I believe that the Jews are behaving as those who suffered from child abuse: if you were hit, you hit back, and you hit before you get hit again. And it's going to take a huge, monumental effort to be able to let that go. That's going to also require the discriminated, downtrodden minority to kick in and help and prove that it can happen.
Melisse Lewine-Boskovich
4
Fear
What do you think you see that others don't see?
I see the fact that those who need to go through a change are people who are in metzuka,1 who are in some sort of pain, and that they are in a process where they can't let go. I cut them a break. In my mind I try to understand where they are coming from and what's holding them back. What's keeping them from letting go is this whole issue of fear and the child abuse syndrome. I believe that the Jews are behaving as those who suffered from child abuse: if you were hit, you hit back, and you hit before you get hit again. And it's going to take a huge, monumental effort to be able to let that go. That's also going to require the discriminated, downtrodden minority to kick in and help and prove that it can happen. Emile Shoufani2 and his group are sort of on that track. They're trying to figure out what they're going to do to help these Jews let go of this thing in the back of their head. Marwan Dwiri, the psychologist from Nazareth, wrote a piece that said it would do the Jews well to understand that there is something in the Palestinian or Arab make-up called honor, and there is no rationale for it, and it would be to your own benefit to act accordingly. For the Palestinians it would be good to recognize that there's this little thing in the back of every Jew's head that has to do with fear. If you keep doing the things that reinforce that fear, it's not going to do you any good. I truly think that's part of it. Otherwise, I'd have to say there's an inherent badness in Jews. There's no other explanation. But I think they are still working things out. I don't want to emphasize things about previous lives or anything like that, but they're working out a historical and ancient process. We have done things over the years that may be less than positive. Emile Shoufani3 and his group are sort of on that track. They're trying to figure out what they're going to do to help these Jews let go of this thing in the back of their head. Marwan Dwiri, the psychologist from Nazareth, wrote a piece that said it would do the Jews well to understand that there is something in the Palestinian or Arab make-up called honor, and there is no rationale for it, and it would be to your own benefit to act accordingly. For the Palestinians it would be good to recognize that there's this little thing in the back of every Jew's head that has to do with fear. If you keep doing the things that reinforce that fear, it's not going to do you any good. I truly think that's part of it. Otherwise, I'd have to say there's an inherent badness in Jews. There's no other explanation. But I think they are still working things out. I don't want to emphasize things about previous lives or anything like that, but they're working out a historical and ancient process. We have done things over the years that may be less than positive.- 1Hebrew word meaning emotional pain.
- 2(b. 1947) A Palestinian Catholic Pastor, high school principal, and outspoken advocate for dialogue among Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Israel and Palestine. In 2003, he organized an interfaith trip for Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel to the concentration camp Auschwitz in Poland. He won the UNESCO (United Nations Cultural Scientific and Cultural Organization) Prize for Peace Education in 2003. See
- 3(b. 1947) A Palestinian Catholic Pastor, high school principal, and outspoken advocate for dialogue among Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Israel and Palestine. In 2003, he organized an interfaith trip for Jewish and Palestinian citizens of Israel to the concentration camp Auschwitz in Poland. He won the UNESCO (United Nations Cultural Scientific and Cultural Organization) Prize for Peace Education in 2003. See