Faiza, and Arab-Israeli doctor, lives in an Arab neighborhood in Jerusalem called Shuafat and is the head of the intensive care unit at a private hospital in Israel. She has an immense love for Israel and claims that it "gives you the opportunity to express your human potential." Throughout the article Faiza talks about how happy she is with her life here in Israel, specifically being able to witness the risks that Israeli soldiers take in order to care for Syrians and get them to a hospital safely. She also mentions that whenever she goes home to meet with her family, she has to remain quiet and resist from defending Israel in front of her brothers and their families to prevent putting her own children in a risky situation. However, Faiza's Arab brothers do not prevent her from feeling the joy she receives from her life in Israel.
It's incredible to read something so optimistic about a topic that isn't exactly filled with positivity. Faiza emphasizes the coexistence that is present in Israel throughout this article and how thankful she is for that. Her exact words being, "here Arab people are the happiest Arabs in the Middle East" and while many people may disagree with that statement, her opinion is one that brings optimism to people all over Israel. Living here for a little over a month now (although it feels like I've been here for years) allows me to relate to this feeling that Faiza has shared. I feel 100% at home here in Israel, and knowing that a vast diversity of people are happy living here as well is nice to think about due to the many tragedies that have taken place because of how isolated some parts of the country are from this feeling of acceptance and coexistence among us.
If you'd like to read the article itself, you can find it through this link and I hope it will put as big a smile on your face as mine.
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/what-israel-is-giving-me-the-voice-of-an-arab-doctor/
Emily, I agree that it is a very good thing to hear about something good among everything bad that's happening. It is like a ray of sunlight through the darkness, especially in these times. Also, perhaps part of the reason that people do not think that anything positive is happening is due to the way that the news portrays both countries, in this manner of constantly fighting, with nothing good ever happening. All that the news talks about is the people who don't like the others as opposed to the people who are happy. Maybe if the news stopped focusing on what will get them viewers (conflict) and every once in a while decided to look at the opinions of regular people, we might see a different side of the conflict. Now, thanks to the news, we have a view of this constant conflict that is happening. In this article, it is shown that not everyone's attitude is always "kill the other one" and that there really is some light in this darkness.
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