Saloona

I’m an Israeli citizen sitting at home and watching you coming close like many others around the world. Before they get what they are waiting for, before the drama starts, before they hold on to their box of popcorn watching the movie this is my message:

Zoom-out and turn off the sound for a moment. What do you see? An Israeli government everybody seems to be angry with, the Israeli military waiting for you, the people of Gaza you find need your help, borders, blockade, wire barbs, the earth suffocating under war-mass. Yes, I can see that too. What I feel about it is not the point right now. We need to get better and we are really pushing there, although it is taking time and a lot of side-tracking. We also make many mistakes, we know that. We also do a lot of good things, I know that too.

Then there is the larger picture – how Israel behaves in the face of threat. That’s where everybody is trying to educate us and run our country, that’s where you think we are too defensive and call us aggressive. Tell you the truth – Israel is too small and insignificant to most of the world. Really, they have their own problems and they needn’t even hear about us. But when they do, that is what they see. Ever wonder why?

Trying to zoom-in to what happens on a daily basis is what every-body does. It’s dramatic, painful and captures attention. Many of us help push our society forward but the back-story makes all this very fragile. It’s massive, it’s determined and it has its way on the free world which is not at all free.

The real problem is not even connected to Israel, we are only tied up into it because where we sit, what we represent and because of our religion. We don’t belong to the main religion in the area, we represent democracy, and we are sitting in the Middle-East.

The madmen are capturing the west’s attention – Iran’s government, El-Qaida and all the rest, but they are only a diversion.  Again fear, again an offensive Israeli you might think. I don’t believe I’m the only one afraid, many people around Europe and other parts of the world are. I just live in a place where I can express this thought, and it’s as if obvious I would say something like that. Not really, it feels painful to say.

Some try their best to keep to sanity. The most break in even if they would like not too, because of fear. That is where fear really lives to its most demonic expression. They are being used by something gripping to the essence of their being. It’s not the religion but where the extreme takes it and what it allows. I feel so sorry for that, I feel sorry for almost everybody.

This has nothing to do with Israel, but creating drama over here is a great game to keep the world busy with and you are playing just as we are, into other forces’ hands.

Why do I live here? Because I believe this is where we can start change from. Not because we are better, but because we are sitting in the eye of the problem. I’m thinking in a totally practical way.

The boats wanting to break the blockade are playing into the hands of people who don’t give a damn about their passengers.  You can’t stop a conflict built on insanity with red riding hood mentality. It just makes the predator want to rape you. Sorry for the harsh picture.

We don’t seek some kind of victory by stopping you. We would rather not send our kids, boyfriends and husbands to risk themselves or you, to be exposed to bloody-drama-seeking I don’t know who. People have being saying things about Israel they wouldn’t believe they said if we, Israeli citizens, the actual people, would send them their messages back with a personal note about how it feels to see all their demons showing.

Please, please consider. Don’t send me to my government. Governments are slow and trapped. This is between people and the soldiers you are going to meet are us. See if you can meet them in Peace, they are nice kids. Help start the change there by canceling out the show.

From the bottom of my heart…

Limor.

הפוסט המקורי מופיע בבלוג שלי באנגלית וקישור אליו נשלח הבוקר לתיבת המייל של אשתו של דרק הנמצאת גם היא על הספינה. מקווה שיקראו, מי יודע.

• telaviv007 03/06/2010

  שלום לימור,

  אני "שוחה" טוב למדי באנגלית, אבל
  לא מאד מעורה בכל הקורה בספינה "רייצ’ל
  קורי". הצטערתי שהפוסט שלך באנגלית,
  כי הוא עושה רושם של תוכן מעניין, אבל אין (לי) זמן לאנגלית. אולי לטובת נשים
  כמוני תפרסמי אותו גם בעברית?
  תודה ושבת שלום,

  יעל אלוני

• לימור שיפוני 04/06/2010

  היי יעל,
  כרגע אין זמן, יש מלחמה במדיה החברתית ואני שם כדי לעשות מה שיכולה. אם אחר-כך יהיה זמן, אתרגם במלואו כאן בתמצית:
  הפנייה שלי אומרת בפשטות למוביל הספינה – גם הוא וגם אנחנו משחקים לידיים של מישהו שלוחץ על הכפתור הבסיסי של הצופים בסרט מהונדס לראות עימות שחור-לבן, בזמן שהוא מסיח את הדעת מהבעיה האמיתית שישראל אגב, היא בכלל לא חלק ממנה, אלא פשוט תקועה בתוכו. הבקשה שלי ממנו היא לעצור את הסרט, לבאס את הצופים ולהתחיל את השינוי דווקא משם.
  שבת שלום גם ממני,
  לימור

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