You Don’t Know the Israel I Know

You don’t know the Israel that I know, you are too busy planning to sanction it to realize its beauty.

You don’t take the time to acknowledge all that Israel has done for its Syrian neighbors, because you are too busy condemning its field hospital.

Instead of focusing on the tons of supplies being sent to Gaza, you send flotillas, complete with one solar panel and a single inhaler. Do you realize Israel has sent over 500,000 times that? Do you care about the people of Gaza, or do you only care about boycotting Israel?

You don’t see the beauty of Israel, its Jewish, Arab, Bedouin, Druze, tapestry woven together to form the nation that I love. Instead, you cry apartheid, bashing the single Jewish state for being imperfect.

You don’t support joint business opportunities that were providing equal opportunity to Palestinians and Israelis alike, instead you cried land theft and cost the Palestinians their jobs.

You scream ethnic cleansing, baby killers, but you don’t bother to see Israel’s thriving Arab-Israeli population. You don’t see the social mobility of Arab-Israelis, because you are too busy focusing on the problems.

Instead of focusing on the morality of the Israeli army, doing every thing they can to protect civilians, you excuse Hamas for hiding behind its babies to protect its missiles.

Instead of focusing on the buildup of bomb shelters for protection of civilians, you cry thief and accuse Israel of snatching up more land in its internationally recognized borders.

This isn’t your country, and it sure isn’t perfect. But it isn’t your responsibility to fix it; it’s Israel’s. No country is perfect, no country is flawless, you don’t know the Israel I know. Take a chance, a leap of faith, trust your senses, not the media, and maybe you too, can see her beauty.