There is only one option for Israel to live in peace and at the same time set an example for other countries around the world: It is to understand that there can only be peace when the same is offered to the Palestinian people as what is aspired for the Jewish people, which is the possibility for Palestinians to have their own state, govern their own destiny and interests, develop their own process, and grow with the feeling of being a free people with their protected space where they can grow and thrive with an open and bright future.
If Israel intends to be the country where Jews can live and thrive in peace, defining their own interests and growing in freedom with a broad and open future, they must deeply understand that this is also what the Palestinian people desire.
If Israel, which has the most significant influence and control over what happens in that region of the Middle East, makes that decision and initiates dialogues and agreements that open the doors to peace and mutual understanding, while ensuring that the Palestinian people share the same sense of peace and an open future, then Israel will not only achieve peace with its neighbors but could also be considered a model for resolving conflicts in favor of peace and good understanding among peoples. This, in turn, could improve its image in the world, which has been unfavorable whenever Israel has acted out of revenge or supported extremist Jewish groups in the same way that Muslims are criticized for being influenced by extremist Islamist groups.
The world, in turn, should take care to block spaces and support for any extremist and violent groups, whether they are of Jewish, Islamic, or any other origin. These are extremely dangerous groups, wherever they are, that interpret divine plans in an extremely selfish and inhuman way, incapable of seeing the “other” as a free human being with an open future who simply happened to be born and raised in a different environment from their own. No one chooses where to be born, and this alone should guide us to understand that our differences are more related to learned circumstantial things than to our conditions as human beings with similar interests in living in peace and development, with the same aspirations to coexist with those we feel close to and connected with.
The future of Israel, the Palestinians, the Middle East, and the world depends on overcoming hatred, discrimination, and the belief that “my human group is better than other human groups.”
The future of Israel, the Palestinians, the Middle East, and the world depends on reaching agreements that lead people to be free, independent, and sovereign, and on eliminating the internal dangers posed by extremist religious groups, thus becoming examples to follow in other parts of the world.
Violence has never resolved conflicts and it never will. It may yield partial victories, but always with extreme pain and sacrifice, with beloved human lives, mostly very young and full of the desire to live, lost due to the preservation of outdated feelings like revenge and hatred or in pursuit of the ambitions of older adults with false motivations.
We do not want more young soldiers to die, neither in Israel nor in Palestine nor anywhere else. We do not want crazy attacks from religious fanatics, neither in the South of Israel nor in Palestinian territories. We do not want the deaths of women, children, and the elderly in Israel or in Gaza or anywhere on this planet.
We do want peace for Israel and peace for Palestine. A safe and peaceful country for Israel and a safe and peaceful country for Palestine.
And we want to be proud of being part of a model of dialogues and agreements that serve as an example to other conflict areas in the world.
Upholding the highest human aspirations is the noblest and rightest act, both for our own people and for all human beings.
