Quotes from Love Israel, Support Palestine (Nir Avishai Cohen)

These are my notable quotes from Love Israel, Support Palestine by Nir Avishai Cohen. I wrote my key takeaways from the book for the subscribers of my Future of Conflict series.

Quotes from: Love Israel, Support Palestine

On his upbringing in a segregated society, growing up with no knowledge of the other, setting the groundwork for dehumanization:

Who were those others? Anyone who didn’t live in the moshavim or kibbutzim. The Arab neighbors we obviously never mentioned. There are many Arab villages less than 20 minutes from Almagor. We’d never go there, I never met anyone from there. Giant invisible walls were built and nurtured between the Jews and the neighboring Arab settlements.

What people ask him:

“Having been brought up the way you were, how did you become this way?” While speaking to them, I often try to linger on the meaning of ‘this way’ and ask: What do you mean when you say I am ‘this way’? Then they start squirming. Some say it directly: “How did you become an ‘anti-Zionist’?” Others will say “How did you become an ‘IDF1-hater’, and snitch on our soldiers at The Hauge?”
Some plainly reply: “How did you become someone who has such different views?” Yes, this is how it is nowadays in large parts of Israel: if you’re not part of the mainstream, you’re automatically a Jew-hater and an enemy of your country.

How he grew up:

As I’ve mentioned, love of the country was a value of great importance in my family and my environment. They call it ‘Zionist leftism’ now. Certainly, the most moral of the left, which I’ll discuss in the next few pages. Like everyone else at the moshav, I was also a cadet and later a mentor inNOAL, the General Federation of Working and Studying Youths. The values they instilled in us were mainly love of the land and the importance of defending the homeland.

We all share the blame:

My dad, a people person raised in Rosh Pina – in the north of Israel – who saw Tuba from across the street, tried to break down those walls. He had true friendships with many of the people of Tuba. He’d come to their celebrations as well as visit casually. He made sure to take us with him when we were kids, to understand that Arabs weren’t the enemy. But this was a drop in the bucket compared to the general atmosphere of the society in which I grew up. The walls of separation between Jewish and Arab societies still stand tall nowadays, and might have grown taller. Young boys from Almagor will never meet young Arabs throughout their childhood and adolescence, despite the minuscule geographical distance between them. We all share the blame for this. Sure, the education system plays a key role, but the people who don’t bother changing the current situation are also responsible. Mountains of prejudice and stereotypes can be built on the basis of separation and lack of knowledge, thus maintaining and even expanding alienation between Jews and Arabs.

On the progress of the youth from his time to now:

A female friend of mine contacted me a while ago and told me that her oldest son was about to finish high school, and was contemplating whether he wanted to join the army. She and I are very closely aligned in our political views, she even offered her time to help me when I ran in the Meretz party’s primaries. She asked me to meet with him, as maybe my perspective would help him make a decision, whatever it might be. We met, he and I with a coffee travel kit, in an unknown magical forest in the Golan Heights. As the water boiled on the burner, he told me about his deliberation, the same I and all my friends had had. He talked about the need for the State of Israel, but at the same time also mentioned the Palestinians’ need to have their own state. He feared his military service would cause our neighbors anguish; he was afraid to be a part of the military force that controlled a civilian population for no apparent reason. He talked about beautiful and humane values that he’d probably gained from his smart mother, values of equality and liberty. He talked about violations of human rights in the Territories on a daily basis, by the same entity he was deliberating on joining. He already knew so much at his young age, knew how to make very astute observations. I felt like I was taking a class on the reality of how I should’ve acted. To think, doubt, and contemplate. I felt honored to sit with that young man, I never got a chance to know any eighteen-year-old from my environment growing up with such healthy thoughts.

On asking questions and the power of ignorance:

“Don’t ask any questions” was the main motif in joining the IDF. We join the army because we have one country, and we have to protect it. That’s it, an unwavering fact. I regret that now. I think we have to ask questions, to doubt things.

The role of fear in power and oppression, the myth of “We don’t have a partner”:

It’s clear to me that my doubt is an outcome of turning considerable parts of the Israeli Defense Force into the Settlements Defense Force. Israeli society has to ask itself hard-hitting questions as to where and why the blood of its sons and daughters is being spilled. A messianic, religious minority has been dragging us into this quagmire for the past 55 years, and we’re seemingly following this minority like it’s the Pied Piper of Hamelin, sending soldiers on eccentric missions, controlling our neighbors, oppressing them. A small and smart minority managed to build a false representation for Israeli society. They’ve managed to convince us that all the Palestinians want is to murder us. It’s a propaganda machine of scare tactics that’s been running here for years, on high. We’re constantly scared into thinking that any minute now missiles will be fired at Tel Aviv from some Palestinian settlement, and that it’s not just because of the Settlements. But something just as bad as scare tactics has happened here, a general feeling that there’s no other option. We’re convinced that we don’t have a partner, that there’s no other option than maintaining the occupation. And we get used to this crazy notion as the years go by. We get used to the stench of controlling another people, get used to the reality of violence, of course we do, and maybe we even enjoy that set situation in which we’re the victims, that same sensation that has followed us for so many years. It doesn’t even matter that we have the strongest army in the Middle East, that our economy is strong – we’ll forever be victims. Even the false myth that we’re reaching out our hands in peace doesn’t exist anymore, only the sense that we’re all about to be murdered by the Palestinians.

PTSD:

After a few hours there, I lay down on my bed to rest for a while. Suddenly, in the middle of the day, we heard an engine roar followed by a deafening explosion from inside. A hand grenade had been thrown into our post. The first few seconds were chaotic. We newly-arrived combat troops didn’t really know what to do. They hadn’t even had a chance to give us a proper briefing. We jumped into the fortified ditch and mostly tried to catch our breath. We searched for the vehicle the grenade had been thrown from using our battle positions and rifle sights, but it was already gone. It took me a few years to realize that even today, more than twenty years later, this explosion still exists within me. Every loud noise from a car or a door slamming, any surprising noise, makes my heart skip a beat. I contain it on my own most of the time, but I often share the momentary experience of panic with my friends.

Experience of occupation, after practicing a drill on civilians:

Today I realize that what I did was practicing on a civilian population. In what world do soldiers train on a Palestinian family as if they’re practice dolls? What gave me the authority to go into their house? And that little girl, what would she think of IDF soldiers? Did I give her nightmares? I still think about this family twenty years later, and how immoral I was. But I didn’t feel that way back then, far from it. I gathered my men, summarized the drill and went on to the next house.

On using human shields and then learning it was wrong:

I once again chose a random house and knocked on the door. My watch indicated it was 2 AM. The door opened and a 50 or 60- year-old woman stood before me. In my broken Arabic, I ordered her to come with me, that I had a mission for her. The military calls it “Neighbor Procedure.” I demanded she go into the suspect’s house and tell all the inhabitants to come outside. She did exactly as I demanded, and I let her back into her home once she was done. I explained to my men that ‘Neighbor Procedure’ was meant to protect us, so we won’t be in harm’s way for nothing, and if anyone were to get hurt it’d be the Palestinian. While she went into the house, we were crouched behind a cover in case anyone opened fire. I didn’t see anything wrong with this demeanor, mostly because all the IDF’s arrests were made this way back then; it was standard military practice.
I later realized what I had actually done was use the civilian population as human shields. Several years later, the Israeli Supreme Court forbade the IDF from using this practice, as it violated the Geneva Conventions that Israel had signed. In other words, it was a ‘war crime.’

Disillusioned by widespread mistreatment in the border police (Magav):

A few days later I once again established another random checkpoint. We suddenly noticed a figure running down the road towards us, a few hundred meters away. We immediately recoiled and cocked our weapons. I noticed a Magav jeep up the hill, turning the other way, away from us. We noticed more details as the figure came closer. We heard his voice; he was screaming in pain. His hands were cuffed in plastic flex cuffs and blood was dripping from his head. We freed him from the cuffs and our medic gave him initial medical care. His face was swollen, and he had a severe head injury. The young man said he was from the nearby Baqua ash- Sharqiyya, and that he had been abducted by Magav policemen who had pummeled the hell out of him, using their radios to beat him and then dropped him off here. We called an Israeli ambulance to the post. I managed to order my men at the post via radio to stop the Magav jeep. We went back to the post with that Palestinian guy. When we got there, we saw the Magav policemen standing around, looking confused. The Palestinian identified them immediately; they admitted to doing what he’d said. I told them they weren’t going anywhere until their commander arrived. Meanwhile, the ambulance came and took the Palestinian to get medical attention. When the Magav commander arrived, he first went over to talk to them. They were standing a few meters from me, so I could hear them. He told them: “You idiots, how did you get caught? How did you let him see you?” He wasn’t even angry about the horrible act, just the fact that they had been caught. It was at that moment I was exposed to the cruel reality of what was happening in my sector. I realized that this incident wasn’t abnormal, just the fact that we noticed it, that they’d been caught. No one can possibly tell how many cases like that have happened and are still happening. I stood before them and told them they were a disgrace to their country, that they were anything but combatants because real combatants don’t just beat people up. I also told them I would report them.

Wrote in his journal after his first 3 years in the army:

I have no doubt I’ll have to live my entire life with the terrible things I’ve done there, in the Occupied Territories, in places that weren’t ours. I was a complete and active participant in the oppression of a population, a poor and weak population suffering for many years, on a daily basis, living without hope. And whose fault is that? The Jewish people, who suffered so much, who dreamt of freedom and independence, of their own country, for so many years. Look and see, my Jewish brothers, what this people have become. We’ve become an occupying, oppressing people for whom mercy and compassion are foreign concepts, and all for the sake of a damned piece of land which in the end –however far down the road – won’t be ours anyway. We should know better than any that ’no will or emotion is stronger than longing for freedom, that same emotion the Palestinian people so badly wish for and need. Unlike many, I haven’t lost hope that one day we’ll stop being an occupying and oppressing people, that one day we’ll be rid of that zealous minority and the territories that don’t belong to us, and let the Palestinian people live in freedom, and just as importantly that we stop losing our boys.

False hope of the left in the early 2000s

Many on the political left felt the bad situation would lead to a change, that there were so many signs of that, that they would lead to ’people realizing that peace is better than war. I was one of those people; Ithought the public would understand that the occupation is the primary cause of these unnecessary deaths, the spilled blood and the shaky economic, national and personal conditions. It didn’t happen. I was wrong.

Role of the settlements in security:

We have to face reality and honestly admit that the settlements damage Israel’s security: as long as they exist, we cannot form a real border between Israelis and Palestinians. An army can protect a territory best when there’s a clear border, the opposite of what’s happening in the West Bank. But additionally, children – our children – get killed in the name of the settlements and Messianism. Soldiers roam the villages and towns, such as Ya’bed, believing they’re there to protect their families while the painful truth is that they are pawns in the hands of detached, indifferent and cold-hearted politicians.

On a political level he is arguing for a 2-state solution and that clear borders are the basis of security, and occupation is insecurity because people never stop defending their right to exist.

On a personal level, it’s even more interesting to me… how you go from ignorance and default hatred to active participation in oppression to outspoken against it, while still serving in the military!

Inability to see nuance due to trauma:

During one of those times, as I was explaining why I thought the Palestinians were right and deserved liberty and their own state, and why Israel is mistaken in imposing martial law on a civilian population for so many years, a young woman – Nadine of Nablus – interrupted me. She stood up and said to my face that my words were meaningless, since I served and still serve in the IDF, the occupying army, per my biography. She all but shouted that I couldn’t occupy as a soldier and then argue against it as a civilian: “You’re an officer in the enemy’s army, I’m sure you’ve done unspeakable things in the Territories, you are the worst.” There was silence in the room, everyone was looking at me. Nadine had confronted me with her point of view, with what she considered to be the painful truth. All her life, the only thing she saw were soldiers preserving and deepening the occupation, she’d seen it with her own eyes and had experienced in the flesh the IDF as an evil army that stripped her of her basic rights and liberties. To her, as she mentioned, the IDF was a cohesive entity whose presence in the Territories was about oppressing Palestinians. Nadine simply couldn’t understand how I could have my opinions and still occasionally wear the uniform. Many Israelis feel the same way. To many of them, my Reserves service conflicts with my opinions.

Asymmetry of right and left protesters:

Despite my resistance to the occupation, when my democratic country calls, I’ll certainly report for duty. This is possibly the essence of the difference between us, left-wing people, and our fellow right-wing ones. No matter what they do, they’ll always be defined as Israel lovers, while we – the left- wing people – will have to forever prove our commitment to our country. The right-wing propaganda has washed over us as well. In order to better understand the equation, you need only look at the stone-throwing and violence perpetrated against IDF soldiers by some of the Settlers in recent years and the forgiving treatment these violent factors – and sometimes even Jewish terrorists – receive from Israeli society, certainly from the Defense Forces and government. Compare that to the violent treatment the Defense Forces inflict on the Israeli human rights activists operating in the Territories, when all they wish to do is show democratic solidarity and anything but violence. Those activists are marked as Israel and IDF-haters.

Getting criticized while on duty, metaphor for how divided society is:

Suddenly, one of the civilians recognized me from TV. He started cursing at me, screamed at me for being a traitor and that I shouldn’t be in uniform and repeated the fact that I was “left-wing” quite a bit. A surreal situation. There I was, in uniform at a missile strike site and he was screaming at me that I was a hater of Israel and a traitor. I kept talking to the officers and ignored him, but he wouldn’t let go, came closer to us and kept cursing me, among other things, wished me death and cursed my family as well, especially a certain occupation he suggested my mother might take on. He couldn’t be ignored at some point; he was actually in our way. I didn’t want to confront him, not while on duty. The officers and soldiers around me moved in discomfort; they also didn’t know how to deal with the odd situation. One of the officers asked him to stop, but it didn’t help. After a while, he got tired and walked away, and I was left with that experience. When I went back to the base, I acted as if nothing had happened, but I still thought of that guy. How much incitement, lies, and hatred he had to absorb for him to stand where a missile had just struck, recognize me in my uniform and vigorously curse me? I felt sad for us as a society, not personally for him or even me. I think this is one of the more prominent situations that showed me just how divided our people is, how much hatred towards the other is rooted in so many people, and how long a road we have to take until we can change and heal.

On his first experience with Breaking the Silence

While giving the testimony, I truly understood the importance of what Breaking the Silence is doing. Their purpose is to show the Israeli civilians what the reality looks like in the field, how much that reality is bad and has to be changed, because it cannot continue this way. I suddenly realized that I’d never even told these stories to my family and friends, and I guess it was the same for most of the people who served there. I understood how great the gap was between what I was doing there and what most Israeli citizens know and think.

Relationship between Settlements, Peace, and Occupation

Adding to that, the Settlements are the true, and probably the only, barrier in the way of a peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians, which is exactly the opposite of the false narrative that’s been fed here in the media and the education system for the past 20 years. We’re being lied to saying the Settlements protect the rest of the country; most of the heads of the Defense System who leave their posts admit that this isn’t at all the case, rather the other way around. The Settlements damage the country’s security.

He works for a Meretz guy, travels all over the country, first talks to and understands Israeli Arabs:

But just as importantly, I further understood the huge distance between Jewish and Arab societies. I’d considered myself a Zionist back then; I came from a Zionist family, was brought up on the lap of Zionism, and that was how I saw myself, a left-wing Zionist. Zionism was a positive value for me. By talking to countless Arab/Palestinian citizens (many Arabs citizens in Israel define themselves as Palestinian), I realized ’the meaning many of them see in Zionism. No matter how I defined my own Zionism, at the end of the day many Arab citizens in the State of Israel will see it first and foremost as defining Jewish supremacy over the Arab citizens of this country. As long as I defined myself as a Zionist, I’d be drawing a clear line between myself and my fellow Arab citizens. I’m not interested in being superior to anyone, certainly not my neighbor in Galilee or Jaffa.

Cognitive Dissonance for some is totally normal for others. He has no critique of stripping Arab population of land before State of Israel was established:

Of all the projects JNF has pursued, there were zero Arab settlements. Zero. Since the JNF’s foundation, it has been stripping the Arab population of lands and giving them to Jewish owners. I can certainly understand this activity prior to the establishment of the State of Israel, when the Jewish people were fighting for a country to call home, but there was no justification for this once the State of Israel was established and we were all supposed to be equal citizens – Jews and Arabs – entitled to enjoy the development of this country.

Zionism vs Pluralism:

JNF, by definition, is ‘the operational arm of Zionism’, and is at work stripping lands from Arab citizens even today while also making sure that no new – or, God forbid, existing – Arab settlements be expanded. This is the embodiment of Zionism in 2022. I want all Israeli citizens to be equal, but to also feel that way. The Zionism of today won’t allow this for its Arab citizens – one of every five people in Israel is Arab.

He undergoes a change in identity and stops using the word Zionism:

 I can love this country, be invested in its existence, and even be willing to die defending its borders without being called a Zionist. I’m an Israeli by national identity, just as a Jewish, Muslim, or Christian person in France identifies themselves as French.

After getting disillusioned with selfishness and power-brokering in politics, his vision of the way forward:

The political left desperately needs something new, a new party. The deliverance of that camp lies in a Jewish-Arab party that will represent the opinions of many Israelis who understand that the future of the democratic State of Israel depends on a Jewish-Arab collaboration, both political and civilian. Neither Meretz nor Hadash are the ones to do so; only a new party, free of power- and position-crazed politicos, could serve as an alternative means to what the public longs to achieve: a party comprised of representatives that actually represent the public, who lead democratic ideologies, who will guide the country back to its democratic roots. Because we have to be honest: there’s no real democracy in aplace where one people have martial law over another. The State of Israel isn’t a democratic country, and can only be so within the ‘67 border. Yet half a million Israelis who live beyond that border force Israel to run a militant dictatorship, controlling millions of Palestinians. This militant control has created a reality in which there are two populations – Jewish and Arab – who live in the same territory, the western bank of the Jordan River, yet have two different legal systems. The Jewish population is subject to Israeli law while the Arab population is subject to martial law. There’s a name for ruling over two populations in the same space yet applying different legal systems: apartheid. The political state can only be changed if something in the political flow changes. I clearly believe this ‘something’ is a new Jewish-Arab party that will give a voice to a very large part of Israeli society, both Jewish and Arab populations that want to promote joint life within the State of Israel while striving to achieve peace with our neighbors.

Positive result from going on reality TV show (Big Brother) after having participated in political movements that only appealed to older leftists:

The thing that convinced me to go into a house full of cameras for three months, without a shred of privacy, was the thought that there was no way our values wouldn’t be presented on primetime, mainly in front of young people. I wanted to talk about what was considered taboo in Israeli society. I wanted to fight for my right to express my opinion (and voice it for others who identified with it), in the belief that justice lay on my side of the fence. And if that justice had to be spoken out while wearing a frozen chicken suit or a cardboard costume, that was what I’d do. Perhaps this is my greatest insight from this experience: what’s the point of justice if it’s not made accessible? And yes, if exposing young people to the left-wing section of society, not to mention the democratic section, means wallowing into the primetime swamp, then while you can debate the quality of what’s considered a national campfire – which is how I refer to Big Brother – you can’t ignore the fact that it’s what many of the young people consume.

Oppression based on ignorance and propaganda:

A long-lasting conflict can only exist on the basis of ignorance and false information. Alongside the immense project to expand the settlements, another project began planting the seeds of false and misleading information in the national consciousness, making it the main narrative of Israeli citizens.

Why he’s writing:

These lines have been written so I can reach more people, create another crack – even a small one – in the wall of concealment built in Israel, which divides the reality of the Territories and the vast majority of its citizens, who don’t actually know what reality looks like in that shared land.

He completes his expansion of identity and now fully supports the needs of everyone in the region, Palestinian and Israeli, Arab and Jewish:

Millions of Palestinians suffer every single day due to the current situation in the Territories, which is another reason I’m not leaving; I feel responsible for my Palestinian brothers and sisters. I take responsibility for my actions, and my country’s actions, and I won’t forget it.

and

I want to see the State of Israel prosper, and I also want to see a Palestinian state prosper alongside it. At the end of the day, people are people. I feel that as an Israeli citizen, I have a responsibility toward all Palestinians as well as the next generation of Israelis growing up in this country.

Prescription for the Left to get its head out of its ass:

Albert Einstein said that “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result.” This is exactly what the left is doing: they keep repeating the same action over and over again, the worn-out Meretz party or Labor trying to escape the left and dreaming of becoming a centrist party. The left must undergo a change in order for anything else to happen here, and I see two major changes that can offset the political equation and even the political state.

(1)

The first change that must take place here is more female political involvement, specifically female dominance in politics and running the country’s affairs. Men have been running Israeli politics for too long, controlling the country, and they hold all key positions. It’s time for women to lead this country. Women would think differently, run the country with wisdom and feminine creativity. Not just one or two women as tokens, but a party with a female majority. Women should set the tone. Sure, there will still be men in politics, but I believe real change will come when women are the political majority and hold key positions. Ex-generals have been running this country for too long; some were good at their military careers, others weren’t. These ex-generals won’t try anything new; they keep doing the same thing: they maintain a masculine, military culture that believes in force and unimaginative solutions.

(2)

The other change that must take place is the establishment of a Jewish-Arab party. It’s not just the future of the left but the future of the entire Israeli democracy that lies in the sociopolitical unification of Jews and Arabs. A party that gives equal representation to both Jews and Arabs, that serves as a political representation for those who believe in cohabitation within the State of Israel, could lead to a significant change in the country.

(conclusion)

The left has to shuffle its deck, erase its current parties and create something new, a new leadership. Joint Arab-Jewish leadership, female leadership, could shift Israel back to its democratic lines. This is a move that will shake local politics, break the existing structure and place a new one in its stead, truer and much healthier.

Defending Oslo accords, which were meant to last only 5 years:

Examining the Oslo Accords on their own, without understanding that they were only the beginning of the process, is stupidity and a lack of understanding at best, and an attempt to rewrite reality at worst, making Israeli society remember them as a grave mistake and using them to prevent any real peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians. Unfortunately, the latter is a common belief.

Back to security:

The result was a series of very successful mind-altering campaigns insisting the Palestinians did not wish for peace, and that the only solution that could protect the State of Israel was to establish more and more settlements. This is probably the biggest liein the history and narratives of Israeli society. As I’ve mentioned before, the settlements are doing the exact opposite, endangering the State of Israel, and furthermore, the settlers are endangering IDF soldiers. Our military and civilian cemeteries are full of soldiers and civilians who died at the altar of this lie. As long as settlements exist, we cannot form a clear border between us and the Palestinians, thus it’s impossible to allow the security forces to properly defend against terrorists trying to infiltrate the sovereignty of the State of Israel.

And then, he often gets criticized. Usually he’s pretty chill but here he lets loose:

It’s enough to see who my greatest critics have been in recent years to understand my claim: people who wrote abundantly against me, claimed that I hate soldiers and act against the country, but what did they contribute to the country’s security? How many of them have served as combatants in regular and Reserve service? When was the last time they put on these olive-colored uniforms and actively protected the country? The answer is clear, most of them don’t. Most of them don’t serve in the Reserves and don’t defend the country’s security. All they do is write posts about how much they love the soldiers. That’s it. Where do they get the nerve, the audacity to claim these things against me? Unlike them, I’ve been actively protecting this country since I was eighteen years old; unlike them, I’ve fought in real battles and lost some of my best friends. I don’t just love this country in words, I also prove it day in and day out through my actions. Looking at politics, you can see the same thing: those who are allegedly the greatest IDF sympathizers and constantly speak in favor of these soldiers are the ones who have mostly never held a weapon in their lives.

Poposals for going forward:

Supports a two-state soluton like the Geneva Initiative
https://geneva-accord.org/the-accord/

Doesn’t believe one state solution is realistic, because

1) Palestinians want sovereignty, and
2) Israel wants to be Jewish, not pluralistic

But the Occupation has to end:

Any sensible person knows that the way things are now can’t go on forever. The Palestinians won’t stay oppressed forever as they watch Israel thrive financially. I have no doubt the day will come when young Palestinian people demand change, demand their freedom, and rightfully so. No army, no matter how strong, can defeat a people striving to be free. We cannot rule the Palestinians with the might of our sword forever, nor do we have any reason to do so. There’s no question that the Israeli occupation of the Territories will someday end, the only question is when that happens and how much death and suffering the people living here will endure, both Israeli and Palestinians.

What victory for him looks like:

There’s one powerful statement that keeps repeating itself: “I still don’t know if I agree with you, but it’s the first time I’ve heard that perspective. You’ve given me food for thought.” This is exactly that crack I’m aiming for, making these young people ask questions, wonder, and doubt.

His ask of young people:

I ask these young people to question things, to not accept anything for granted, as fate. I ask them to check, explore and ask, to have conversations with themselves and their friends about anything, mostly about what seems like absolute truths.

Love of country vs pride, hope in the future

I love my country and always will, but it’s been too long since I was proud of being an Israeli. I don’t sing the anthem because I’m not proud ofthe hideous crimes of the occupation, not proud of marginalizing the Palestinian minority that lives in this country, and not proud of the racism. I love my country, but I’m not proud of it. I long for that moment when I’ll be proud of Israel, when I can walk the world and proudly say I’m Israeli. I believe this day will come; good will ultimately prevail.