If you were Israeli citizen!
i wrote an article a few weeks ago about the harassment or marginalization of the christian palestinians, which has increased in frequency and ugliness in the few years with the advent of the non-blessed awakening.
the christian politician or intellectual did get his full opportunity to represent the cause, especially in western countries, and many of them were forced to withdraw, with grief filling their hearts.
my observation of palestinian christians was not welcomed by a well-known gazan engineer who was one day a friend of mine and described my claims or article as rubbish.
i ignored the response but it did not take long to respond to it indirectly. almost two weeks after the publication of that article, the well-known palestinian journalist shireen abu aqleh, the daughter of jenin, and a correspondent for the al-jazeera media network since 1997 was exposed to a treacherous israeli bullet that took her life while carrying out her duty.
shireen abu aqleh was one of the most prominent journalists in the arab world, a veteran reporter, and a prominent figure in the arab media. she previously covered various major palestinian events, including the second intifada, and played a vital role in analyzing the israeli policy. her live reports on tv were also of interest to many.
her death sparked a storm of intense sympathy for her and this was accompanied by a high wave of strongly-worded protests, as usual, throughout the entire arab world and in part of the islamic world, denouncing, as usual, the criminal and treacherous zionist israeli enemy, etc.
the arab masses considered her a martyr and prayed to god to have mercy via means of communication and pulpits of mosques, and suddenly everyone discovered, after knowing shireen’s full name, the daughter of nasri antoine abu aqleh, meaning that she was a christian, so the positions of the majority towards her changed, and they withdrew their sympathy for her and refused to describe her as a martyr.
some also argued that mercy is only sought for a muslim, and she is a polytheist and an infidel. a kuwaiti cleric known for his extremist views participated in the rejection chorus, as he tweeted, or issued a fatwa that she is not a martyr and she is treated as an infidel, and no mercy is permissible for her.
if i were an israeli, i would not have found a better story or tragedy than shireen abu aqleh as an example that we are people who do not deserve, at least, respect.
if this nation is reluctant over an arab woman who paid with her life for her standing with the cause of her homeland to give her the honor of martyrdom or even a kind word for her, how their attitude towards their enemies will be?
therefore, the israelis have the right to ask whether it is wise to trust us and conclude one-state peace deals with us.
the topic is thorny and long, and indeed very sad.
