I'm a Jewish Israeli, AMA

[israelilefty]

Jewish Israeli here. I grew up in a different country but have lived and worked most of my adult life here, living a fairly normal everyday life in northern Israel. When I'm not working, I enjoy cooking and hiking, I'm religiously observant (but also feminist), I'm on the left of the political spectrum, and have everyday contact with people from quite a range of different perspectives - Israeli society is incredibly diverse.

I guess I see us portrayed in a kind of monolithic way in the English-language media, so I'm taking a deep breath and posting here...

Feel free to AMA, just remember you're asking a real person, not a government or military spokesman :) I'll try to answer from my personal standpoint. as long as it's asked in good faith.

Do you find it frustrating that anti- Semitism is often dressed up as disapproval of Israeli foreign policy or conflated with it? I’m
not Jewish but am often disappointed with the way Judaism and Jewish people are portrayed in the main stream media, news etc.

Nothing to ask, just want to offer words of support.

Are you ok?

Do You have right wing friends? How do you deal with the messages of “your silence is noted” from both right and left? Or do you say that to people who choose not to speak out in support of IDF/Palestinians (delete as appropriate).

Also, an Israeli friend of mine says she feels safer in Israel than anywhere else - do you feel the same?

Thanks for your question. To be honest, I generally read local Israeli news so I can't really say much about how Israelis and Jews are represented in the foreign media. But yes, when antisemitic stereotypes come up in discussions of Israeli policy it is frustrating, not only because these stereotypes shouldn't still exist, but because to me as an Israeli when I hear those things it feels like the discussion is already not serious and not in good faith, because you're talking about us as a stereotype, not as real living, thinking, people. It makes it difficult to begin or continue a conversation from that point.

Thanks

Yes, thank you. None of us expected the events of 7.10 or since, and I think it will take a long time for everyone who lives in this area to process what has happened to us collectively, even for those of us who have been in very little direct physical danger. But I am fortunate to live in a relatively safe part of the country where we are back to a kind of muted form of normal life, and I'm doing ok.

How do you think settlers in the West Bank should be dealt with?
Do you see Palestinians of deserving of a state of their own?

Are the people of Isreal supportive of the continued attack? Or do they think it's gone too far?

Thanks, OP; it's quite brave of you to do this.

I'm American, and am very glad the U.S. is being supportive of Israel's right of self-defense and offer my support as well. I also pray for the safety of the men and women serving in the IDF.

Are you talking about social media? I think that perhaps what you are referring to happens more on social media overseas. Here in Israel, most people I know have been extremely quiet on social media since 7.10. I think most of us have barely found words to express any of the complex and difficult things we have been experiencing. Nobody is expecting anybody else to say anything. When people post, mainly it's sharing specific experiences, or calling for the hostages to be released.

Do I feel safer here? Yes and no. In my country of origin, I never experienced the kind of physical threat we live with in Israel - I had never heard rockets explode, never been at war. But Israel has an extremely strong civil society and social fabric. We're all in this together and I feel a level of mutual support and care here which I don't know exists in most places overseas.

Yes, I think Palestinians deserve a state and I support the two state solution, because I think that this is the only realistic way for the majority of Israelis and Palestinians to live secure lives and fulfil our collective aspirations. I know that many people overseas imagine a single democratic state but I don't think it's a realistic solution in the short to medium term, because self-determination is important to both Israelis and Palestinians, and I think it would be very difficult to have a single stable democratic state.

How do I think settlers in the West Bank should be dealt with - not clear
whether you mean now or in future political negotiations? Right now settler violence in the West Bank is a real problem. I see this as directly enabled and supported by the far right parties that Netanyahu chose to include in his coalition. This is one of the many reasons I would like to see a change of government in Israel as soon as possible. I would also like to see less government funding going to the settlements so that people would not be encouraged to move there for financial reasons. In a future two state solution it's clear that some of the settlements will not be able to remain as part of Israel. I imagine there would be some kind of disengagement like Israel did from the settlements in Gaza in 2005. In other areas near the green line previous peace proposals have suggested land swaps so that some of the settlement areas will become part of Israel proper, and some Israeli land will be added to the West Bank.

The majority of Jewish Israelis are broadly supportive of the aims of the offensive: to remove the military capabilities of Hamas so something like the 7.10 attacks can't happen again, and to return the hostages to Israel. There are some calls for an immediate ceasefire on the far left, but in general, for most Israelis the focus is on restoring a sense of safety and security and not just falling back into a cycle of violence with Hamas two years down the road (especially now that we have seen what they are capable of), and there is not currently a ceasefire deal on the table that would do this.

How do you see the war playing out? Do you think the IDF/Israeli government will ever agree to a cease fire?

Thanks for posting here op. My question is genuine curiosity..what do people in general think of people living in Gaza and the west bank? I'm not asking your opinion as thats private to you, just more a general what do people think of the Palestinians?

Sorry if you answered my question before, im on my phone and cant scroll

How do you personally deal with the idiocy around the rest of the world? eg. utterly corrupt UN or anti-semitism at US universities, or that the world doesn't realise/care that Jews are restricted from entering the holiest place in Judaism. How can we fix this? It's leaving me depressed...

I don't really have a good answer since I'm no politician or strategist. I personally don't think the war will continue at this intensity for that much longer. And yes, I think there will be a ceasefire deal at some point brokered internationally. Many Israelis are already ready for difficult compromises to free the remaining hostages.

Thanks for this, op!

To what extent are you aware on a daily basis of the conflict, is it something that just becomes background noise (not recent events, prior to that)

Do Israelis sit round talking about how the issues can be resolved or are some people completely unbothered? Does it cause arguments in families?

At what age do kids in Israel become aware of the conflict, history of the Holocaust and persecution, threats to safety etc?

Most Jewish Israelis don't really personally know any Palestinians living in Gaza or the West Bank as we don't have many opportunities to meet them (it's forbidden by law for Israelis to travel to Gaza or to Palestinian cities in the West Bank). I think that after the last decades of violent interactions many Israeli Jews are afraid of Palestinians. But really, attitudes are hugely wide. Some Israelis hold very racist or condescending views. Others protest against the occupation, and try where possible to work for peace and equality (eg driving Palestinian patients to Israeli hospitals for treatment, or taking part in joint initiatives). And everything in between. I don't think it's possible to generalise. However, I think in general Israelis don't really know Palestinians outside the framing of the conflict, and vice versa. It would be good if that would change one day, but it's going to take a lot of trust that we are very far from at the moment.

This is a really interesting thread @israelilefty thank you for starting it.

Do you think that the criticism from people in other countries around Israeli policies or for example Israeli citizens moving into occupied territories is anti semitism or do you think that people have legitimate criticisms about what is happening or is it a bit of both? It would be really interesting to hear what you feel is the general feeling among Isreali citizens as well as yourself.

I personally try to ignore it and focus instead on things where I can actually help support someone who needs it, or make some kind of positive change. Like you say, focusing on negatives makes you depressed, and there are better things to do.

Just adding, thanks to everyone for the thoughtful questions.

@israelilefty , thanks for your answer.

OP thanks for this.
First thing that came to my mind was 'Are you ok?' so, good to hear that you are.
Does your country and its people feel that they have the support they hoped for from the western international community?