KFAR KARA, Israel: At the junction of the Arab village of Kfar Kara, Arabs and Jews stood in a peaceful demonstration, wearing white scarves and holding olive branches. They held hands together, standing silently and solemnly. Passing vehicles cheered their support for peaceful co-existence in Israel.
The symbolic chain of Arabs and Jews standing hand in hand was initiated by Amana Kna’an, an Arab resident of Kfar Kara village, a mother of three and CEO of a society for women’s advancement. Kna’an established “Green Carpet , a movement for promoting the social fabric of Jews and Arabs living side by side and developing tourism in Wadi Ara, a narrow ravine in the north of Israel that is home to both Arabs and Jews.
Her aim was to create a space where both sides can speak of the confusion, fear and frustration they experience during the war. Kna’an stood against the bombing of the southern Israeli town of Sderot, and before this war began, she went with other women to express their identification with the people of Sderot.
But such events don’t make the news, she said.
Living together despite disagreements Taki Jacoub, an Arab from Kfar Kara Village and Offer Haramati, a Jew from the Israeli town Katzir, disagree about whether the war was necessary, but that didn’t stop them from holding hands and meeting.
Both their children go to the Jewish-Arab school named “Bridge over the Ravine .
Jacoub said that war is not the solution, and history can testify for that. He thinks this current war is not justified. But he also thinks Hamas should account for firing against Israeli civilians for eight years.
He believes the current situation is a result of a leadership vacuum in Israel and in the Palestinian authority.
Haramati, meanwhile, is certain something had to be done to stop the missiles firing on the Israeli south, but he also admits that the scenes of killing in Gaza are not easy for him.
“We know very well how to die together. We should learn to live with one another, said Haramati.
Jacoub said that the people in this area are sane, and will keep demonstrating how the two peoples can live side by side. He hopes that the right leaders will turn up and lead the children of both nations towards a peaceful future together.
The silent demonstration ended with a minute of silence to mark the mutual grief among both nations.
Before the ceasefire, even before the guns ceased fire, academics, politicians, and activists got together for a panel of talks on “Jewish-Arab Relationships in the Shadow of War in the South at the Jewish-Arab Centre in Jaffa. Parliament members, both Arabs and Jews, were present. The atmosphere wasn’t peaceful, and differences were felt. But by merely agreeing to speak to each other, they showed tolerance, despite their differences during the talks.
Parliament member Rabbi Michael Malkior, who is chairman of the Education Commission at the Knesset, made it clear that discrimination towards Arabs does exist in the country: “A country that allocates financial resources six times more to a Jewish kid comparing to an Arab kid isn’t democratic and can neither be called a Jewish state.
A’ida Toma Saliman, CEO of the “Women against Violence association, and nominee of the left wing political party Hadash, said that Jews and Arabs in Israel cannot reach a mutual narrative, because they do not experience the same reality: “They had different experiences of the events that took place since 1948 until today, she said.
There is an allegation that Arabs did not condemn the rockets launched on Sderot. An audience member remarked: A few months ago Arab Members of Parliament visited Sderot and were not very welcomed. The police had to assist them to get out from there. The media didn t report the incident.
At the last panel difficult questions arose. Are the Jewish narrative and the Arab one so different that a clash is inevitable? Is it a must that in every war between Israel and its neighbors that most Arab citizens in Israel identify with the Palestinian side? What should be done to bring both Jews and Arabs to listen to each other’s narratives? There is no consensus during these difficult days.
Marlene-Aviva Grunpeteris a writer for Epoch Times. This abridged article originally appeared in Epoch Times and is distributed with permission by the Common Ground News Service (CGNews). The full text can be found at http://en.epochtimes.com/n2/content/view/10699/.
