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A Story of Loss and Decency in the Middle East
One of the most heartbreaking stories to come out of Gaza during the still-simmering conflict was that of Dr. Ezzeldeen Abu El-Aish. For
those who don't know, Dr. El-Aish is a Palestinian peace advocate,
fluent in Hebrew, who received his medical training in Israel. The doctor studied the effects of war on Gazan and Israeli children and promoted joint projects between the two sides of the conflict. During the fighting, he served as a regular commentator on Israeli TV on the situation in
Gaza.
On January 16, Dr. El-Aish's home in the Jebaliya camp was shelled. Three of his daughters (ages 22, 15 and 14) and a niece, age 14, were killed. Two others were badly wounded. (The doctor had also recently lost his wife to cancer). Dr. El-Aish's grief was captured in a cellphone call to an Israeli anchorman immediately after the attack. If you haven't seen the video please take a look. It is as raw and painful as anything you're likely to see. The anchor managed to secure an ambulance for the doctor's wounded children who were allowed to cross into Israel and taken by helicopter to Tel Aviv where they are being treated. In a press conference shortly afterward, he expressed hope that his daughters' death would help bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The press conference turned ugly when the doctor was accosted by a few angry Israelis demanding to know why he had allowed weapons to be stored in his house.
Dr. El-Aish told reporters he wanted to meet with Defense Minister Ehud Barak. "I want him to have the courage, to have the concern to meet me to tell me why, without falsification," he told Associated Press Television. "I'll be proud that my children were the symbol of this war - that their blood wasn't futile. That it awakened the concern of some, not the majority, of Israelis."
On Wednesday, the Israeli military confirmed that the girls had been killed by tank fire. According to the military, the shells were fired because commanders thought there were spotters in the upper floors of the building directing mortar and sniper fire at Israeli troops. The IDF said the doctor had been contacted previously and urged to evacuate his home because of the intense fighting in the area. Dr. El-Aish denied that there were any militants in the building and said he never received the pamphlets urging residents to evacuate.
Far more important is the doctor's profound reaction to the unbearable tragedy he suffered. From Haaretz:
On January 16, Dr. El-Aish's home in the Jebaliya camp was shelled. Three of his daughters (ages 22, 15 and 14) and a niece, age 14, were killed. Two others were badly wounded. (The doctor had also recently lost his wife to cancer). Dr. El-Aish's grief was captured in a cellphone call to an Israeli anchorman immediately after the attack. If you haven't seen the video please take a look. It is as raw and painful as anything you're likely to see. The anchor managed to secure an ambulance for the doctor's wounded children who were allowed to cross into Israel and taken by helicopter to Tel Aviv where they are being treated. In a press conference shortly afterward, he expressed hope that his daughters' death would help bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians. The press conference turned ugly when the doctor was accosted by a few angry Israelis demanding to know why he had allowed weapons to be stored in his house.
Dr. El-Aish told reporters he wanted to meet with Defense Minister Ehud Barak. "I want him to have the courage, to have the concern to meet me to tell me why, without falsification," he told Associated Press Television. "I'll be proud that my children were the symbol of this war - that their blood wasn't futile. That it awakened the concern of some, not the majority, of Israelis."
On Wednesday, the Israeli military confirmed that the girls had been killed by tank fire. According to the military, the shells were fired because commanders thought there were spotters in the upper floors of the building directing mortar and sniper fire at Israeli troops. The IDF said the doctor had been contacted previously and urged to evacuate his home because of the intense fighting in the area. Dr. El-Aish denied that there were any militants in the building and said he never received the pamphlets urging residents to evacuate.
Far more important is the doctor's profound reaction to the unbearable tragedy he suffered. From Haaretz:
"First of all, I would like to thank all those who worked, and had the courage and good conscience to shed light on the truth that I always believed. Thank you to everyone who took upon themselves to publicize this truth seeking investigation," Abu al-Aish said in an interview with Channel 2.
The Palestinian doctor went on to say "I have two options - the path of darkness or the path of light. The path of darkness is like choosing all the complications with diseases and depression, but the path of light is to focus on the future and my children. This strengthened my conviction to continue on the same path and not to give up."No doubt, many have and will seek to exploit this tragedy. Indeed so many on this site who have lost so much less than Dr. El Aish regularly trade in the vitriol and demonization that is the staple of the poisoned discourse of the Middle East. The words of this courageous, compassionate and thoroughly decent man stand as a forceful rebuke. One wishes there were more like him on both sides.
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Thanks AG. This was decency, and more.
Let's hope there are more like him, on both sides, as well as here - and that they find ways to come forward, without having to go through this sort of hellish suffering.
February 5, 2009 1:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
If you want to experience some suffering secondhand, head over to MJ Rosenberg's and watch the arguments go round and round. (I admit to participating in some myself - youthful indiscretions.
February 5, 2009 2:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
You have been noble in your efforts to provide balance, objectivity, and realism AG. It is not your fault that, with respect to the I-P conflict, there is a script to be observed by so many who comment here and who claim to care more about the deaths of children than people like you or me who have the audacity to see more than evil in the people of Israel.
As to Dr. Al-Aish, he is undoubtedly a better man than I. G-d forbid any of us should have to go through the hell that he has experienced. There can be nothing worse than the death of a child, and in his case it is multiplied. He is obviously a very special human being, and I wish him strength and I hope he continues to see it in his heart to offer forgiveness to the people with whom I am forever bound.
February 5, 2009 7:36 AM | Reply | Permalink
Very well stated. I particularly enjoyed the description of my efforts as noble. I have been called many things, noble not being among them (although some might say that in my professional life I fight the good fight).
I honestly (would you have it any other way?) can't say that I am objective with respect to the I-P conflict. Plainly, I identify with Israel and its narrative, not just because of my secular jewish upbringing and youthful indoctrination into the myths of Israel, many of which have been debunked, but more importantly because I married an Israeli (good title for a sitcom) and visit my inlaws there annually. However misguided their policies, and there are many I find disagreeable and even repellant, I am deeply offended by oft-repeated characterizations of the country I know to be a remarkable and uplifting place, as a racist colonial overlord that takes pleasure in the suffering of the Palestinians. I am inclined to see Israel's actions in the context of what Israelis believe - not without justification - to be a 60 year war for their very survival. At the same time, my "faith" - if that's an appropriate word -is regularly tested and I do not hesitate to acknowledge that Israel has much to answer for - particularly as the horror stories from Gaza come to light. Even from this admittedly biased viewpoint, however, I also make an effort to understand that there is an alternate narrative that is equally mired in suffering and worthy of respect. The problem with so much of the discussion is the almost pathological need to shout out one's own narrative at ever increasing volume as if that will convince the other side to acknowledge and give in. Pretty soon, the shouting gets so loud that truth and reason are lost in the din.
What I found inspiring in the doctor's response was that it cut through the noise to convey a simple truth of suffering and and the possibility of redemption.
February 5, 2009 3:56 PM | Reply | Permalink
You undersell yourself. We all have biases; the salient issue is how well you are able to write about an issue as contentious and emotional as the I-P conflict without allowing innate bias to interfere with candor, honesty, and objectivity. I think you do a fine job, and a noble one frankly. And, for the moment, you have earned the top spot on the charts at the TPM Cafe. Well-earned AG. You're a good man, and you've written a very important post. Nice work.
February 5, 2009 8:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Can't both be true?
Human beings have only a tenuous grip on their humanity. In peace they are capable of being remarkable and uplifting . In a war they are capable of taking pleasure in the suffering of their enemy. Argument # 107 against preventive Wars.
I recall the Palestinian women cheering on 9/11.
And the people around me (and me) cheering Hiroshima.
February 5, 2009 9:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
You make an excellent point.
It is also worth pointing out that, like America, there are many different Israels. My experience is only with a tiny sliver. Hence, my shock and dismay at the possibility that a monster like Lieberman may finish third in the upcoming elections, while others seem to see this as a natural progression. I felt the same way when Bush was re-elected.
February 5, 2009 10:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes . It isn't only War that impairs human's humanity. Powerful leaders can do it too. Or solidify it. My wife always says that what she particularly resented about Nixon was that he had the ability to exploit the worst side of human nature. She felt "dirtied" by him.
February 6, 2009 6:37 AM | Reply | Permalink
Take heart, Armchair Guerilla, that at this writing you have more recommendations than the last three MJ posts combined.
February 5, 2009 9:22 AM | Reply | Permalink
True confessions--Despite my pledges not to get involved in the parlor games over at MJ's place, and despite my warnings to you about such involvement AG, I have now stepped knee-deep in the comment thread and I'm stuck. :)
February 5, 2009 12:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
I noticed. And as always, you handled it with grace and aplomb. How you manage to find the time for such in-depth commenting is a mystery.
February 5, 2009 4:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
If you've watched this forum as long as I have, you will notice that the threads on I-P by Bernard Avishai and Daniel Levy have a somewhat higher level of discourse and also a lot fewer comments.
Fewer comments because Knee-jerk "shit stirring" (as bslev once described it) is more popular and less daunting for those interested in agitprop (and "agit" is the operative adjective here.)
Call me an elitist pig, but I don't find participating in popular shit stirring games that worthy of my time. I'll read them from time-to-time, though, trying to stick to doing it like an anthropologist would. I admit it's hard to maintain the remove at times. Yes, I am saying that the situation is very similar to one of feeding a troll. (It's funny, not, if you check out Rosenberg's writings for other venues, you'll see a noticeably less trollish/inciteful modus operandi, perhaps the intervention of editors...whatever the reason...there's a difference.) The intial post sets a tone and level of the discourse, there's no two ways about it. If it's thoughful, the more thoughtful come out to comment and via peer pressure discourage the agitprop. It's unfortunate that Avishai and/or Levy do not appear to have the time to start a thread here every time there is big news in I-P, but then they are thoughtful bloggers who require time to compose a proper post.
February 5, 2009 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
I agree, AA, about Avishai and Levy. I also have appreciated some recent posts by Jim Sleeper who has a sometimes-obtuse, but often entertaining style. As for MJR, he strikes me as a strange sort of beast. His postings and comments are offer more incite than insight - a posture at odds with his connections and exalted position. It seems his war with AIPAC may have caused him to lose sight of the bigger picture. It certainly has provided him with some strange bedfellows.
February 5, 2009 4:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Jim Sleeper
You are right and my bad for leaving him out. He is actually a bit better than the others because he doesn't just frame the original post in a manner that encourages higher level commenting, but he delves into the threads to civilly challenge and try to raise the level.
I just happened now to read this older thread on Gaza by him that has some excellent, thought-provoking comments on it, and I think that it is partially his doing by commenting there as well. You didn't comment on it so I am posting a link to it here in case you missed it, I recommend you read the thread before giving up on attracting high quality discussion on I-P here.
Consider that the Rosenberg fan base is just not worth your time and that there are others here who wait for better threads.
February 7, 2009 2:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Powerful! Magnificent blog! A lesson to us all.
February 5, 2009 10:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
Would that I could maintain anything remotely approaching Dr. El Aish's composure and compassion, should such an unspeakable fate befall the little boy to the left of this message.
And yet, so many in this country wonder how someone could possibly engage in "terrorism". I am now left to wonder how the good doctor does not.
I'm passing on a link to this blog to a few fairly strident pro-Israel people here that I know. I don't come down on either side - but atrocities like this should be enough to make us all take a long, hard look in the mirror.
February 5, 2009 3:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Who's the little boy? Dan Quayle?
February 5, 2009 4:10 PM | Reply | Permalink
The avatar is my son's school photo from this year. Unsure what the Quayle comment means, but it seems a curious response to a compliment.
February 5, 2009 4:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
I think we have a misunderstanding. I'm not sure if you're aware, but your avatar says Dole/Quayle, which I took as a reference to Dan Quayle. I certainly would never draw a comparison between your son and Dan Quayle and could understand how you might take offense. I appreciate the complement and return it severalfold.
February 5, 2009 5:01 PM | Reply | Permalink
The avatar was changed yesterday, on my home computer. Today's messages have been typed from my work computer, and the avatar change is visible to me. It may be that your browser cache should be cleared. Your clarification is appreciated. :-)
February 5, 2009 5:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
Which does NOT answer the question, Boyd, of precisely what you're doing with "Dole/Quayle" ANYWHERE on your machine.
Leftover materials from a previous campaign?
C'mon. 'Fess up. ;-)
February 5, 2009 6:38 PM | Reply | Permalink
Okay, I give. I confess. You've caught me.
Signed,
Michael Steele
February 5, 2009 7:03 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just noticed that the story appeared in today's NYT. Note the doctor's words at the conclusion (they also appeared in the Haaretz article, but I did not want to include them as no context was offered). Also, I'm not comforted by the IDF's conclusion that the decision to fire on the building was "reasonable." Even if that were true, it just seems gratuitous. It is what it is. From the NYT:
"Also Wednesday, the Israeli military acknowledged that its soldiers fired two tank shells on Jan. 16 at the house of Izzeldin Abuelaish, a well-known Gaza doctor, killing three of his daughters and a niece.
The military said it concluded from an investigation that an infantry force had come under heavy sniper and mortar fire from a house adjacent to the doctor’s, and identified “suspicious figures” in the upper level of the doctor’s house who were “thought to be spotters who directed the Hamas sniper and mortar fire.”
The doctor denied that any militants were operating from the house. The commander of the force gave the order to open fire, and Dr. Abuelaish’s family members were killed as a result. The military said that in the days leading up to the episode, officers had contacted the doctor and urged him to evacuate his home because of intense fighting in the area.
The military said that it was “saddened by the harm caused” to the doctor’s family, but that under the circumstances, it considered the decision to fire toward the building “reasonable.”
The doctor has long worked in Israeli hospitals and is known as a strong advocate of Israeli-Palestinian reconciliation, and the deaths of his relatives became a high-profile example of civilian casualties that moved many in Israel and abroad.
In a message broadcast on Israel’s Channel 2 television news on Wednesday, Dr. Abuelaish, speaking in Hebrew, thanked the Israelis for carrying out an honest investigation. “We all make mistakes,” he said, adding that he hoped that such a mistake would never be repeated."
February 5, 2009 4:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
That last sentence just boggles my mind, AG.
Amazing.
February 5, 2009 6:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
As I have written above, AG's post currently stands at the top of the most recommended list. I think the standing of his post is telling, and a metaphor for where most of us at the Cafe fall on the issue of the I-P conflict. We are troubled, many angered by what has happened, and we are sickened by what we have seen and what we have read. But, in the end, for the most part, we share an intense yearning for a peaceful resolution to the I-P conflict, one that preserves the dignity and honor of two inextricably linked people who have suffered all too much for centuries, in the recent past, and still today. Most of us wish for, and some of us crave in every waking moment an outcome consisting of two sovereign nations boasting Jerusalem as their respective capitals, living side by side in peace, with dignity, and as true brothers and sisters. Perhaps such an outcome is the gift we can return to the good doctor about whom AG writes, one that can never make him whole, but one that in a very small way can fill the eternal void that he has been left to cope with. Let us hope for better days.
February 5, 2009 8:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Indeed.
I hope so, too.
I hope.
February 5, 2009 8:36 PM | Reply | Permalink
That is so beautiful, bslev.
I am reminded of the Prime Minister of Spain. His grandfather was shot by the Falange. But he has made it his task to work for unity. It is remarkable when someone can set aside personal hurt to seek the light. May we all be blessed by that aim and seek to do so in our own lives.
February 5, 2009 8:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
Well said, Bruce. And I truly appreciate your voice coming in on the pages upfront at the Cafe. There are often links there I learn from, but many of the voices - with their slogans - don't add much for me. Your (sane) voice does.
I can't/won't engage much there, as my knowledge of the I-P world is just too limited, and my friendships in the region too concentrated in Jerusalem for me to be entirely clear-headed.
Nonetheless, writing back here, I have been struck by the overall attitudes of others, even when my blogs had obvious application to the I-P situation (whether on "walls," or on 12,000 year old female shaman change-agents from just outside Nazareth.) And that attitude I can only describe as one which recognizes our common humanity, and desires to see it, and embody it more completely in our political arrangements. Hundreds of comments, and (beyond all the joking) NOT ONE tilted toward the sort of harsh sloganeering you often face.
But just to say, judging from the comments of others here, I believe your approach, and your words, aimed at seeing a greater (or perhaps, "better") humanity in the region, has more support than it may seem on some days. Just as AG's blog about the doctor today found perhaps surprising support.
Cheers, and on to better days.
February 5, 2009 9:51 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thank you quinn. I'm flattered but I honestly don't believe that I am worthy of such praise. This stuff has become an obsession with me over the past couple of months and, honestly, I've lost touch with just about everything else. I haven't even gotten to do one of the things I like to do best, and that is to sit back are read one of your fine tales. I look forward to doing that again. Cheers.
February 6, 2009 9:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks, all.
February 5, 2009 9:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I just realized that my links were a bit screwy - they all began with double "https." I've corrected the problem.
If Quinn is still around, I'd love to know how you managed to insert the videos directly into your post. That's class.
Well, now that we've achieved a 24-hour peace at TPM, it's time to go out in the rest of the world and spread the word.
February 5, 2009 10:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey AG. Donal & others are much better at this than I, but here's the hacking man's method -
1. When you open "Blog Now," there are "Format" options just above the text & beneath the title. Shift it from "Rich Text" to "None." Your page will look like gobbledygook for a few minutes, but that's ok - it'll turn back.
2. Go to your YouTube or other video page in another window or tab. To the right of the actual video, you'll see an "Embed" box. Highlight & copy the "Embed" text. (Some are blocked & you can't embed, but most should let you.)
3. Go back to your blog, find the place in the text where you want to insert it, and "Paste" the Embed link in.
4. Return to the "Format" option bar above your blog, and shift it back from "None" to "Rich Text" (or whatever you use.) A little window should pop up, asking you if you want to do this. Say "Ok." This should change all the gobbledygook back to normal.
5. You may then find the spacing around the video is a bit messy, but just delete or insert space so it fits, and ....
That SHOULD work.
After that, I just Preview it a few times, to make sure it looks the way I think it should....
So really, it's just change Format from Rich Text to None...
Copy & paste in the Embed link...
Change Format back to Rich Text...
Add or delete unnecessary spaces around it.
(Took me hours to make this work by trial & error, AG, but after I got it, it's quite straight-forward.)
Cheers. Hope I haven't screwed this up! ;-)
February 6, 2009 12:21 AM | Reply | Permalink
From the most recent comments on the shared blog of "hopeman" in Sderot and "peaceman" in Gaza:
"Grant Crankshaw said...
So glad to hear you are OK Peace Man. I am a builder and your Israeli neighbor. Is there anything I can do to help you out right now? Will it ever be possible for Israeli's, like myself, to be able to come into Gaza to help people like yourself get your lives back together? It's the only way we will rebuild our trust of each other. Let me know please.
January 20, 2009 3:02 PM
........
David Wapner said...
The war, or how we call this (to me it was a huge and horrible military raid) has finished.
Now we can see the result: death, destruction, broken people, broken families, broken, or nothing at all.
In my side, I live in Israel, and in my city, I live in Arad, nothing have change.
I walk around and I asked all the time, what to you think about war?
they all say, what to do? it was because the qassamin, and if there are victims Hamas is the responsable.
So, Israelis are completely inocents, not responsable for nothing.
Today we knew that from Mexico city people is adopting a death palestinian child in order to honor their names and memory.
I was shocked.
I know in Argentina someone who cook to 100 children in a popular club (where children from a poor neighboorhood go to eat). I say to myself: four times 100 children have dead in Gaza.
And the world keep going. I guess that this is it. So sad, so terrible. Humanity need to make such a thing to know that all what we need is love
ana
January 20, 2009 10:17 PM"
http://gaza-sderot.blogspot.com/
On Syria Comment, the post-Gaza attacks dialogue between the peacnik Israelis (Shai and Rumyal) and the Arab/MEastern commenters are terribly difficult; especially as previously, there was so much shared hope for better days ahead. Few seem optimistic at this point and the betrayal and "cold rage" that many feel is obvious. But yet, the painful conversations continue....
February 6, 2009 1:12 AM | Reply | Permalink
I approve of the principals in Bitterlemons who continued their civil discourse through the Gaza attacks. Of course they're professionals who have been trained, or trained themselves, to retain that sort of at least apparent detachment.
It's surely much harder for those to whom you refer. I admire them for trying even more.
I have conversations with a friend who was in Israel throughout the attacks. Visited some young soldiers whom she found appealing and also Israeli children who've been living for years with the Hamas missiles. But reads the same accounts we do-and like me has just seen "Waltz with Bashir".
I try not to "Run with the hares, hunt with the hounds" . It's difficult.
February 6, 2009 6:53 AM | Reply | Permalink
Parents' Circle -- Bereaved families supporting peace, reconciliation and tolerance.
February 6, 2009 11:32 AM | Reply | Permalink
I remember seeing a documentary (PBS or HBO?) a year or two ago about the efforts of an Israeli woman who lost a child in a suicide bombing to meet with the mother of the bomber. It was very moving - although in the end, either the meeting didn't take place or both sides came away dissatisfied and ended up speaking past each other. I'll try to find this.
February 6, 2009 1:12 PM | Reply | Permalink
stop looking, see my comment below (I mistakenly left the reply box unticked)
February 7, 2009 2:27 PM | Reply | Permalink
"To Die in Jerusalem," 2007:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0906091/
It was nominated for two Emmys and won the Peabody award.
The film has a website:
http://www.todieinjerusalem.com/
February 6, 2009 1:26 PM | Reply | Permalink