A Jewish Student Speaks

I don't usually delve into politics- but I thought this article, posted on Israel National News (Arutz Sheva) was kind of cool. It's about a lone Jewish high school student which marched alongside Arab-American students protesting Israel.

Reporters asked him [the Jewish student] afterwards about his unusual presence, and he explained, “I came out because I want to defend Israel… They [the soldiers attempting to divert the flotilla ships - ed.] were attacked, and they had the right to defend [themselves]. These people [on the boats] were not humanitarians; their ship was armed with knives, batons, and all kinds of things to attack the Israelis with. There is a naval blockade on Gaza, and they [the soldiers] were just doing their job of enforcing it… Hamas is a terrorist organization trying to kill Israelis.”
Asked if he is affiliated with any group, he said, “Just Judaism and Israel, that’s it."
.........
Another Arab-speaking American explained, “The only reason Israel is doing this is because they got kicked out from, uh, the German whatever, whatever happened to them. So they’re trying to take out their anger on someone else.” Asked about the Bible and the Jewish presence in the Land of Israel since the times of King Solomon, he lowered his voice and said, “I don’t know about that.”

Check it out here with a video.

Query and Question

EDIT: By the way- see the poll to the right. I'd love to hear the world's opinion.
Wow, eventful last night. Sheesh.
I started feeling really sick, and had a minor blackout. So, I immediately freaked out, went downstairs to my local Kupat Cholim (yes, I live on top of one, it's very convenient), and they wanted me to head to an emergency room, just to get checked out.

I called another neighbor (Neighbor #4, if you're keeping track) who happens to be an emergency room doctor, and asked him if the local Kupat Cholim was correct in assessing the situation. He said, yes, but that he believes it was probably dehydration.

So, I dragged Mr. NMF all the way to Shaare Tzedek Hospital, and got admitted to the emergency room. Thank G-d, they diagnosed it as nothing more than a severe case of dehydration, and put me on a saline drip for the next 4 hrs. Sheesh. But I did feel much better afterwards.

It's actually a wonderful thing- how easy it is for me to get a note from my Kupat Cholim, head to the hospital, and have it all checked out- without worrying about whether my insurance covers it, or whether this was necessary- the medical system here is great.

But on to my story. While I was in the emergency room, on a drip, I noticed an Arab woman sitting down, waiting for her turn. She looked a bit scared, and I think she might have come on her own. So, I gave her a smile, and got an answering one back. She then got taken care of, promptly and well.

I mentioned to Mr. NMF that I have a bit of a query. I don't hate all of our "cousins". I hate when most try to murder us, or kill our children, or execute terrorist attacks on innocent people. But if they act peacefully, and they don't do these things, then I don't hate them. Did Avraham hate Yishmael? Or Yishmael's children?

This is a query to me, something to question. Should I hate all of our "cousins"? I know that in the Koran, there are some parts in there about murdering Jews- that they would like to kill us all. But if they don't- if they act peacefully- should we hate them?

I'm not saying to love them, or to think that their way of life is good. Indoctrinating young children, for example, to believe in murdering Jews is wrong. Living in squalor and blaming us, is also wrong. Just the age old question- should we hate them?

I don't know. Maybe that woman would have a child who then grows up and becomes a suicide bomber. Or maybe he might become a famous doctor and cure cancer. Should I hate her?
This is a question. I don't even know if it has an answer.