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.

@MissConductUS

'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'

If the contrary opinion is that of someone who believes in genocide and the mass murder of children, then of course it makes me feel sick. What planet are you on? You clearly have absolutely no idea what is going on out there.

Atrocities are not unforgivable but it is a fact that different Israeli governments , over decades, have been responsible for far more Palestinian deaths than Hamas has ever been. No one can argue against a fact.

These are really big questions, and it's late at night and I'm not sure I have time to offer you a proper answer. Yes, I think most Israelis are aware of the death toll in Gaza since it's reported in the press. Most Israelis are also aware of the number of Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, and some of the reasons they are held, because prisoner exchanges for hostages are a big news item right now.

You don't need to convince me personally that the occupation is a bad thing and that Israel has committed injustices to the Palestinians. But you asked about general Israeli opinion. I would say that most Israelis see Gazan civilians primarily as victims of Hamas. Hamas is their elected government, it diverted the resources that should have been used for civilians into building a vast underground military infrastructure, Hamas military leaders planned and executed a vast attack inside Israeli territory and took hostages, knowing what kind of military response would come (knowing that Israel wouldn't let them retain the infrastructure that enabled them to do these attacks), and then they hid literally under the feet of civilians, in hospitals etc, using their own civilians as human shields. Listen to the interviews with Hamas leaders and operatives. They don't see their own civilians as their responsibility and are willing to sacrifice them for their own religious-political vision.

Most Israelis support releasing Palestinian prisoners in exchange for hostages, and a lot would support an "all-for-all" deal. But there are also good reasons for people to be nervous. Among those released in the previous hostage deal was Yahia Sinwar who masterminded the 7.10 attacks.

@israelilefty hello and thank you so much for starting this thread. Alot of questions have already been answered so I would please like to ask do most shops and facilities shut for shabbos? And if yes then is it difficult for those who are not observing?

Also on a light hearted note what is the thing you would miss the most about Israel if you went to live somewhere else?
And what is your favourite food?
Thank you 😊

Friends, thank you for the questions. I see that many of the questions have descended into (veiled or direct) attacks, and it's well past 11pm here and I have to get up tomorrow for work. I'll try to answer more tomorrow, but please note that I'm going to prioritise the genuine questions, not the people trying to make a political point or assuming that I've never heard of the occupation or don't know what's going on in Gaza.

Hi OP, I want to start by thanking you for being open to questions like this.

You mentioned you were born in another country and moved to Israel. Sorry if this seems like a stupid question, but why did you want to move to Israel? I'm not religious, so obviously the religious aspect doesn't mean so much to me, so I find it hard to understand moving to a country where life seems so much more dangerous for it's inhabitants. Where rockets, air raid shelters and conscription are a part of everyday life, and there is a very real threat to life from a neighbouring local population. I can't imagine ever wanting to move from a safe western country to that. Obviously you have your religious beliefs, but I also understand that many secular Jews also make the move. There must be some pretty huge positives to outweigh the negatives?

Many thanks for answering.

Thank you @israelilefty!

Thanks to op for such an insightful and brave post.

Thank you for starting this thread. Is there any news on Naama Levy? My heart goes out to all of those who were killed or taken hostage, but she stands out in my mind. I hope she will be released back to her family soon.

Another child who stands out on my mind was the little Palestinian girl alone in a hospital bed. The juxtaposition of childhood innocence and war.

What is the general feeling about the impact of the war on Palestinian children and babies? Do people feel their suffering and death is justifiable? If so what makes one life more/less valuable than another?

I am sorry if you feel that some questions are veiled attacks or not genuine.
I understand that some might be uncomfortable but surely you would have expected these to be asked.
Ignoring questions regarding what is happening in Gaza will actually be heard loud and clear.

Thank you for doing this, OP, and all good wishes to you in such a terrible time. I think a lot of people - myself included - don't have much idea of what Israeli society is like (although I did absolutely love Shtisel) and your posts have been really interesting.

Most Jews in Israel are descended from a. Jews who always lived there (very small number because they kept getting killed) b. Ashkenazi jews who escaped European persecution before or after the holocaust c. Middle eastern Jews who escaped persecution in their home countries d. Some Jews who have made aliya from 'safe' places like France, the US, England.

Reading mumsnet (a UK site) makes me realise why British Jews want to make aliya.

Its pretty depressing. If we live outside Isreal we get attacked, murdered or just live very uncomfortable lives etc for being 'different'.

If we move to Israel we get called colonisers.

If Jews are going to experience anti-semitism anyway we reason we may as well do it in a place where we can not feel out of place.

Not sure why a Jew who moved to Israel (historical homeland of Jews) is more a coloniser than a Jew who moved to the United States (homeland of native americans)

What is loud and clear are the attempts to harass the OP as though she were an official spokesperson for Netanyahu, rather than an Israeli mumsnetter who has come on here to chat in good faith. You do not have the right to demand answers of ordinary Israeli citizens (or anyone on MN for that matter).

If you want to read about what's happening in Gaza, pick up a newspaper.

Eh? What are you on about, the OP is an ordinary civilian, she’s not an Israeli politician. She’s not responsible for Israeli state policy and treating her as if he is, when she’s offered to answer questions in good faith, comes across ans aggressively ill-mannered.

Thank you for answering my question. Your answers in general are very interesting to me because I can only imagine what it is like as a civilian living through this period of time in the region.

She's answered all the questions about Gaza, stop being so goady and have to some empathy. Easy to be a keyboard warrior sitting in the UK, isn't it? Perhaps try to listen rather than attack.

Sorry but that’s totally disingenuous. I’m sure you’d like us to focus on food and weather but the fact is that much of the world is hugely concerned about Gaza and it is a valid question to ask in relation to what Israeli civil society knows/is allowed to know of the atrocities being committed there. Also OP started an AMA - which is appreciated - so please don’t try to police what people can ask. As long as it’s civil, people can ask questions and express concerns about the awful events unfolding.

@Att1cusPund I understand what you are saying. But to start a AMA about living in Israel in these days... I'm not sure what type of questions you thought they would get.

Plus OP has answered them kindly. As long as people are respectful I don't see the issue with it.

Argh, so, I tried to go to bed then realised that I want to write one very personal post in response to the questions about what's going on in Gaza, whether one life is more valuable than another, and so on. I hope you will appreciate that this is a very raw and honest post that it's very hard to write, but I hope it gives some kind of an answer. I really don't want to get into conversation about the below, but it's important for me to say:

For some context: I'm on the left of Israeli politics. For reasons I can't go into without outing myself, I know Palestinian society and politics pretty well. I've read Mahmoud Darwish, Mourid Barghouti and Ghassan Kanfani, and I've demonstrated against the occupation, a lot of times. I believe that nobody, Israeli or Palestinian, is going anywhere and we need to find a way to live on this land that respects the lands and aspirations of both peoples.

But: like all Israelis, since 7.10 I've been living in a state of shock. Even in my personal circle of friends, the impact of this conflict is ungraspable: how many people are displaced from their homes and have lost family members and loved ones. The utter shock of living through a period of national crisis where for a few days, the state just fell apart. Trying to do all the regular routines of normal life while refreshing the news to figure out whether the rockets have reached your area or not, where you can donate blood. Everywhere you turn you are reminded that well over 100 hostages, some of them friends of friends, remain in Gaza; and every day the news brings horrors which were simply.... unimaginable. And all of that is just my life which, compared to many other Israelis, is relatively unaffected by the conflict.

That's all context to say three things. First: I know what's going on in Gaza. I read the news. Second, and I mean this in a real way, not in any way a callous way: I don't have good answers to your questions because it's simply impossible for the heart to hold more. When you ask an individual caught up in a conflict to hold the losses of the other side in their heart, you are asking something that is beyond the human capacity. A while back someone asked about social media posts. One thing I've noticed more than anything in this conflict is how little Israelis have been posting. We don't even have words for our own grief, let alone the grief of others. The time will come for that. I respectfully ask any of you who have not experienced violent conflict first hand to bear in mind that it's a privilege to be able to sit outside the "frame" and weigh up the situation. So: I try to keep up with the news but at the same time, I don't have good answers to your questions, because it feels like a grim situation with no good outcome: attacking Hamas has a devastating death toll, but a ceasefire which leaves Hamas's military capacity intact leaves them able to do something like 7.10 again. Third: even if I did have a good answer for you, it wouldn't make any difference. For some reason I don't think Netanyahu and the IDF chief of staff are consulting Mumsnet. I strongly believe that I need to invest every effort into making any influence that I can that might prevent such conflicts happening again, but while it's happening, it feels like a massive ball is rolling down a mountain: the conflict is playing out and all I can do is watch from the side - and since I'm a religious person, to pray that we may move closer to a peaceful situation, both in the short and long term.

Thanks for hearing me out.

See above post. Not much long-term thinking right now as there simply isn't space for it, though civil society groups within Israel are doing really great work to prevent the conflict spilling over to Jews and Arabs within the state of Israel, investing in cooperation and coexistence.

Sending you my best wishes Op.

I just want to say I support your people and your country 100%, as do all of my family and friends

Netanyahu wasn't responsible for creating Hamas, it's effectively a local Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood which is a wider Middle Eastern phenomenon. But he certainly played off Hamas against the PA and strengthened Hamas to weaken the PA. Netanyahu is not interested in peace negotiations and neither is Hamas.

Someone asked if I speak Hebrew. Can't find their post to reply but yes, it's the language of everyday life here. I pray in Hebrew, work in Hebrew, shout at the post office for losing my mail in Hebrew...

The humanity in your answer shines so strong @israelilefty My heart breaks for every person caught up in this conflict. I fear Hamas both caused and further triggered such deep, deep trauma among Israeli people that there is no stopping the tide at this point. I fear also that Isreal has caused for such a prolonged period and will continue to cause so much suffering among Palestinian people that your devastating words could equally come for someone there. It is utterly tragic that people can and do inflict so much suffering on one another in conflict. You are very thoughtful and clearly a very empathetic person @israelilefty I hope your voice and the voices of people like you on both sides eventually get heard.