Peace at end of the tunnel

Loay Alshareef is a breath of fresh air! This proud Muslim has been in South Africa this week, espousing peace in the Middle East, something that for so many of us seems so far away. (See story on page 3.) It’s so refreshing to hear someone who grew up hating Jews recognising Zionism and its importance.

Most of us are in the doldrums what with rising antisemitism and this seemingly endless war in Gaza, wondering how and if it will end. Alshareef is firm in the belief that it will end well, with Jews and Muslims understanding each other and working together.

This man, whose views many would like to discard by saying that he lives in cloud cuckoo land, has risked his life again and again to stand up for Israel and Jews. Alshareef, who said he was indoctrinated to believe that hating Jews was in the Quran, when it wasn’t. He had never met a Jew until he was in his late 20s. His experience of Jews then made him realise that Jews and Muslims have more to be connected over than disconnected.

He is an advocate for Palestinians and Jews, and believes both nations have the right to self-determination and to live side by side. He despises Hamas, believing it to be the heart of the problem in Gaza.

However, for me the most profound thing he said when I heard him speak at The Base on Sunday evening concerned genocide, which he described as the deliberate act of wiping out a nation. While so many in the world demonise Israel for allegedly committing genocide in Gaza, Alshareef dispels that myth instantly. He clarified that with all Israel’s military might, it could have committed genocide in a matter of days in Gaza, but it chose and still chooses not to. Instead, it does whatever it can do to prevent civilian deaths, like dropping leaflets before an attack, virtually giving away its tactics in doing so. On the other hand, Hamas wants to perpetrate a Jewish genocide, but it can’t make this happen. And the reason he gives for the continued war is that after Hamas did its best to destroy Israel on 7 October 2023, but Israel has to ensure it never gets that chance.

Alshareef is clear that Hamas has to be destroyed, not least of all because Gazans must be freed from it. He maintains that most Gazans aren’t fans of Israel for obvious reasons, but despise Hamas and don’t want to be ruled by these terrorists. They are well aware, he says, that Hamas doesn’t care about them, and uses them as cannon fodder. He believes if Hamas has its way, it won’t stop with destroying Israel. It would take on the West, and then any Muslims like himself who don’t follow its cause.

He maintains that those “ignorant people” siding with Hamas around the world haven’t read the Hamas charter in Arabic, in which it is apparent that its aim is the total annihilation of Israel and the Jews. He insists that the charter makes it clear that Hamas even hates Jews who don’t believe in Israel.

Like most people, he desperately wants the war to end so that there can be a path to peace. He believes the Abraham Accords represent the way forward – building partnerships and working relationships between Israel and the Arab states.

As a prominent Saudi-Emirate influencer, he actively promotes these agreements and their message of Muslim-Jewish coexistence and understanding. He is aware that the war has put strain on the Accords, but believes that will sort itself out once the truth is out about the war.

He believes that the relationship between Gazans and Israelis can be mended through the orphans of this war. He has a deeply entrenched belief that honest education is the way to change their views. He said that open minded Arabs need to teach orphans – the future leaders of Gaza – the truth about Judaism, Jews, and Israel. This education needs to take over from the indoctrination that exists in the West Bank and Gaza today, which he says is not dissimilar to what he learned as a child in Saudi Arabia.

What I so respect about this man is that though he isn’t blind to the horrors of this war, he is able to see past the ugliness to a place where people respect one another. I don’t know if he has a magic wand, but I sure hope he’s right.

It’s tough to see a path that leads to a peace in which Palestinians and Israelis live side by side, but I want to believe that he is right.

The world this week has come down hard on Israel for striking Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, which killed 20 including five journalists and aid workers. Israel has claimed responsibility for it, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu describing it as a “tragic mishap”. He has called for an investigation into what happened.

I appreciate that our haters blame everything in the war on Israel, but in this case, Israel took responsibility for it. While I’m not at the coalface of this war, and cannot tell you what’s really happening, I respect the fact that when Israel is in the wrong, it accepts responsibility and calls for an investigation in order for justice to be done.

It won’t bring anyone back. It won’t undo the damage. But accepting responsibility is the beginning of justice being served. I have yet to hear Hamas accept responsibility and call for an investigation into anything it does.

Suffice to say, war is horrendous, and this one must end now. Here’s hoping Alshareef really has a crystal ball and is seeing into the future.

Shabbat shalom!

Peta Krost

Editor