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  • - Because A: it's not your land; B: you mentioned Jerusalem--

  • - Listen, you can't tell me that. Please don't say that.

  • When it comes to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, I think I'm mostly emotionally sad.

  • I think it's not fair that, you know, a country that is peaceful be in a situation where we have to be threatened.

  • Being an Arab girl living inside of the Israeli state, it's pretty hard for me to find exactly who I am.

  • We're the Palestinians.

  • We still live under occupation, so we have no power.

  • I believe that every person, Jew, Christian, Muslim, should be full equal citizens under Israeli sovereignty.

  • We need just to end this conflict between us.

  • It's because we don't need the other generations to live the life that we live in.

  • If we continue to do what we did until now, it's probably going to stay, and we need to do something else.

  • My name's Hannah Ziad. I'm 24 years old and I'm an Arabian YouTuber.

  • My name is Dorit Saadon. I'm 25 years old and I'm a Jewish Israeli Zionist.

  • My name is Bara'a Doh. I'm from Nablus, 25 years old, studied public relations and communications.

  • My name is Tchelet Zohar.

  • I'm from a small town called Giv'at Ze'ev right outside of Jerusalem, and I'm 24 years old.

  • My name is Arab al-Ameen. I'm 24 years old and I'm from Jerusalem.

  • My name is Ran Bar-Yoshafat. I'm 34 years old, and I work as a deputy director of a think-tank that deals with law and economics.

  • Can I have my Israelis on the left, my Palestinians on the right.

  • The first statement is: someone I know has died because of this conflict.

  • Okay, my father was murdered by two IDF soldiers.

  • It hit us hard, especially for my family.

  • We're only girls, and inside of the Arabic nation, that's really hard.

  • My friend when I was 10 years old, an Israeli sniper shot at her on her head.

  • So, that was really hard for us.

  • Well, I grew up during the Second Intifada.

  • I carry a list with me of all my friends who were murdered in terror attacks.

  • So I have a list of 27 people, they were actually very close to me.

  • In Israel, we have a memorial today, so I have always a dilemma to which grave to go to.

  • On the 16th of January, 2007, an Israeli soldier shot and killed my sister, Rabir.

  • She was 10 years old, in front of our school, and I was 13.

  • We were six kids in the house.

  • After that, we became two sisters and three brothers.

  • All of the people that I know have lost someone to the war in some way, and I think like grief is such a universal emotion.

  • And like, really, I want to hug all of you.

  • I served in the IDF. I still serve in the Army Reserves.

  • Combat. I was very combat in the Second Intifada and I feel your grief and I understand it,

  • but I have to say that I never got an order to shoot someone the order was only to shoot if someone is thirty rely for a third to someone else's lives

  • I also served in the IDF and they really do just teach us to defend ourselves

  • If we're not defending ourselves, and we do kill someone, we go to jail.

  • That's not true. That's not true.

  • I can tell you something

  • The soldier that killed my sister. He didn't spend one day in there.

  • Neither did my father both of them that murdered him did not stay one day in jail.

  • Okay, I think the Palestinian they will not stop saying that we we want we want a country so in the end if we

  • Got to the point that we have our state and they have a state. So no problem

  • This is gonna be better for us to live all of us together,

  • which is no state like Palestine no state like Israeli only together and having peace together like there is no walls and there is no checkpoints which is happening right now.

  • I'm with you. One state under Israel's sovereignty and everyone's full equal citizen

  • Alright, okay, but under Israeli sovereignty because right now I. Why is that a problem?

  • Why should it be on one? Why should one religion control?

  • It's not a religion, it's a nationality. It's my nationality.

  • So if we all want a state with the Palestinian, the Palestinian they control it you can live under it? - No.

  • Because A: it's not your land; and B: you mentioned-

  • You can't tell me that, please. Don't say that-

  • I'm saying 100%, Palestine used to maintain-

  • Can I ask you one question? Please, answer it. Your grand, grand, grandfather. You know where he is?

  • Yes.

  • Where he is?

  • How many how many graves you want me to count?

  • Seven before. Seven before I know, yes. - Where? - Seven before is in Hungary. In Hungary.

  • Nine before (for me) is in Palestine. Don't tell me it's not my land-

  • I'm saying it's not your land.

  • It's our land that and it will still and will be.

  • Like how do you determine this is our land and it's not their land based on what?

  • History, international law, and interest.

  • Yes. How about empathy?

  • I have empathy, I'm just not willing to live to give up on my identity in what I believe is mine.

  • When I say that, I'm afraid what I basically mean is I'm afraid of going into Gaza, because I know that if I will go into Gaza, I might get shot, someone might kill me

  • I think I hesitated a little bit because I don't think I'm afraid of the people on the other side.

  • I think I'm afraid of the gap and sort of almost equally afraid of like you know that side, taking all of the responsibility for what is happening or this side taking all of the responsibility for what is happening.

  • Which is obviously not working.

  • Well, that's fair enough. I don't believe that all Palestinians are terrorists because that doesn't make sense

  • But I do believe that who is in charge, they're leading the Palestinians to you know, hating us and in a way that you know, it is really unfair

  • I'm against, against what you said.

  • They're not the Islam because Islam didn't didn't say kill killing people or having a blood. Don't believe that.

  • The radical Muslims that come and do these things, what do you have to say?

  • They're not part of us. We never accept them as Muslims because they're teaching hate and in a way I accepted what you just said about there's a big problem with our governments.

  • They don't know how to talk to each other and in my idea I really think the people or the ones I should be talking to each other.

  • I agree and I have to say also don't think there's an issue with Muslims.

  • But I disagree with you about the fact it's about plans. There are several peace talks. They were offered 97 percent of the land.

  • 98 would have done it. I disagree.

  • But after deciding with the land they came and they built more settlements.

  • What's wrong with that? What's wrong with Jews living in Judea?

  • That's not the problem. The problem is is that we actually talked about this land being for these people and in the end when we see Israelis coming in and actually building houses that's showing us you guys don't want peace.

  • [I trust my sources of information on the conflict.]

  • I serve in the IDF so first of all I trust myself and my officers.

  • I do think that a lot of the information I'm getting is not accurate, which is why I've tried to compare it with different sources and I also try to see it from people, what they think what they feel.

  • I don't trust everything I see on the news, that's for sure. I do believe again there are two sides to every single story.

  • But I do see things that are happening for instance you know things like the the rockets that are striking or the stabs that are happening.

  • Those things I do trust because I can see that they're happening and they're just unfair.

  • Like I see the the narrative being written I was like I watch TV.

  • I know how important and how powerful language is and how it can create reality,

  • and like I can I can see it, like this is really dangerous like on both sides it's really dangerous.

  • If you see is media that I see they're always against Israel for things that are not necessarily our fault.

  • I find it very funny because we look at it as and start saying that they're really with Israel, which is funny.

  • But no, I seriously do find the information that we're getting has more as an agenda to it from both sides.

  • I don't believe in social media like from the Israeli side, I'm gonna support Israel and from the Palestinian side, gonna support Palestinians.

  • People gonna be very confused and I'm gonna be very confused about the reality.

  • So the question was the sources so it doesn't have to be just social media and the reports like this like I also trust the reports that the Israeli security forces publish.

  • Don't trust their ideas, not about the reality and the situation but their ideas, how do they see this situation?

  • It's not really what happened.

  • [I want political leaders on my side to make compromises for peace.]

  • If we continue to do what we did until now, it's going to continue as it was now and I don't see it getting better.

  • Our leaders should have our lives and the best for us in their minds and so it's not compromising like peace is never compromising.

  • The Palestinian politician, in the end, they want peace for they selves and for the people but they have no power.

  • Because the power it's not in their hand. It's in the other side.

  • I would like for us to compromise only if you will be able to compromise

  • It doesn't make sense that every time that we have a war, it's always started by your side.

  • The other day I just heard about you know over a thousand eight hundred acres of crops have been burnt by you know Hamas who have been sending it over to Israel.

  • Instead of you know, spending all that money in order to ruin us, why don't they spend it on taking care of Palestine?

  • Just one second. You're talking about Hamas. You're talking about the Gaza. Gaza, it's so far from us

  • We don't know what's going over there. We don't know. If you can ask me about the West Bank, I'm gonna answer and I think you as well.

  • But here's the way I see it. When you're talking about compromise, Hamas' charter says murder the Jews wherever they are in the--

  • You're going back to Hamas- Hold on, hold on.

  • But the PA- We're not talking about-

  • stating authority- But then-

  • Let me finish! It was the authority that are the moderates they're saying it's a death sentence if you sell your house to a Jew.

  • Are there racist people Israel? Of course. Are racist people everywhere in the world? Yes, but we condemn people who are acting violently and the other side glorifies it.

  • [Violence is sometimes justified.]

  • If you're going to attack Israel, then Israel is going to defend themselves.

  • And that means when it comes to certain things maybe not you specifically, but again, to the radical Muslims, we have to, because if we don't then there's not gonna be a state of Israel anymore.

  • I don't think it's a matter of Israeli Arabs or Jews Christians.

  • Sometimes we have to, you have to use violence. I hope it'll be close to zero as possible.

  • But if I see someone about to murder someone else and I think it's okay for me to use violence to stop that.

  • I think violence is not allowed for a political goal. I think that's a bad place to use violence.

  • I prefer talking and having a discourse.

  • Okay, I didn't grow up with with a lot of violence with the zero violence, but what I want to say the same as you said,

  • who comes to my house to broke the door to take my father, of course, I will defense for myself.

  • So it's called violence, but I wanted defense for myself.

  • First of all, I am against violence 100%.

  • It's a freaking circle. It's going to keep on happening over and over again.

  • For me, if you're gonna act for the violence with the violence, so here we go.

  • We're having like the same problems, the same generation who's raised with hatred and violence love blood which is not acceptable.

  • [Having a homeland for my people is important to me.]

  • I think that Israel needs to be our homeland because if we won't have a homeland, no one else is going to accept us anywhere else, especially because there's a lot of racism and anti-semitism as well.

  • So if we're not gonna be here, where are we gonna go?

  • Okay,l for me as a Muslim, the Holy Land it's why it's so important, first of all because I was born here.

  • I have no place that I don't replace.

  • Every single person around the word had the right to live in the place that they were born in and that the right for Palestinians also for if we're gonna talk about refugees also,

  • they have the right to come back here to their lands to their homes and have their places.

  • The fact that we came back to our homeland and that we do have a country and a government here for me like it does feel like a miracle.

  • But I also think that the fact that we do have the power now gives us more responsibility and that we can't just base it on the fact that it's our homeland and not hear other voices saying we feel the same about the same place.

  • [I often question my place in this conflict.]

  • All the time requests if it's more dialogue, more force, more conversations, more social media, I always ask myself, "What is the best thing?" I tend to believe that the best thing is human interaction.

  • A lot of times I take a step back from like the political argument about the conflict and all of that just because I feel like unworthy and that I don't know enough.

  • So my way, I've always known what I what I am in this conflict, I always knew I wanted to fight for peace. That's all I knew and that's all I will ever know.

  • I never was in the idea of this conflict until my father passed away. And then I had to think for myself.

  • I always was asking my father why I was born.

  • And his answer, not to kill, to live, to be in life.

  • And when my sister she got killed, I went back to him.

  • He told me I was born to live, not to kill, but my sister she was born to die.

  • The Palestinians, they didn't kill six million Israelis and the Israelis still didn't kill six million Palestinian.

  • There is a German Embassy in Tel Aviv and there is a Israeli Embassy in Germany,

  • so it's a big hole, it's always gives me hope when I'm looking at this and thinking a little bit about this.

  • I gotta say I think it's nice slogans. I don't think that's the case. Israel has a peace treaty with Egypt because Egypt was willing to have peace with Israel.

  • Israel has a history with Jordan because the Jordanians were willing to have peace with with Israel.

  • Also from one to one, it's it's different how the way you think-

  • I agree, which is exactly why I don't believe in a in a peace between the two sides because in my understanding of reality the whole concept of Palestinian nationality-

  • Because you don't accept Palestinians.

  • I accept human beings. I'm saying that the whole concept of Palestinian nationality is one goal. And that is the annihilation of Israel.

  • When Jordan took over Judea and Samaria, when Egypt took over Gaza, no one asked for a Palestinian-

  • But you're combining everyone you're combining everyone into one ideology, which is not right.

  • Why, what do you mean?

  • You're saying because they're saying that they're Palestinian. This is what they want, which is not true.

  • I'II take it back. I'm saying the government, I'm saying the authority.

  • I agree it's different

  • Okay, because I don't refer to the Arabs as being Samarians Palestinians I refer to them as being Arabs of Judea and Samaria

  • If we were gonna live long, long age or long years, we're gonna see, we're gonna see each other.

  • Great! Yeah.

  • And we, we're gonna have it.

  • You can have it.

  • Nobody's no, I'm talking about peace. We're gonna have it here.

  • [I'd like to sit down and share a meal with everyone here.]

  • Hello. Hi guys.

  • I'm Johnny.

  • Hi Johhny. Shalom.

  • There's on top, some passion fruit juice which gives a kick.

  • So, how was the experience, guys?

  • For me it was perfect, (it) was good.

  • And it was a good meeting.

  • It was topsy-turvy. It was upside down

  • The beginning yeah.

  • Because like you don't know who's in front of you, you don't know their ideas, their ideology, what they think about you.

  • I think we did come to some sort of an agreement that we both do want peace.

  • I want security freedom and prosperity.

  • You're talking about legal peace.

  • I don't want a piece of paper that says peace. I want to live in peace. I don't want a piece of paper says we have a peace treaty.

  • Okay but we don't agree because I don't believe in a Palestinian state and you think you should have like a two-state solution so we don't agree.

  • No, but we did say we wanted a one-state of solution.

  • Israel with everyone equal. I'm fine with it. - Exactly.

  • Well, I learned from you that you have a lot of sympathy for our side as well even though your sister passed away, which is terrible. She didn't pass away, she was murdered.

  • But I can see that you also have sympathy for the other side and you actually are trying to you know communicate with us even though you went through everything that you had to go through on your end.

  • And I definitely learned that we can learn to love your side as well or I could learn to love your side as well.

  • I think this is the main point for our maybe conflict, that we did not hear from each other.

  • So I think it's important to hear from each other, not just keep your thoughts and ideas.

  • Inside your head and don't try to open this box. Just try to open it.

  • We want really similar things.

  • Yeah, and it sort of you feel like you know my friends from back home.

  • And so the realization that we do have the same sort of language,

  • not in like the language that we speak but in our body language and the things that interest us and the future that we hold for ourselves and for our families

  • Like there are no sides. Like I can't draw a line and say, "Okay. I'm like these people or I'm with these people."

  • Hey guys, this is Jason.

  • And this is John. Just want to say thank you so much for watching a really special episode of Middle Ground.

  • We love this series because it's an opportunity now more than ever to create great dialogue and create radical empathy.

  • This was a challenge, but also a privilege to get to go to Jerusalem to film this dialogue around a subject that is, you know, very tricky and very difficult.

  • But we loved having the challenge, totally.

  • We want to say a huge shout-out to YouTube and Creators for Change, which gave us the resources and the support to do this and we'd love to hear your thoughts.

  • Let us know what you thought about the episode and the various perspectives in the comments below and also let us know what other suggestions for Middle Ground you have.

  • We want to do more episodes bigger and even better.

  • Yeah, and as always, please be sure to click subscribe and follow us on Instagram.

  • Thanks, see guys later.

- Because A: it's not your land; B: you mentioned Jerusalem--

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