Besides admiration for her humanity, honesty and strength in telling her story, the released Israeli hostage Yocheved Lifshitz reminded me of the lost spirit of the Israeli kibbutzim (Editorial, 24 October). Indeed, “Shalom shalom” is kibbutz lingo. Socialist thinking, respect for everyone and equality guided this amazing generation of founders, to whom we young Israelis can only look up. True, they had their blind spots (many kibbutzim became synonymous with elitism), but they genuinely sought a different future for the Middle East, where people can live in peace.
Jewish-Arab solidarity was a common theme, which sadly clashed with the political realities and the religious radicalisation on both sides of the border. It is no coincidence that Lifshitz, and many of the others who were kidnapped, were involved in peace movements – they felt a lot of sympathy for their Gazan neighbours.
One of the goals of this war should be to protect not only their physical integrity but also their values. Let us not lose our humanity and become another Middle Eastern country stuck in an endless cycle of religious wars and crimes. Let us choose peace and reconciliation when this is all over. May we rise from the ongoing horrors to rebuild Israel as a moral beacon, as it was intended to be by the founders, with equality, human rights and freedom for all.
Dvir Aviam-Ezra
Tel Aviv, Israel
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