Jerusalem-forum@wanadoo.jo

Kids Speak Out 

Some senior students at the Amman National School were asked to express their thoughts about Israel. Although teachers advised these students, they wrote without any adult interference. This is what they came up with:

• If the Americans love the Israelis so much why don’t they take them all and give them a state, and take care of them? It will certainly cost the American tax payer much less. Give them a bit of desert they say they can make it bloom! (Ali, 16)

• What right did Great Britain have to give the Jews Palestine? What right does the US have to suppress the Palestinians in order to help Israel?(Mohammad, 17)

• How come Israel is allowed to ignore UN resolutions? Are they above the law or is it that some are more equal than others? (Faris, 16)

• If the West persecuted the Jews why is it that the Palestinians must pay the price? (Ali, 16)

• Israel is allowed to have nuclear weapons, with no control, Israel is allowed to have chemical weapons with no control, and Israel is allowed to have biological weapons with no control. Why? (Nada, 17)

• The West feels guilty about what happened to the Jews in WWII. Why then do we have to suffer? Before the western Jews got involved, the Jews in the Middle East were living in harmony with the Arab Christians and Moslems. I believe that the guilt of the West is still very much alive because they don’t like their western Jews and would rather spend a great deal of money and effort to keep them out of their countries and in ours. (Farah, 17)

• Now that the USA is in full control of the Gulf Oil, virtually occupying those countries, why does it still need Israel to safe-guard its interests in the area? (Noor, 16)

• How can the American people accept to pay so much of their tax dollars to Israel when there are so many homeless in America and so much poverty?
  (Omar, 17)

• Israel does not belong in the Middle East. It is alien to the area and will always be so. It is like a foreign body in our midst. Eventually it will either kill the body it has invaded or it will be removed. It will never be accepted nor does it want to be a part of the Middle East. Their hearts and minds are in the West and therefore it cannot survive in our world. (Khaled, 17)

• Israel is an unnatural presence in the Middle East. Installed there by the arrogance of the British Colonial rule, a blunder that will fade and dissolve. The West, mainly the US and Britain, may force the Middle East governments to accept the presence of Israel but the people, in their hearts will always feel that Israel is a cancer in the body of the Middle East. (Bana, 16)

• Every time anybody says the truth about Israel of the Jews somebody screams foul, that this is anti-Semitic. I wonder, does the average person in the West know that the Arabs are Semites too? (Omar, 17)

• It is about time we are very clear on this situation. The Jews stole the land from its people, they could have lived there in peace but they chose to steal. There is no other way to put it, no matter how much icing you put on it. (Mohammad, 17)

• Throughout the history of the Jews one can see how they pushed and shoved themselves down people’s throats until the people could take it no longer. They are doing it again. Their holier than you attitude is what allows them to shelter murderers and criminals just because they are Jews. (Wa’el, 16)