Lucy Aharish, a well known Israeli-Arab Journalist and actress, appreciated for her balanced views and ideologies, was talking about the situation on Israeli Channel 2 morning show, regarding the third intifada. Guests were also Didi Harari and Pnina Tamno Sheta, Israeli Knesset Member.
Here's the interview, also available on video:
Aharish: I talked to some of my friends yesterday, and I believe I haven't felt this frustrated for a long time, due to the current situation in Israel, and the events on the street.
...I talk to my friends, and (one of them) tells me, 'Lucy, listen...I don't feel that great, I thought about asking a doctor to visit my house... I can't believe I'm telling you this, but I heard some of the doctors are Arabs...and I'm afraid of calling them. But what does that make me? does it make me a narrow-minded person, a racist? or is this just a natural fear?'.... And it makes me so sad, that we reached this new low...
MK: ...nothing to do with racism... because, you know, they asked this at the schools too...
Aharish: Of course... Of course it has nothing to do with racism, Pnina... For a moment I don't think people who tell me this are racist... I can't believe it reached the level of people fearing one another... Can't believe we reached the level of Jew stabbing another Jew because he suspected him being an Arab... or people fearing the Arabs in general....
...Maybe I'm just being naive... I, I... I'm left speechless in the last couple of days, to understand what the hell is happening...how could we reached a situation where we can't have even the tiniest amount of trust, I see some of the Arab leaders (get up)... their silence is so shockingly deafening... they don't try to calm things down, don't try to push for understanding and accepting of the other side, they ignite the conflict even more.. and instead of coming and saying: friends, when all of this ends, we're going to pay such a heavy price, the second intifada caused the Israeli-Arabs to pay the ultimate price, as much as the Palestinians..-
Harari: Did you see Nazereth's mayor?
Aharish: -We learn nothing from our mistakes, and I... you know what? Even if the status quo was broken (-by Israel-), something that didn't happen... and right now the radicals just igniting the fire even more... But even if the status quo in Al-Aqsa was broken, does it give the legitimacy of someone to come up and stab another because of a sacred place? because of religion? or because a Jew stepped up to pray there, in the house of God? I don't get it, why, because of God...which God is this, who people talk to me about, that wants or allows kids to go out and stab innocent people?... which girl who covers her head with Hijab and prays to God just pulls out a knife from her purse and tries to stab innocent people?? I don't justify this, and I can't understand it..!
Harari: Which religion can?
Aharish: I don't accept excuses of frustration, or..
Interviewer: One of the more infuriating sentences, of leading Arab men saying that 'It's our right to protest, we won't tell the youth how...' what is that supposed to mean? it's their responsibility, if the won't guide the children...tell them to protest, but not to stab civilians...
Aharish: I praise Ali Salam! really... Nazareth's mayor.
Harari: Yes, true.
Aharish: It's about time that someone from the inside finally started to criticise them (Arab MKs) and telling them the truth in their faces, as it is. Because they're a weak leadership. Buji Hertzog (Netanyahu's political rival) talked about weak leadership in the government, well, what there is is a weak leadership of the Arab Israeli population. Nobody leads them...
MK: Lucy...
Aharish: It's all nice when they go and start riots and ascend to Al-Aqsa, and cry out and yell, when you don't even believe in God! (refering to Jamal Zehalka, Anti-Zionist Arab MK who's atheist but pushes Muslim youth to "defend" the mosque in provocations) You have no religion! but you allow yourself to say- "It's ours!"
Which "ours" you talk to me about? It's a house of God! yours of what? you're the rightful owner, you have a Tabu?! (An Israeli rights'-document that confirms ownership of real-estate) what are you talking about, you push thousands of kids to riot, you ruin their lives yourselves! it's not your son or daughter protesting our there, those kids pay with their lives and their blood because you force them to it and make things worse, and they take no responsibility for it. That's what makes me mad.
Harari: Lucy, well said.
Here's the interview, also available on video:
Aharish: I talked to some of my friends yesterday, and I believe I haven't felt this frustrated for a long time, due to the current situation in Israel, and the events on the street.
...I talk to my friends, and (one of them) tells me, 'Lucy, listen...I don't feel that great, I thought about asking a doctor to visit my house... I can't believe I'm telling you this, but I heard some of the doctors are Arabs...and I'm afraid of calling them. But what does that make me? does it make me a narrow-minded person, a racist? or is this just a natural fear?'.... And it makes me so sad, that we reached this new low...
MK: ...nothing to do with racism... because, you know, they asked this at the schools too...
Aharish: Of course... Of course it has nothing to do with racism, Pnina... For a moment I don't think people who tell me this are racist... I can't believe it reached the level of people fearing one another... Can't believe we reached the level of Jew stabbing another Jew because he suspected him being an Arab... or people fearing the Arabs in general....
...Maybe I'm just being naive... I, I... I'm left speechless in the last couple of days, to understand what the hell is happening...how could we reached a situation where we can't have even the tiniest amount of trust, I see some of the Arab leaders (get up)... their silence is so shockingly deafening... they don't try to calm things down, don't try to push for understanding and accepting of the other side, they ignite the conflict even more.. and instead of coming and saying: friends, when all of this ends, we're going to pay such a heavy price, the second intifada caused the Israeli-Arabs to pay the ultimate price, as much as the Palestinians..-
Harari: Did you see Nazereth's mayor?
Aharish: -We learn nothing from our mistakes, and I... you know what? Even if the status quo was broken (-by Israel-), something that didn't happen... and right now the radicals just igniting the fire even more... But even if the status quo in Al-Aqsa was broken, does it give the legitimacy of someone to come up and stab another because of a sacred place? because of religion? or because a Jew stepped up to pray there, in the house of God? I don't get it, why, because of God...which God is this, who people talk to me about, that wants or allows kids to go out and stab innocent people?... which girl who covers her head with Hijab and prays to God just pulls out a knife from her purse and tries to stab innocent people?? I don't justify this, and I can't understand it..!
Harari: Which religion can?
Aharish: I don't accept excuses of frustration, or..
Interviewer: One of the more infuriating sentences, of leading Arab men saying that 'It's our right to protest, we won't tell the youth how...' what is that supposed to mean? it's their responsibility, if the won't guide the children...tell them to protest, but not to stab civilians...
Aharish: I praise Ali Salam! really... Nazareth's mayor.
Harari: Yes, true.
Aharish: It's about time that someone from the inside finally started to criticise them (Arab MKs) and telling them the truth in their faces, as it is. Because they're a weak leadership. Buji Hertzog (Netanyahu's political rival) talked about weak leadership in the government, well, what there is is a weak leadership of the Arab Israeli population. Nobody leads them...
MK: Lucy...
Aharish: It's all nice when they go and start riots and ascend to Al-Aqsa, and cry out and yell, when you don't even believe in God! (refering to Jamal Zehalka, Anti-Zionist Arab MK who's atheist but pushes Muslim youth to "defend" the mosque in provocations) You have no religion! but you allow yourself to say- "It's ours!"
Which "ours" you talk to me about? It's a house of God! yours of what? you're the rightful owner, you have a Tabu?! (An Israeli rights'-document that confirms ownership of real-estate) what are you talking about, you push thousands of kids to riot, you ruin their lives yourselves! it's not your son or daughter protesting our there, those kids pay with their lives and their blood because you force them to it and make things worse, and they take no responsibility for it. That's what makes me mad.
Harari: Lucy, well said.
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