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Grass-root ME move may bear fruit
JOSH TRAPIDO
See Josh’s cartoon below
See Josh’s cartoon below
In this day and age it is very easy to cotton on to negativity and make note of it in our stored consciousness.
When we as the Diaspora turn on our TVs, read a newspaper or go online, there seems to be a lot of anti-Israel sentiment making the rounds. So, when there’s a feel-good story that truly depicts how life in Israel is and that our hope for peace is within reach, we should be just as quick to take notice.
On Thursday March 12, we witnessed a revolutionary act that may seem simple, but we must register that it will have a long-lasting, far-reaching and very positive effect towards peace in the region.
I am of course talking about Israel importing the first shipment of fruit and vegetables from Gaza in eight years.Twenty-seven tons of tomatoes and five tons of eggplants to be precise, were transported across the border in light of a decision by the Israeli government to bring in around 1 200 tonnes of Gazan produce a month. The Palestinian people have of course celebrated this with open arms.
“We hope this will be a new start that will benefit both farmer and economy,” said Tahseen Al-Saqqa, marketing and crossing director in the Gaza ministry of agriculture.
This is clearly not the act of an Israeli government opposed to peace or a solution. This has shown that Benjamin Netanyahu and his Cabinet are in fact taking great steps to achieve a viable and mutually beneficial peace.
When a president like Barack Obama, in the wake of Netanyahu claiming victory in the 20th elections for the Knesset, states that he will have “to reassess the US/Israel relationship”, it should show you that the decision is less about peace in the region and politics, than it is about personal egos being bruised.
When the US takes Hezbollah and Iran off the terror watch list, maybe it is time Israel reassesses the relationship and keeps on taking steps like the coalition with the farmers of Gaza who want to work in conjunction with Israel, as opposed to working in conjunction with Hamas towards its destruction.
This should show us there is hope and when hate groups like the BDS call for boycotts of Israel, they are also in fact boycotting peace. But it is clear to see that it is possible that in our lifetime we will see the peace process bear fruit.
Josh Trapido was so pleased with this story that it inspired him to draw this cartoon
