Shwanesh ManiovSeeds of Peace, Children of Abraham |
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Personal Transformation and Israeli/Palestinian Power Dynamics:
“ There was a child of settlers [at the Seeds of Peace summer camp] and it was very difficult for him all the time. He cried because he couldn't understand how suddenly he had Palestinian friends. It was very difficult for him. Some might say that it's not a process, but to me, to recognize that the other side exists, and to cry so forcefully, signifies a change. It doesn't matter, that when he goes back to the Territories he will be on the powerful side again, he'll always have what he went through here. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Israeli/Palestinian Power Dynamics:
“ During these first meetings the [Israeli] kids are at war with the Palestinians; they came to represent the Palestinians and we came to represent the Israelis. We tell them, "You won't gain anything from that!" Nobody is going to win here. There are no winners or losers. We're only trying to get to a better understanding of ourselves and the other side. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ There aren't many organizations that operate in the periphery [outlying areas]. I think in order to do real outreach you have to ignore the people who are already convinced… [Peace] organizations are not making the effort to break the pattern, or go beyond the usual circles. It's easier to work with the same circle of left-wing activists, peace activists who go from one activity to the next. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ Peace is respecting the other side, seeing them as I see myself. I'll understand their needs just like I want people to understand my needs, to be seen as a person. But peace in general for me is being able to wake up and decide to go to the beach in Gaza just because I feel like it. Just like I can drive from Germany to Italy by car without any fear, without any checkpoints. I want to go to Syria. That's the peace I envision. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ I think in terms of the two peoples here, it's giving in, learning to yield. Learning to yield and not hold on to things that are unrealistic. I think that staying in the Territories is unrealistic for Israel. I don't think that Palestinians who believe the Jews have no rights to Israel are realistic either. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Fear and Civil Society:
“ I think the [peace] process should be interpersonal. Hate often comes from ignorance - I'm afraid of what I don't know, when I don't know the other side I'm afraid, and I build a wall. I think that if you break the wall then peace can be achieved, much more authentically than a politician signing a peace treaty… ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ I had to educate myself, and university educated me. I can say that just from those courses things changed in me and I started to read and research more. If you're exposed to knowledge, when you learn new things about the conflict, you think about questions like "Did we conquer them, or not?" It doesn't mean the other side will change their minds, but they will see an effort being made for peace and to change things. They will have access to the same ideas, and we'll have access to theirs. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Personal Story and Jerusalem and Zionism:
“ My parents always wanted to immigrate to Israel [from Ethiopia]. It was something dreamlike, something no one knew about. Maybe others who grew up in cities and had access to communications knew something about Israel. But for me, for my parents and whoever lived in my village, Israel was a place, nobody knew exactly where. We only knew that there were only Jews there; there were no other peoples there because it belonged to the Jews. There was a temple and a river of milk and a river of honey. All you had to do there was religious work; all you had to do was observe the mitzvot. All I knew about was Jerusalem. I didn't know about anything else, the land of Israel, the State of Israel. I wasn't told about terms such as nationality or religion. Those weren't terms my parents used in their kind of Zionism. There was only Jerusalem and life among Jews. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ The minute I got here [to Israel] I was given a new name; I was named Shoshana. I don't know exactly why, but they changed my name. I enlisted in the army and for some reason in the army they switch your name back. It's very strange. Already in twelfth grade I was asking myself who I was - was I less Israeli, or less Ethiopian. You don't know where you belong; you have the color thing, the Jewish aspect, and the Israeli part. So even before the army I had thought about these things and I had changed my name back from Shoshana to Shwanesh. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ After the army I traveled a bit in the States and lived in New York for a little while. It influenced me because I was exposed to new things again. I was in the States with a million black people, not just black Jews [ultra-Orthodox Jews], but blacks like me, only not Jewish. I disappeared. For people who saw me on the street, I wasn't a Jew. It was very important for me that I be seen as a Jew. It's something I never dealt with in Israel because here everyone knew I was an Ethiopian Jew. It wasn't such a question of, wow, what am I - more Jewish, because I feel Jewish, or more black because everyone sees me as black? It had a big impact on me. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ Now I live in Tel-Aviv and I'm completely Israeli, totally, I have nothing to do with Ethiopian culture. But when I visit my parents then I'm Ethiopian! I stand when my father enters, bring him water, everything. And when I visited a family in [the Palestinian Israeli town] Shfaram suddenly I realized I was acting as though I was in my parents' home. It's a feeling I never felt before. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Personal Story and Identity and Language:
“ When I was at Seeds of Peace facilitating, I had an important experience while we watched a movie about what happened in South Africa. I'm sitting there during the film saying to myself, "Wow, how can they call the blacks 'terrorists' on the news?" (They showed parts of news broadcasts.) "How can they call them terrorists? They wanted their freedom, they want to live on their lands, why should they be called terrorists?" Suddenly I was against this strong government, in this case it was white, and it didn't seem right. And then we watched Jenin, Jenin half an hour later, and suddenly I was on the powerful side, the Israeli side, trampling the other. And I call people 'terrorists.' Suddenly I was experiencing thoughts like, "What right do I have coming to Israel, immigrating to Israel, living in Tel Aviv without any fear?" I wasn't born here; my parents weren't born in Israel! What right do I have? Who gave it to me? I never thought about these things before! I never questioned my right to the land. But watching the film about South Africa raised moral questions inside me. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
“ America sides with Israel, and Europe with the Palestinians. So there are these forces. There are two forces that don’t allow dynamics to kick in. But if Europe and America were to lay down a tough hand, then we would find ourselves on our own, having to deal with the situation. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
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