A few days ago, something caught my attention that I had never seen before. An Arab wearing a pendant depicting the borders of Eretz Israel. At least that was my first impression. “Weird…” I thought to myself.
I couldn’t help myself and went to ask him about it. I asked if the piece of jewelry on his necklace symbolized the whole Land of Israel, or all of “Palestine.” He looked at me, laughed, thought for a few seconds and said:
“It symbolizes the country. The country where I was born and where I live. I don’t care how we define and see the country. We are all people of this land. Let’s live together in peace and enjoy life in this country. Look at us here, we are both attending the same party.”
I have no idea what his name is, but he told me he was from Abu Ghosh, an Arab suburb of Jerusalem on the way to Tel Aviv. He was working with other Israeli Arabs as waiters and kitchen staff at Kibbutz Kalia near the Dead Sea. It was there that I noticed him as he was serving us during a wedding. I immediately noticed his Eretz Israel pendant. And when I see something like that, I can’t help but to approach the person directly. A short break for conversation during his work amid the sweltering nighttime temperatures at the Dead Sea.
As long as we don’t quarrel with each other, I don’t care how he defines the country inside these borders. If a Jew had such a chain around his neck, I’m sure he would see it as the entire biblical Eretz Israel, and not Palestine. But because an Arab wore this pendant, my thoughts and then my feet immediately got going to speak to him directly and openly about it. I can live with his answer as long as we remain in peace. I can’t expect a Muslim to become a Jewish Zionist any more than Arabs can ask us to rave about “Palestine.”
As long as our sometimes opposing interpretations and definitions of this country remain in our minds and words, everything is fine. But it has to stay that way. Life here can already be stressful enough, so this man’s response regarding his pendant was a kind of relief. And yes, I know that his point of view doesn’t reflect the broader reality. He knows it too.
