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Special Report |
LAST UPDATE July 12, 2005
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| site design imagesparkle.com |
| July 7, 2003 |
Voices from Israel – Presentation - Danna Bader |
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| "Voices from Israel" presentation by International Student, Danna Bader |
Until Danna made an Arab friend at 16 years of age, she admits that she knew almost nothing about the true plight of the Palestinian people. She asked her friend if she wanted to celebrate Israel Independence Day with her, and was shocked to hear that the Palestinians call it "Naqba" Day - literally translated from Arabic it means "catastrophe".
The state of Israel was forcefully founded on Palestinian land in 1948, yet few Israelis are actually aware of this, as it isn't taught in schools or published in history books. To explain how the situation between Palestine and Israel exists as it is today, Danna believes we must look at the military, media, education and government systems that are in place, and how they socialize a nation through misinformation and propaganda.
She first spoke of how all Israelis must do national service at the age of 18, and must continue to serve in the Army one month a year until they are 55. The Israeli public does not see the negative side of this, and soldiers are admired and respected - children are required to give up their seat on a bus, not only for the elderly, but also for a man or woman in uniform.
It was only five years ago that the Army recognized the right to pacifism - but a right that only women can claim after a decision given by a court. If a man says he is pacifist and refuses to join the Army he is sent to prison. Danna served a year and nine months as an interviewer for high school teenagers about to start their national service. When refusing to hold a gun during her training, she was told to "talk to a psychiatrist". This unquestioning attitude toward the military and the government is one of the main stumbling blocks to opening up Israeli minds. |
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| Discussions about Israeli society and the way it shapes the conflict with Palestine |
Many Israeli school trips include a visit to the former World War II concentration camps in Poland and Germany, and Danna very clearly remembers a trip to Auschwitz in which she and her classmates experienced a chilling simulation of the final moments in a gas chamber. In the first class following the school trip, the teacher asked what they had thought of the experience, with many students answering that they were glad they had their own state.
At her graduation ceremony, the principal told the students that one person in each class would die in Army service, and that they must look around and remember each others' faces. Three months ago, Danna taught school children about the occupation. When she asked them when did they think the occupation had started, they answered during the Gulf War. Danna says that it is this kind of education, along with a constant barrage of media images of killing and violence from the Arab world, which makes children turn into adults who are afraid of Palestinians and losing their land.
By questioning the media, and seeking to discover the truth about what is happening across the militarized border of her neighbours, Danna is different from most other Israelis. She says that Palestinians have a right to live on the land, and that the "Roadmap" peace plan is not a viable solution, as it would result in Israel still being in control of Palestine, and offers nothing different from the prior agreements made at Oslo and Camp David. She wonders what kind of peace Israelis would accept, but believes a solution must offer equal status to both parties to stand a chance of being successful. To conclude her presentation on a personal note, she said that, "The land around her is not as important as people she is connected to". |
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