« Thematic Highlights

Martyrdom

Robi Damelin
Parents Circle - Bereaved Families Forum Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ I promise you that all mothers are the same, and that the mother of a suicide bomber has a threefold problem: where did she fail, losing her child, he killed himself and innocent people. I don't care what you say, any mother-- me in my little flat in Tel Aviv or a mother in a settlement that says she is proud to have given up her child for the land-- all our pain is the same, otherwise there is no nature, otherwise nothing makes any sense anymore. Mothers are the most powerful and the most humane because they are the only ones who know the pain of losing a child. I am not negating the pain of brothers and sisters and grandparents and fathers, but the pain of a mother is so extreme that I don't buy any mother's story that says she is proud to have lost her child for anything.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Nader Khatib
Water and Environmental Development Organization, Friends of the Earth Middle East Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ In general Muslims believe that if they die during a conflict they are martyrs with a better life waiting for them on the other side. When this life doesn't mean a lot to them, they don’t fear death any more, and there comes a time when it even becomes a wish. When a person sets death as a wish and a goal, he is prepared to do anything. In order to stop violence, people's lives should be made meaningful and things in their lives should be created for them to hold on to. If one loses a penchant for life, the situation is tragic.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Ofer Shinar
Consultant to the Bereaved Families' Forum Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ There is a word for it, shahid. It's different from bereaved-- bereavement is something else in Arabic. Shahid suggests that you have a certain place in society, that you've done something for your society. […] So in a way, it's very tangible, it's something you can really see. Bereaved people in both societies can do things and say things and get away with things and can change people's perceptions in a way other people cannot. This is why The Families Forum should not be a political organization, which means we should not get involved in the traditional process of peace making. Our role is to give voice to the victims who were not heard by the two sides during previous peace negotiations, for victims who refuse to allow further violence to be made in their name.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Ibtisam Mahameed
Interfaith Encounter Association, Middleway Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ If I consider myself a peace activist, then all my words and actions must be devoted to peace. For me this is Jihad, and if I die doing this I will be considered a martyr. How do I identify a martyr? He is one that takes a role in improving his community and its situation, according to his own understanding. People can call him what they like, but I consider this a sacred mission that I could use to help the next generations.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Aziz Abu Sarah
Bereaved Families Forum, All For Peace Radio Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ For the Palestinians, we surely do use the word martyr. [...] It is sometimes hard for an Israeli to accept the word martyr and one of the reasons for that is that they just don’t understand it’s meaning. Anyone who is murdered violently or in an unnatural way could be called a martyr. According to religion, even if a person drowned in the name of religion, he is called a martyr. We’ve decided to refer to the Palestinians as martyrs because that is the way we feel about them. God is really the one who decides, but what we have decided is each person can choose the name he wants to use without judging anyone else. It is hard for a Palestinian to hear someone use the word martyr when referring to a soldier killed in a bombing by a Palestinian. ”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Dr. Khuloud Dajani
People's Campaign for Peace and Democracy Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ The mutual violence rose out of the fear that peace agreements would not succeed, especially after the failure of Camp David, Taba negotiations and the return of Israel’s practices of oppression, killing, confiscation of land, checkpoints, etc… Palestinians responded to the oppression in order to defend themselves. One way of defending themselves was by carrying out martyrdom operations. At a certain point, we needed the parties who carry out such operations to think twice about the operations that target Israeli citizens. Despite the fact that we are living in a period of conflict, we should let our plight be known through the media on the international level and find an Arabic, Palestinian, and even Islamic spokespeople who could reflect the truth about us; the truth that we are not for the killing and targeting of civilians.”  [Source in Complete Interview]

Ihsan Turkiyyeh
Arab-Hebrew Theatre in Jaffa Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ There is a kind of death education, sacrificing yourself for the land. I am not for this. I call it death education, and I am not for it. I say God gives us life. He gives you a mind to think and find ways to live better, and not to kill yourself- kill yourself for whom? For these rich people to be richer, for the government to be more powerful? Why do I have to lose my child and cry? Why don't they send their children! No, I don't believe in it, because afterwards these politicians will kiss each other and have a glass of whiskey on the table, and sell what they sell and give what they give, but our children will not return to us and we will be crying for them for years. I am a single mother and I have suffered to raise my son and I would not send him anywhere to die for anything.”  [Source in Complete Interview]