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?"
