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Palestinian-Israeli Woman Working at U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum

[Baltimore Sun] Manar Fawakhry - As part of my work as a Palestinian-Israeli woman at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, I have had the unique experience of introducing audiences from all over the world to the subject of the Holocaust. In the Arab world, the Holocaust is not a story about human suffering, capacity for evil or indifference. It is understood only as an excuse for Israel to exist. It is perceived as a political vehicle through which Israel gets U.S. aid and is thus paid to be strong, stable and annoying to its Arab neighbors. There is no place for Jewish suffering when that suffering is associated with Israel. It is rather astonishing to watch Arab men visiting a Holocaust museum. Their visit is a gesture for positive change. The fact that they are here, and I am here, even as we both maintain our commitment to a just solution for the Palestinians, is evidence that there is a wind of change moving people to face history, their enemies and, most important, themselves. The writer is a graduate student at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University.
2007-10-19 01:00:00
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