Sometimes it's better to speak out....

This week I began my speaking tour of the Southern United States with StandWithUs. Here you can find more information on my tour: Israel Soldiers Stories. I will be blogging my experiences every day as I tour around, meet new people, and share my story. This is where I begin. 

I grew up in a world where people are different. I was taught to see the differences between people, and difference was the first wall that was built around me. I didn't know much when I was little, but I knew as a Jewish kid we didn't have Christmas- we had Chanukah.  Whenever there was a birthday party, I couldn't have the Pepperoni Pizza- plain Cheese for me.

As if being Jewish didn't set me apart enough, my Dad grew up in Iran, which meant that half of my family was Iranian, and I grew up at family events with 100s of family members, Persian music, and a culture that set me apart. I always embraced my Iranian (Persian) identity, and felt at times that I was a foreigner living in a foreign land. My dad told us of our history- how we lived in the land of Israel 2500 years ago, and that we were exiled to Babylon after the destruction of the First Temple in 536 BCE. He said our family just kept walking and settled in modern day Iran- Shiraz, to be exact.I'd never been to Israel, and even though I knew I had family there, I never really felt a connection.

I went to school at the University of Arizona in Tucson. I was so excited to begin a new chapter of my life. I had great classes, a great roommate, family that cared about me, friends I loved, and a perfect balance between my Judaism, Persian Heritage, and American Surroundings.

I became a leader of the Reform Jewish community on my campus and was active in the Iranian American Student's Association. I was a liaison and a bridge of understanding between the multifaceted groups around me, and my innocence and naiveté never prepared me for the harsh reality I had to face when I experienced my first anti-Israel demonstration on campus.

There was a student group on campus called Refuse and Resist. They were an anarchist group that protested everything under the sun, including Israel. Things started to go too far when they sponsored an anti-Israel event in conjunction with the African Studies Department. They screened a film on the security fence, and afterwards a community member gave a talk about the Jews and delegitimized the Jewish people’s right to self determination.

I was disgusted. I couldn’t believe something like that was allowed to happen ON campus, and let alone be sponsored by a tax-funded university department. After the lecture, a girl named Megan, who was one of my Reform Students, came up to me and said “Drew, that was awful, I’m ashamed to be Jewish right now”. That statement changed my life forever.  

This American Jewish student who had never been to Israel was being held responsible for accused actions of Israeli Soldiers. She can't vote in the Israeli elections, she's not required to serve into the mandatory IDF draft. She's not a part of Israeli society, she doesn't live there, and she doesn't have the personal experience to defend herself against any accusations. As a result, she was made by others into a representative of Israel and is being held responsible just because she's Jewish.

That also meant that I was being held responsible just because I was Jewish. That was the moment I decided if I was being held responsible for the actions of a people in a foreign country that I had never met, I needed to educate myself, and the best way for me was to become a part of the reality on the ground.

To make a long story short, I embarked on a mission to ensure that events like this would never cause students like Megan to feel ashamed of their Judaism again. With the help of the Judaic Studies Department director, the director of Hillel, and some very intensive research on my part, I discovered that the African Studies department sponsored the Refuse and Resist group, who together worked with the local chapter of the International Solidarity Movement. We brought the issue to the President of the University, and as a result of what turned out to an abuse of state funds, the African Studies department was shut down, the director lost his tenure, and Refuse and Resist withered away and was gone within a year or two.

I continued my studies more intensely and graduated a year early in order to immigrate to Israel with a program called GarinTzabar, which helped young Israelis in America who have to serve and American Jews who choose to immigrate and voluntarily serve have an easier transition in to the IDF.

I arrived with a group of 33 other young people, who were 18 and just finished high school. They never got the chance to go to College with the rest of their friends, because they had no choice but to return and protect their country. I had the luxury of going to college first, because for me, joining the army was a choice. I arrived in Israel, this foreign land, and was drafted in December of 2006. I went straight to basic training, like any other Israeli soldier.

I started my service in the IDF Spokesperson’s unit, where I was responsible to taking public inquiries and accompanying IDF soldiers and officers in their interaction with the civilian public. After a year, I felt the desire to transfer to a unit where I could better the lives of Palestinians, and that unit was the Civil Administration.

Originally established in 1967 to govern the Palestinian people before they had their own government, now the main task of the Civil Administration is to serve as coordinating body between the Israeli Government, Israeli Defense Forces, International and Foreign Governmental Organizations, and the Palestinian authority. I was sent to the Civil Administration’s District Coordination Liaison in the West Bank city of Hebron.  When I was in Hebron, I met with various international organizations in order to serve as a liaison between them and the IDF. Organizations I worked with included the International Red Cross, various UN agencies, the Temporary International Presence in Hebron and Doctors without Borders.

The International Red Cross is responsible for coordinating prison visits throughout the world. According to International Law, prisoners must be able to be visited by their families. As a result, Israel facilitates this process and arranges the transportation of thousands of Palestinians who wish to visit their family members who have been found guilty of purporting terror and are in prison in Israel for their crimes. One of these prisons is called Ketziot, where most of the prisoners are convicted murderers and masterminds of horror who were responsible for countless terror attacks against Jews, Christians, and Muslims in Israel.  

In April of 2008, I attended a meeting with the Red Cross at the southernmost border crossing between Israel and the West Bank. The Red Cross and the IDF were looking at ways to make it easier for Palestinians living in the southern west bank to visit prisons in southern Israel. Throughout the meeting, both sides were tirelessly trying to find ways to open the crossing to busloads of visitors in between the busy schedule of commercial transfers.

Towards the end of the meeting, it was determine that after trying, there just wasn’t enough time in the week to allow additional buses to come through the tiny crossing. As my officers and the Red Cross representatives were wrapping up the meeting, I glanced back at my notes and noticed that there were two hours- Tuesday morning at 10 am and Thursday afternoon at 2 pm that we could open up the crossing for busses. No one caught it, and I had to make the quick decision on whether to speak up or let it pass.

The possibility of hundreds of Palestinians to come and visit their murderous family members rested on my shoulders. While we spent the time to figure out a way for the family members of prisoners to visit, Hamas in Gaza didn't even let the Red Cross in to visit Gilad Shalit or even check his medical condition, and they didn't let his family visit him, all of which was in blatant violation of international law. Furthermore, the very same terrorists who came to murder me in basic training could have been in that prison for all I knew. Yet still I wanted to do what was right, even though every person sitting in that prison chose to do wrong against me and my fellow Israelis.

I spoke up, and as soon as they realized I was right, they made the decision to open the crossing and try it out. As of today, that is a crossing that is regularly used for prison visitations.

I came to Israel and joined the IDF because I felt I was responsible for Israel's actions. I wanted to see the reality with my own eyes. After my experience, I realized that Israelis and Palestinians live in a completely different reality from what you might think.

Two months ago I was at a political rally for Israel's new party- YeshAtid (There is a future). At the end of the rally a little 12 year old girl got up and spoke to the crowd about how she wants better education, a better future for her family, and for people to be nice to each other. He final words word "and I wait for the day that peace will come". It brought tears to my eyes, hearing the yearning for peace from the mouth of a child who only has hope for a brighter future.

I hope that one day, my future child will tug on my shirt, look up and me and ask "Mom, what was it like before there was peace?"