An Ex-Palestinian’s message to the Jewish people

I was born in Hebron, West Bank in 1993, back then I had no idea that I was born in the wrong place, but as I grew older and understood more about the conflict that surrounded my existence, I realized that I was on the wrong side of History. <br><br>I grew up hearing how much we hated the Jews, how much we wanted to destroy them, how much we despised them, the Zionist, the evil, the devils, the aggressors, the monsters, the inhumane. I was taught to hate them by everyone around me, the schools, the media, my family, the mosques, everything and everyone I was surrounded by told me that the Jews were the enemy of humanity. <br><br>At a very young age, I was recruited to join the fight against Israel, i was used as a human shield, i was used as a tool to throw stones at Israeli soldiers, I had no idea why, no one had ever told me why I was fighting, they used to tell me that the Jews stole our land, our freedom, our lives. But I never thought about asking who the Jews were, and why do they hate us so much? I was blind to the reality that surrounded me. <br><br>But as I got older, and with the advancement of technology, I started to learn more and more about the history of our regions, about the war of 1948, about the founding of Israel, about the history of the Jews, I started to realize that everything I have been told was a lie. I was told that the Jews had no land, no state, no history, but the reality was that the Jews had been there for thousands of years, thousands of years before anyone of us ever existed. <br><br>They had a history of persecution, enslavement, and Had a dream of returning to their homeland, a homeland that was stolen from them by force, they were exiled, murdered, enslaved and used for thousands of years, but they never lost hope, they never forgot who they were, and they never forgot their heritage. <br><br>As I dug deeper into the conflict, I saw that the Jews were fighting for survival, they were fighting for their freedom, and their right to live in peace, they were and are still fighting to protect themselves and their families, their wives and husbands, their mothers and fathers, their brothers and sisters, their sons and daughters.<br><br>I realized that we were the monsters, not them, that we were the aggressors, not them, that we were the liars, not them, that we were the ones using human shields, and we were the ones throwing stones at children. <br><br>I desperately tried to tell my family and friends about the truth I had discovered, but no one was interested, they called me a traitor, they told me that I was brainwashed, they told me that I hated myself, they told me that I was weak. <br><br>I had no one to talk to, no one to share my feelings with, I was alone, and I felt ashamed, ashamed of who I was, ashamed of my people, ashamed of our history, ashamed of our actions. <br><br>And then one day I decided to leave, I left my home, my family, my friends, and my people behind, and I decided to move to Israel, I wanted to see for myself, if everything I had learned was true.<br><br>And today, after living in Israel for almost 4 years, I can tell you that they lied, they lied about everything, the Jews are not monsters, they are not the evil, they are just like us, human beings, who deserve to live in peace, who deserve to live without fear of death, who deserve to live in a place they can call home.<br><br>In 1948 the Jews finally got their freedom, a freedom they had been denied for thousands of years, and in 1948, we the Palestinians got the key to self destruction, a key that we still hold to this day, the key of hate, the key of ignorance, the key of violence.<br><br>I am not gonna lie, I was very scared at first, I didn’t know what to expect, I had been taught that the Jews would eat me alive, but none of that ever happened. <br><br>When I first arrived at Ben Gurion airport, I was shocked, shocked by how normal it was, shocked by how it looked exactly like any airport around the world, nothing special, nothing scary, nothing evil. <br><br>When I first arrived in Jerusalem, I was amazed by its beauty, by its diversity, by its history, amazed by the fact that I could walk around safely, without any fear of being killed or hurt.<br><br>I am still amazed today, I am amazed by the kindness of the Israelis, amazed by their generosity, amazed by their acceptance, everything I had been told was wrong, so wrong. <br><br>Today, I wake up every morning, and I am grateful, grateful to be alive, grateful to be free, grateful to be in Israel, I used to be a Palestinian, but today I am an Israeli, and I couldn’t be prouder.<br><br>To my fellow Palestinians and Arabs, I don’t hate you, and I am not angry at you, I feel sorry for you, I feel sorry for the fact that you have been deceived for so long, I hope that one day you would wake up from your dream, and realize that we have been on the wrong side of History. <br><br>To my Jewish friends and neighbors, please forgive me for my ignorance, please forgive me for my hate, I realize now that we were wrong, and I am truly sorry. <br><br>The Jewish people, I am so sorry for the way we treated you, I am so sorry for the way we acted towards you, and I hope that you will be able to forgive us one day. <br><br>Today, I am an Ex-Palestinian, an Ex-Muslim, and an Israeli Jew by choice, and I have never been happier, I have never felt more at peace, and I couldn’t be more grateful for having the chance to live in Israel, to live alongside the most amazing people and nation in the world.<br><br>I truly love you all, and I truly love Israel.