One-stop blog on Jews from Arab and Muslim Countries and the Middle East's forgotten Jewish refugees, updated daily
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
'Refugee' was not in my grandma's vocabulary
Spare 11 minutes of your life to watch this moving TED talk by Hen Mazzig to a US campus audience.
Hen Mazzig, a 24-year-old Israeli and member of StandWithUs, talks about the power of hope and doing good deeds.
His grandparents were refugees from Tunisia and Iraq who left their countries of birth with nothing and came to Israel, a nation based on hope.
Never did they use the term 'refugee' to describe themselves. Never did they express resentment. They only wanted to move on. That is why they never demanded justice for themselves.
Hen survived a terror attack at his local ice-cream shop during the Second Intifada. The event continues to haunt him. During his army service he worked in the COGAT unit dealing with Palestinian civilians. Israeli doctors would save Palestinian lives. Israel has spent 35 million dollars aiding Syrian victims of the civil war.
He says that his background and experience are typical of many Israelis. Hope, not resentment, is their motivation.
Excellent talk by Hen, who has also written excellent blogposts on Times of Israel if I recall correctly, about his experiences speaking on campuses against Israeli Apartheid Week/BDS.
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ReplyDeleteTimes of Israel remembers pogrom in Port Said on March 25, 1903, and one in Morocco also in 1903:
1903
The Jewish quarter of Port Said, Egypt is invaded and looted
The Jewish Quarter was invaded and looted by Arabs in consequence of an earlier ritual murder charge against Jews that took place on September 17, 1902. The area was invaded and despoiled. Jewish areas in Morocco were also pillaged during the year. [Less]
Yes, saw that, Eliyahu. Is there any more info on these?
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