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In the past, whenever I went to (or more precisely, 'through') Israel, it was for some antagonistic purpose: to write about the brutal suppression of the intifada in Gaza or Hebron, to comment on the insanity of the land grab around Bethlehem, or to report from the eerie and de-populated Golan Heights, which Israel occupies against all international rules and the UN resolutions. You name it and I worked there: Shifa Hospital or Rafah Camp in Gaza, 'Golans', border with Jordan, Bethlehem.
I used to arrive at Ben Gurion Airport, sleep one night in Tel Aviv, Jerusalem or Haifa, meet my contacts (my left-wing friends), hastily, and in the morning, dash towards the 'front', or towards one of the 'fronts' that the so-called 'Jewish State' sustains for decades at its 'peripheries'.
But this time I decided to do exactly the opposite.
As it became evident that Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has lost all his restraint and shame, as it has got clear that the United States will take full advantage of his madness, and as I was convinced that Europe as well as most of the Arab countries will do absolutely nothing to defend Palestine, Syria or Iran, being 'in the neighborhood' (Egypt), I bought my tickets to Tel Aviv, for just a 48 hour 'visit' and for one simple purpose: to observe Israeli citizens, talk to them, and to try to figure out how and what they think and want; how they see the world, and particularly how they perceive the region where they live, fight and kill.
And so, I flew to Israel, from Cairo and via Amman. Once there, for two days I commuted between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in a brand new, fast and elegant double-decker train. I talked to many people, provoking them to describe the conditions in which they have been existing; to describe their political system, and the apartheid which most of them keep upholding through (as they constantly point out - 'democratic') elections.
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Of course, the more 'democratic' Israel really is, the more shameful the state into which it reduces the Palestinians, other Arabs and in fact, the entire region. Israeli citizens are continuously voting in the governments that are locking millions inside the camps. They are electing those who are igniting wars and military conflicts in various countries of the Middle East.
Naturally, if you live in Beirut or Aleppo, it is easy to imagine that all this horror is happening because the Israeli citizens are simply 'evil'; in fact, a bunch of blood-thirsty Rottweilers who have been let off the leash by their North American masters.
But when one interacts with Israelis, he or she quickly realizes that, bizarrely, this is not the case.
Many Israelis appear to be slightly confused, shy, and introverted.
They are 'into themselves'. It appears that they 'don't give a damn about the world around them'.
The most shocking thing is not their brutality, but their detachment, indifference and selfishness.
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