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Eve L. Mamane

To my fellow European

I grew up in Europe, and today, while Israel is under the fire of rockets and on the brink of war, I am safer here than I would be back in my place of birth.

Already eleven days of tensions in Israel, and the international news speech still tremendously lacks clarity and balance. A lack of neutrality and actual information is seen through the news channels across Europe, leading to a rise of hatred and violence as we have witnessed for example in the streets of Paris.

Before Europe rushes to the streets, crying vengeance and condemning one side or the other, maybe it is time to take a short break and see if the educated, civilized European, can really base his opinion on the information brought to him by local news channels. Is the observing European witnessing two people who wish for violence and chaos, or are there two people wishing for peace hidden behind the harsh words of anger?

My fellow European, maybe we should start by looking at the events that lead you to the streets, yelling for more blood to be shed.

On Sunday July 6th, the sirens started to ring in the Israeli cities of Ashdod and Ashqelon, while about sixty rockets were raining over Israeli citizens. Between that same Sunday and the following Tuesday, over one hundred rockets fell across Israel, thankfully often intercepted by Israel’s outstanding security system: the iron dome.

Following these events, Israel finally lost patience and mobilized its army. On Tuesday the 8th, you, my fellow European, started hearing about the Israeli military response in Gaza: aerial attacks on the strip, which your news source has forgotten to define as military targets (rockets launching sites, ammunition stocks, and so on).

And the dead start piling up. On one side though. My fellow European, have you taken a minute to ask yourself: how come the dead pile up on one side only, while more rockets are fired on the opposite one? Did this ever cross your mind?

You would be surprised by the answer to this question. It is so cruel and simple. I live in Israel, and the government I elected put in place a whole system to protect me: when a rocket is fired over my head, sirens go off to warn me of danger, and shelters protect me from the blast. My neighbor in Gaza also has a government, which considers itself elected as well. What has this government done for my neighbor to ensure his protection? Nothing. Even worse, that government preaches martyrdom and encourages my neighbor to die for some higher cause where only chaos seems to reign. Prior to bombs falling on Gaza, the Israeli army moves heaven and earth to try and warn the citizens of Gaza: over one hundred thousand phone calls have been made from the IDF to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza strip to encourage them to evacuate an area that will be bombed, thousands of leaflets are spread over areas that will be targeted prior to the actual attack, empty roof shots are fired on buildings to give the civilians the time to leave before the actual bombing. In other words, Israel is its own protective system, and Israel is the only protective system the Palestinians living in Gaza have.

My fellow European, are you witnessing from your all-knowing television a blood-thirsty jewish people and an imprisonned palestinian people? Or are you staring at what is actually two people oppressed by one terrorist organization whose holy agenda is the most primitive and senseless that has been formulated in the past millenium?

We are today in a critical situation where the information abroad depicts hatred and violence, because it is sexier and easier to sell than a more complex reality. The Hamas terrorist organization, historically powerful in propaganda, manages once again to redirect the focus on a pile of lies, enjoying the blindness to break humanitarian laws and endanger the civilians they once vouched to protect. The streets of Paris and many other European cities get intoxicated with the hatred and find themselves perpetuating the primitive, senseless message for bloodshed and destruction.

My fellow European demonstrating in the streets against Israel. Your anger is what makes me, an Olah, more secure in the hands of an iron dome and my brothers in uniform, than in your streets where you spread hatred against my own.

About the Author
Born and bred in Switzerland , I recently graduated from IDC Herzliya (RRIS) in the Government, Diplomacy and Strategy track. Discussing politics, life and society, I am excited to debate and challenge opinions. Looking forward to read you all.