Hello,
I am an Arab student, who beginning each year pays 400 Shekels to the Student Association for your various activities. I would like to know the following:
“The day Jerusalem was conquered is a sad day for the Arab students. Why is it that the Student Association celebrates its ‘Student Day’ on this very sad day?
Why should we Arab students who are a large percentage of the Hebrew University, be ignored by the Student Association? Why must we Arab students be even indirectly held back from celebrating Student Day? The Student Association knows we can’t celebrate on such a sad day. Shouldn’t Student Day be something celebrated by all students including us? We pay membership and this is the biggest student event of the year also receiving the most funds to celebrate it.
A Student Association member replied:
Dear Friend!
The day Jerusalem was liberated from Moslem conquest is the best day to celebrate Student Day and it was intentionally chosen for many reasons which you personally benefit from! As a matter of fact, Arab students should be the first in line to celebrate the privileges they received on this auspicious day.
Imagine the state you’d have been in if you were still under the rule of the Jordanian conquerors! If Israel wasn’t successful in liberating Jerusalem from their hands, you would be poor, illiterate with little hope of advancement. You might even have been walking around missing a hand or another limb that your Jordanian brothers cut off for your crimes just as ISIS or Al Qaeda does. You may choose to be sad if you want I suggest you think about this. You have it better in Israel than you would have it in any other Arab country including the PA.
If you lived in Syria, chances are you’d have been bombed or gassed to death. If you were still alive you’d be living in a bombed out refugee camp. If you lived in Lebanon you would probably be another casualty of the civil war forced on it by Hezbollah or they would forcefully take you under their wing making you one of their soldiers. If you lived in Yemen you could be shot while walking down the street and if you lived in Iraq you stand a good chance of being beheaded.
If you lived in Egypt, either the police, the Salafists or the Moslem Brotherhood would be looking for you and might kill you for the slightest fear you’re against them. Let’s say you lived in Jordan you would live in a mud hut or a shanty and you’d be poor.
But at least you would be free, right? Those filthy Jewish conquerors would not be in control! Dream on! Let’s look at the freedom you are talking about. You would have no rights other than the ‘right’ to riot and get killed, whatever you say wouldn’t matter. But at least you would have no occupying Jews over you and you’d be independent. Wouldn’t that be something to be happy about? Isn’t this freedom all you dreamed of with people ready to kill you or steal your money or property and shame your wife or kill her for some imagined crime?
If you really think about it you should be the first to celebrate Jerusalem’s Liberation Day! You may want to call Independence Day “Calamity Day” or call Jerusalem Liberation Day “Defeat Day” but don’t forget, you are literate, and you have all the freedoms you have in any other Western country. You don’t need to fear getting killed for expressing your opinion in public. Religion is not forced on you; you have freedom to choose how religious or irreligious you want to be. You are here in our university studying what you want, paid for by Israel and you also get Israeli Social Security benefits. Your house has running water, proper sewage, electricity that doesn’t break down and no one is out there trying to kill you; you feel secure. No one is forcefully entering your house to extort a bribe, or any other favor or even rape your wife. You have all of your limbs and don’t need to worry about losing them for any crime, real or imagined.
Now you know why you must be the first in line to celebrate Student Day. If it wasn’t for liberation day you wouldn’t be here and you may not even be alive. Thank G-d the Israelis saved your life!
It’s true that Israel is celebrating great national holidays but you should be making a private celebration to appreciate all the freedoms and privileges you have thanks to these miraculous days.
Your life is far better than it would be if you were sitting in the bloodbath of all the countries around us. You are in an oasis, enjoy it!