I’m an Arab and Muslim by birth and identity. I have lived most of my life in the sunny and deserty Middle East, eating juicy dates, letting the air-conditioner blow in my face and enjoying Wednesday-night Bollywood movies on local channels. In the fall of 2003 I moved to the U.S. for boarding school and later college in New York. I’m graduating soon with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance and Journalism.
My Personal Journey
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict has always been at the forefront of our news and our politics. And it has always been close to my heart. A 60-year-old conflict is bound to either bore you or continuously intrigue you. I’ve always felt the latter. The real tipping point was the Second Intifda (Intifadat al-Aqsa) that began in 2000. Gruesome pictures of bloody Palestinian boys swept the news. Most of them were my age.
In the U.S., I gradually stepped outside of my comfort zone and engaged with Jews and Israelis, in conversation, Shabbats, extra-curricular lectures and social activities. From the pan-Arab and pan-Muslim views of my beautiful home, I sat thousands of miles away in a Modern Israel class at college, among young passionate Jews, learning and understanding the “other” side for the first time.
I can still remember a heated conversation with an MIT Israeli student, on a bus to Boston. We had talked for four hours while other passengers slept. She finally said with frustration, “I wish it would all stop, just stop! They need to sit together at a table and end all of this.”
I believe that the blame game that has persisted for generations must cease now. We need to break the chain that our ancestors have long cherished. A Colorado teacher once said, “Their prejudices are not our prejudices.”
This is my attempt to contribute to that ultimate goal of a peaceful Middle East, offering news and ideas mostly about and from younger generations, with younger interests and younger ways.
Alert me whenever I fail to do so.
Contact
You can email me with comments, notes, suggestions, or anything else at: similar.faces@gmail.com
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