Though this statement must undoubtedly come across as biased, it is without a hint of hesitation when I say that Ibrahim Abu Ahmad, today’s speaker, presented our Tripp’s most unique narrative (thus far).
Born and raised in Nazareth, Ibrahim spent his early years in a religious Arab family. At the age of 16, he applied to become a foreign exchange student in the US. After being accepted, he spent two full semesters in America, where he learned to perfect his English. After his time in the United States had come to an end, he flew to Egypt, irrespective of his Israeli passport. When he touched down in Egypt, he found himself in the midst of the Arab spring, an uprising of poor Muslims pitted against their authoritarian governments. These poor Arabs started the rebellion as a response to the oppressive regimes and horrific standard of living in the North African region. Ibrahim was unable to exit the country, and as a result, stayed illegally for seven months before he was able to fly to Israel. Since revealing his Israeli nationality meant certain trouble, Ibrahim kept it under wraps by posing as a Jordanian.
It was at this point in his narrative that Ibrahim segwayed into the overarching theme. He met a few Egyptian Arabs during his seven month stint, and when he revealed his true nationality, they were astounded. Due to the degradation of Israel and its political schematics by those in the Middle East, the Egyptians thought the country was heavily segregated, and that Jews lived in Israel and Palestinians lived in the West Bank, but never together in the same town. Some Egyptians displayed their disbelief by taking pictures of his Israeli passport. Thus, his theme emerged: while others might try to introduce restrictive labels and pit groups against each other, Israel and the interpersonal connections that it fosters are in no way black and white, but rather a spectrum, gauged by different people and their contrasting points of view-
Ibrahim substantiated this claim with plentiful evidence. He gave an example of an Arab gym in Israel, where there were sessions for men and women at different times. During a woman only session, a group of young boys threw bricks in the windows and vandalized the lobby of the gym. The police were called, and arrived FORTY minutes after receiving the call.
Ibrahim paused, then asked, “Why do you think it took the police so long to arrive?” Three of us raised our hands, myself included. The first answer was “They were busy responding to other calls.” The second, “There may have been a misinterpretation when they called the police.” And my response, the third, “they weren’t seen as a priority.”
As previously mentioned, when we examine the interpersonal relationships, we must look through a situation-specific spectrum, as opposed to the black and white lens that is used today. Any one of our responses on its own would be considered black and white, but all three together symbolized this spectrum that we have attempted to implement for so long. Through this story, Ibrahim communicated the importance of listening to different points of view while simultaneously pushing aside negative preconceived notions.
Lastly, Ibrahim showed one way that the black and white is fading through the actions of Arab women. At one point, Arab women were under such strict control that if they engaged in sexual activity before marriage, they would be murdered in cold blood by a family member, usually a brother, father, or an uncle. This was called honor killing, as the blot on the family honor could be “removed” through this act of unthinkable violence.
Today, Arab women are pursuing educational opportunities, and in some places have higher literacy rates than Arab men. Climbing the economic and social ladder, Arab women are making names for themselves as opposed to their families.
As our only Non Jewish speaker, Ibrahim did a wonderful job of illustrating the dilemmas and issues he and others contend with on a daily basis. His unique viewpoint and in-depth analysis of interpersonal relationships showed this cohort a completely different side of the conflict that pervades this Jewish State, and was to me the most interesting lecture of our trip.