MARCH 7 • 2024 | 9
J
N

a dagger to the bone. This 
was followed by a visit to 
the Gaza border where I 
saw through the fence some 
of the burned houses. It was 
right near the Nova festival 
site where there is a big 
memorial for the murdered 
victims: a huge sign by 
the field where trees, each 
with a photo of a hostage 
attached, were planted. 
My heart overflowed with 
sadness and anger for the 
horrific attack. 
In Israel, viewing Israeli 
TV and talking with people, 
one sees scenes you don’t 
see in the media here. Not a 
single day goes by without 
stories about families who 
suffered the attack, who 
have lost family members 
or who have members that 
are still held in Gaza as 
hostages.

HEROIC STORIES 
There is no day without 
the heroic stories of those 
who fended off some of the 
attacks and there is no day 
without seeing the IDF bat-
tling within Gaza. 
Israelis see less of the 
carnage and more of the 
difficult urban environment 
by which the solders have 
to fight, street by street and 
house by house. 
This experience was 
one of the most thought-
provoking and self-
actualizing experiences of 
my life. 
Israel’s future is very 
hard to predict, and I 

have no expertise or great 
knowledge to share. It 
is very easy to paint this 
situation black and white 
but, actually, the truth is 
extremely complicated and 
full of nuances and colors 
and shades of gray. 
A friend, who is a very 
successful and smart lawyer, 
says he sees that both 
people — Palestinians and 
Israelis — have their truths 
and that a solution will 
only come if we sit together 
and accept that both of 
these truths are valid. This 
would be the beginning of 
a constructive conversation 
that can lead to peace. 
I hope that in the end, if 
not in my lifetime, then at 
least for my children’s and 
the generations to come, 
there will be two countries 
living side by side helping 
each other prosper in a new 
Middle East reality where 
war is a thing of the past 
and military presence is 
simply a deterrent. 
This is my wish for my 
homeland: a country that 
against all odds continues 
to prosper, side by side 
with neighbors who seek 
to achieve peace and 
prosperity as well. 
 

Avishay Hayut, a native Israeli, is a 

retired physical therapist who lives 

in Ann Arbor and a contributor to 

the book The Ones Who Remember: 

Second Generation Voices of the 

Holocaust published by City Point 

Press, 2022. If you would like to 

donate to Jack’s Inn, visit https://

givebutter.com/kiTHQ2

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