Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Different voice

Since 2000, violence is the only language exchanged between the two parties, thousands have been killed and thousands wounded ,and the problem remains as it is

the history shows that violence does not solve the conflict. Only through negotiation will reach to better future .
the efforts of political leaders can put an end to the pain and suffering of the Palestinians and Israelis on both sides.


But the leaders did not end the mutual violence, therefore We must as civilians work to finish this conflict .I know that is not easy, but at least the civilians in both sides will say what the want , we want to live normal life away from rockets and bombs .
This initiative will approve to the leaders and to the world that’s there is different voice coming says we want to change this situation .

Today we are small group ,but in the future will be loud ,and every body will join us ,because what we doing is the right thing for our people .

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Where change is happening

It's been 12 days since my last post. These have been relatively quiet days, interrupted by the one incident my friend Peace man mentioned in his post. Every few days a "stray rocket" is launched towards Sderot but life is almost normal.
We have been used to this type of fragile periods of quiet. They are so easily broken since the basic reality of life is not changing. Israel feels threatened by the Palestinians and The Palestinians by Israel. This fear is nurtured by old misconceptions and beliefs.
During these days I have been part of a new amazing initiative that evolved from this blog and the One Month initiative.
The initiative which we call "A different Voice" involves an amazing array of people from a wide range of views, ages and backgrounds. The clear and common ground being: Our understanding that we cannot wait for our leaders to solve our problems for us and that if any change is to happen it will happen from us, the civilians. We have partners, such as Peace man and others, on the Palestinian side, who share our understanding. This initiative is young, however it has the power to grow through the amazing people that are willing to look into their hearts and reach out to the other side in a true effort to change our seemingly helpless reality into a hopeful future. We are not alone. More to come...

Friday, March 14, 2008

Cease fire NOW

The past few days were quiet in Gaza somehow, and all the programs on the radio or television talking about cease fire.


Talk about bringing cease fire in Gaza Strip is the main subject on the streets and in shops and cars, even though that everyone was not optimistic , but the cease fire is the dream of every person ,The period we had is one of the most difficult stages, closures, unemployment and the destruction of the economy and killing .Palestinians want change, they want to live like the other people in the world ,they want freedom to travel ,to create future.
The traders started preparing to buys goods, and the students to complete their education abroad and every person wants to do what they need . But the killing of 4 Palestinians in Bethlehem, and the launching of missiles to Sderot disappointed them again ,and people started talking about the invasion, retaliation again .
Therefore, we must stop the violence and not a repeat what’s happened last time .
Violence won't create safety ,but will take us to dark a future. We do not want more violence, we do not want more pain for both sides
Both sides have the right to live normally, without violence, without hatred ,all of us are human.
Let's be together and join our One Month initiative.

Thursday, March 6, 2008

Retaliation or Terrorism

Tonight we heard of at least 7 young yeshiva students that were killed in Jerusalem. At least 7 more wounded some very severely.

Jerusalem is about an hour and a half drive from Sderot but now suffers consequences of the ongoing violence in the Gaza/Sderot region.

I titled this post "Retaliation or Terrorism" and ask myself: Does it really matter? Does it matter to the father and mother, the sister and brother, the friend and the fellow student?

Less than a week ago a family of 7 was killed during an Israeli attack in Gaza. Retaliation or Terrorism? defense or offense? Does it really matter to the relatives and neighbors? To the friends and acquaintances?
2 days ago a one month year old Palestinian baby was killed in an Israeli attack. He was killed while Israel was searching for a Hamas militant. The militant was killed but how can such consequences be justified?

After terribly violent days that started last wednesday, the past few days in Sderot, have been somewhat quieter. Only somewhat, since yesterday the home of relatives of a co-worker of mine, was badly hit by a rocket, and today 2 more homes were badly damaged by 2 direct hits. In all cases luckily no one was severely injured, however the fear, anxiety and pain are deep wounds that may never heal.

Our One Month initiative may seem naive, however what initiatives have our leaders offered that have proven to be any better? The rockets are still hitting on both sides and nothing they have done has brought us nearer to any resolution. All it has done is bring about more pain and frustration. In any case, it is definitely no worse than what has been tried so far.

People from both sides of this pain join to stop this insanity. Even if it will be for only One Month, it will be precious. And who knows? If it works for one, then why not for two?...

We the majority and must not be silent. Please join us:
www.one-month.org

Sunday, March 2, 2008

One Month Initiative

As you are all aware Gaza is facing death for four days ,around hundred and ten people have been killed and more than three hundred injured, half of them is Civilians ,and children’s
the civilians in both sides are still paying the price .

Rockets are still falling on Sderot and Gaza, and force couldn’t stop it .
I don’t know what they are waiting for more people to die.

I can hear the helicopters and planes and machine gun shooting all the time. I think this night wont be easy.
Every day I talk with my friend Hope man ,we hear the helicopter and machine gun at the same time .

We are trying to stop the ongoing escalation through One Month initiative.

As I said earlier we are the majority, and you are the strength and hope .

When more people join us, we can achieve our aims in stopping the blood and violence.

A Call For Action

Today over 50 people were killed in the hostilities.
This is a deadly and useless path that feeds the fire of hatred with even more actions on both sides and after much too much suffering will end with a cease fire.

What's the point?

Many of our blog readers have asked us what they can do to help?

I spoke today with Peace man and we agreed to start an active initiative.
We ask from our Leaders to give us One Month cease fire. Time to stop all hostile actions and give us and our leaders time to rethink and evaluate the situation.

For us the citizens under continuous attacks, this will give a true break, that we so badly need. For our leaders. It will allow time to figure out a different way out of this dead lock.

You can sign our petition here: www.one-month.org

Please spread the word. We need as many people as possible to join us. Send the link to your friends, relatives, acquaintances.

Saturday, March 1, 2008

What we have feared most is happening

For 4 days there has been ongoing escalation. Israel has continued to bomb from the air as rockets continued falling on Sderot and on Ashkelon.

Last night was one of the worst nights with ongoing alerts starting at 2 am and going on until arount 10 am. We got very little sleep. All 5 of us + our dog slept in the safe room hoping after each alert that it will be the last.

In the mean time Israel ground troupes invaded Gaza, and today has become the bloodiest day in a very long time. It is reported that around 30 Palestinians were killed and there are some unconfirmed reports of Israeli soldiers that were killed.

Israel is claiming that most of the Palestinians killed are Hamas and the Palestinians claim that most are civilians. Does it really matter??? Children, women and elderly were killed. This is the tragedy we were fearing. War is blind. Inocent alway are killed and to the mother or child the count has no significance.

I hear the helicopters and planes in a short distance and lot's of machine gun shooting.
I spoke to my friend Peace man and he told me that things are very very bad in Gaza. People are becoming filled with hatred and militant groups that have until now not been part of the hostile actions, have joined the fighting.

We may be facing a long bloody future that could have been prevented if only both sides could hold back and try to prevent it.

We need a quick cease fire to first stop the blood shed, then calm down for a few days from the situation, then think again of new ways to solve the situation.

A cease fire will happen eventually. It always does. Why not now before even more pain and more hatred are created?

We need a cease fire now!