the return of captured soldiers--

Let's create peace together.

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This article has 2 comments.


on Sep. 21 2009 at 10:13 pm
scotchtapedreams, Teaneck, New Jersey
0 articles 0 photos 11 comments
I can definitely sympathize with that burning frustration. Sometimes, after you repeat the same thing over and over and over, you begin to feel it's not worth it anymore. Who listens anyway? The people who hate Jews for the sake of hating us - they won't change, just as the people who hate Muslims for the sake of hating Muslims won't change. It bothers me just as much when I hear a friend rail on about Muslims being the evils of the world -- NO! That is just what others say about us! To turn around and say it about someone else... how can we stop others from saying those things if we do, too? But it's always "Well that's different." It's not different, though, is it: Jews are not bad people. Muslims are not bad people.

BAD Jews are bad people. BAD Muslims are bad people. (And even to call someone "bad" is ridiculous, implying that you know their reasons and actions.) Okay, I'm rambling - I'm tired. But I just wanted to say how much I agreed with you on this point, and how well you wrote it--! Kudos on that.

on May. 5 2009 at 2:20 pm
AndThisIsReal PLATINUM, Broadalbin, New York
31 articles 0 photos 81 comments

Favorite Quote:
Dans chaque fil il y a un debut.

*I’m sure you all know the feeling- the immense frustration that stems from knowing an undeniable fact while others insist on seeing things in a false, distorted way.



-This was more than true.

I really appreciate the fact that there are other people out there with a rational thought process, an open mind, an open heart, and acceptance of man kind regardless of race, orientation, gender, culture, religion, ect.

-Inspirational.