The one who changed my thinking

There's a difference between the person who writes this blog, and the person I am when not writing this blog. In my personal life, I'm quiet, someone who doesn't like attention. There are two reasons for that: One: I often feel like people just don't get me. Being 'the outsider' is just easier. No strained interactions. No having to try to fit in. Two: When it comes to stuff I am passionate about, like sociology, psychology, politics and religion, my opinion differs from many around me.

I am pro-Israel. 

Something that doesn't seem very popular or mainstream.

Especially since October 7th.

Being pro-Israel, to me... That doesn't mean that I support, or agree with, every decision the Israeli government makes. Far from it. But do I support Israel's right to exist? Yes. Do I support Israel's right to defend itself? Yes. Do I feel that the world is against Israel? Also: Yes.

On the 7th of October 2023, a large number of rather angry men entered towns and communities, and attacked people there. Yes, they attacked soldiers and military bases too. But I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about the villages, the communities, not about soldiers. Those angry men, they even attacked a music festival. A place where a bunch of young people were just having a good time.

Those rather angry men who invaded towns, communities and a music festival, they didn't just stir up trouble. They killed. They maimed. THEY RAPED INNOCENT WOMEN. They killed people. They killed innocent people, not soldiers. They killed innocent people hiding in their homes, trying to protect their children. They killed innocent people attending a music festival. They killed. They maimed. They raped. 

For about a day, the world sided with Israel.

"Wow, what those horrible terrorists did, that was crazy"

And then... And then Israel fought back. 

And they've been fighting back ever since.

The war in Gaza happening now... It's not a war against civilians. Even though so many (yes, way, way, way too many) civilians are dying. It is a war against the monsters who, on the 7th of October 2023, chose to enter towns and communities, chose to rape and murder, chose to hurt innocent people just living their lives. Those Hamas terrorists who on October 7th rampaged their way through towns and villages... They're the bad guys. And honestly... I don't get why the world doesn't see that.

Golda Meir said it, a long time ago.

If they stop fighting, there will be peace. If we stop defending, they will kill us all.

Golda Meir, former Prime Minister of the state of Israel, actually said it better than I did just now.

Once upon a time, I thought Israeli people were bad. Murderers, killers. Because, well, that is what the evening news told me. After all, weren't they trying to exterminate the poor sad innocent Palestinians? I actually believed that. I actually believed that all Israelis were bad.

And then I met an Israeli. My very first one.

She was nice, actually. 

Friendly, kind, modest, unassuming, generous, funny.

You know what surprised me? How human she was. 

I expected her to be a monster. After all, she was an Israeli. And as the news had told me, all Israelis were bad people. Only, this one person I met, this one person I got to know... She wasn't a bad person, she didn't hate all non-Israelis. 

It actually surprised me that this young woman I met gave a crap about other people. 

It surprised me because the media had taught me that she was a bad person, simply because she was an Israeli. 

Only, as it turned out, she wasn't such a bad person after all.

She was nice. She was kind. She was friendly. She cared about others. She actually had a heart.

Meeting this one girl, it changed me. Profoundly. 

It showed me that despite what the media and the propaganda showed me, it wasn't true that all Israelis were callous murderers or horrible people.

And meeting this girl, it got me thinking. What if it's not just this one person? What if other Israelis are also nice people? What if the media is telling me stories that make little sense?

I don't even remember her name. It's been over 22 years since I met her. Yet despite not remembering her name, I remember what she meant to me. This one person. This one person who changed my mind about trusting the media. This one person who showed me that what the evening news was telling me might not be true after all.

All it took for me was one person.

I hope that you, reading this, will open your mind and see the truth that all people are individuals and that all individuals deserve the chance to prove, to show, who they are. Not their country. Not their government. Not a social or a religious group they belong to. But just people. Individuals. 

I truly hope that you'll see, as I did, that Israeli people aren't all bad, aren't all horrible, aren't all monsters, aren't all killing machines. I hope that you get to meet a good, kind and compassionate Israeli who makes you question what the media tells you. I really hope that you do... Because meeting that person, seeing them as an individual, getting to know them... It will show you that this person you meet is just as human as you are. Just as flawed, just as imperfect, just as fallible. And just as ready to do the right thing.