A Sign of Hope Amid Smoldering Israeli Cities

From the moment I walked into the Arab man’s car repair garage I felt like a welcomed guest. Yousef* waved me over to a chair next to his. “Come. Drink some coffee.” This was before any discussion of the repair I came for. But Yousef was clearly not in a hurry. 

As the morning progressed, I could see that he was superb in his craft. Knowing that this complex job would take a few hours, I settled in with my computer on my lap, surveying the funky interior of a workspace piled high with old greasy parts and innumerable tools. I began looking forward to his frequent breaks for a cigarette, dark well-seasoned Turkish coffee, and more conversation. But that was only the beginning of my new friend’s hospitality. Mid-morning arrived and he said “How about some real food…” Before I could effectively decline, I was being served hummus, pita, lunch meat, and a boiled egg. A garage brunch fit for a king.

On the Heels of a Tragic Week

As is common throughout Northern Israel, the repartee I (a Jew) enjoyed with Yousef (an Arab), is repeated thousands of times every day. Our warm conversation would normally not have been a big deal at all, but we had just come through one of the worst weeks of internal Arab-Jewish violence in decades. I am not speaking of the vicious rockets launched by Hamas and Islamic Jihad from Gaza against our citizens. I am referring to the riots, arson, violence, and murder that occurred between May 10-20 here, inside our cities – mainly Jewish Israelis defending themselves from attacks by Arab Israelis but also vice versa. Yaffo, Lod, Tiberias, Bat Yam, Akko, Kfar Kana, and even Haifa saw this tragic unravelling of the sensitive, yet usually pleasant side-by-side life we share in this land.

Yousef was talkative. He spoke passionately about his 40 years of working in the Haifa area with Jewish garage owners and mixed clientele. “I have five sons,” he told me. “I brought each of them with me to work when they were young. I wanted them to understand that Jews are human beings just like us—to take away the mystique—so that they would accept our relationships as a normal part of life.”

In the Middle of the Night!

Yet not all of his interaction with Israelis has been sweet. “One night I heard a loud knocking on my door. There were Israeli soldiers with high-tech equipment and guns drawn. ‘Everyone out of this house right now! On the ground, face down.’” Searching for terrorists, Israeli troops were checking for weapons and for fugitives. “I looked the young team leader in the eye,” Youssef continued “Aren’t you ashamed? We are a family. Here is my wife. Here are my sons. We have nothing against you, yet you treat us like animals.”

Their commanding higher officer came over. Yousef explained how he and his family had been treated with utter disrespect. The officer immediately apologized, rebuked his soldier, and waved the team past Yousef’s house. Yousef, not to be outdone, invited them all in for coffee.

The more I listened, my own heart broken over the situation, the more I came to respect this “cousin” (which is what Arabs and Jews are, having Abraham as a common grandfather/father). While much healing is needed in our smoldering cities, my morning with Yousef brought hope that this land can yet host us together as an extended family.

*A pseudonym for security purposes.