6 | JULY 1 • 2021 

essay
Israeli Arabs, Jews Refuse to Be Enemies
W

alking under the 
silver-laced sky late 
at night on May 
20, with our beloved dog Lucy, 
I look up at the moon, which 
is not new, in 
fact, it’s very 
old, much older 
and wiser than 
we all are, and 
I pray: Help me 
to help people 
understand. It’s a 
simple prayer, on 
the surface, for a writer who 
always uses words to explain 
life. But its complexity con-
founds me, and I feel despair, 
against the background booms 
in the distance. 
For this is Israel, and a cease-
fire between Israel and Hamas 
has just been announced to 
begin at 2 a.m. tomorrow 
morning, so of course, there 

are booms in the background. 
There have been for 11 days. 
Only these are actually the 
fireworks of our nearest Arab 
village, and our Arab neigh-
bors celebrating a wedding. 
For we are in the North of 
Israel, and things here are very 
different. Ever since the vio-
lence began, Arabs and Jews 
have been tirelessly working 
together, organizing peaceful 
protests, visiting each other, 
planning peace-work activities 
and talking together. 
“My family has been here for 
500 years,” says the father of 
our Bedouin friend, a restau-
rant owner in Zarzir, one of 
the Arab villages closest to 
us. “We are not moving. We 
will always be here, and we 
will always be friends with 
our Jewish neighbors. You are 
always welcome here.” 

His son adds, “Treat this as 
your second home. You are 
like family to us.” (Next week, 
it will be our turn to host him 
and his family, in our kibbutz.) 
This is just after he has 
taken us into the back of the 
restaurant to show us the hun-

dreds of T-shirts he has had 
printed to give out at peace-
ful demonstrations, with the 
words: ARABS AND JEWS 
REFUSE TO BE ENEMIES, in 
Hebrew, Arabic and English. 
His co-partner of the idea, 
our Jewish friend and neigh-

Shoshana 
Lavan

The T-shirt made by our Arab neighbors and friends:

SHOSHANA LAVAN

PURELY COMMENTARY

continued on page 8

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