I have a true story to share with all of you Muslims, Christians and Jewish people of the world.
In early 70s, my husband got scholarship from the Algerian government to study abroad in US. I was allowed to accompany him there.
At that time, I was 20 years old and fully motivated to study further rather than sit in the room waiting for my husband to come back from his college.
I decided I had to work in order to go to college and major in Sociology and Economics. As I had not received a scholarship to study, I decided to request a hearing with the housing director (in charge of foreign students’ affairs). I introduced myself as the spouse of an Algerian post grad student, and then I started talking about the American dream of Martin Luther King. My speech was so filled with passion and excitement that the lady was astonished and retorted: “What can I do for you young lady!” She was a Jewish person and Boston University Manager and she knew very well that I was a Muslim! I said in the same tone full of enthusiasm and motivation: “I hope that you will give me a hand in order to get a work permit.”
She could not believe it. In a very soft voice she replied: “How could I help you when it’s not up to me and not at all within my purview! Quietly and once again with lots of confidence I said: Madam, you are my only hope, I can stay home, get bored and return home in a few years empty-handed or you get me that work permit and not only will I work hard as a mail clerk, but I’ll also get a college degree that will change my life in a drastic way! A month later, I got that work permit!
My husband, my Algerian and Arab friends could not believe it! In 1985, I returned home with a Master’s degree.
Today, I’m a Doctor and a University teacher. I still talk about the Jewish people I have known during my stay in the USA (teachers, work colleagues and classmates). There are good and bad people everywhere whether they are Muslims, Christians or Jews.
Moral of the Story
There are good and bad people everywhere. It is not right to paint everyone with the same brush. Never judge a person based on the community they belong to. Just because you found few people of a particular community evil doesn’t mean the whole community is evil.
Quote
We are more prone to generalize the bad than the good. We assume that the bad is more potent and contagious
– Eric Hoffer
Action Item
Racism is greatest threat to mankind. Children often follow their parents. Never hate people based on Caste, colour, race, sex or nationality. – By Anissa Assous
There are always exception in almost everything or in every rule. I do believe that above story could happen as exception. Jews IN GENERAL support Israel and hate all Non-Jews.
We experience change of weather & climate through out our lives,we know that currency changes & gets devalued ,same way our fashion,habits,customs,environment & values change constantly because of the great discoveries,inventions as knowledge brings drastic change patterns in life & attitudes.So in this age of globalization our relations are bound to meet changes in attitudes,hopefully in positive direction.
I totally endorse this story because I had a similar experience when back in 2000 me & my wife went to Austin Texas to enroll our son in University of Texas. We were standing outside administration building, my wife wearing abaya that’s full hijab, and a lady comes out of the building, introduces herself as manager international student affairs and offers any help or support, we may need. She helped us in finding a place to rent and guided us to halal restaurants, and we later came to know that she was a Jew. So it’s true that there are good & bad people in every society and it’s not right to generalize and put a general tag on any society.
I agree with the moral of the story and the “action item”…….. totally agree.
I as a Palestinian living under a military occupation that committed and still is horrible crimes against us (the real owners of the land, jews came from all parts of europe to colonialize my land) find it difficult not to stand against jews, but still I am able to differentiate between judaism and zionism. It is complicated, especially when the zionists declare the land of Palestine to be a “jewish state” only for jews……
Although jews in general support israel and defend the crimes they commit against Palestinians, there are others like Illan Pappe, Felicia Langer, Mordachai Vanunu and Norman Finkelstein (among lots) that stand against it and are corageous enough to say it in a loudly voice.
I keep it clear in my mind, not to judge jews for what the zionist state of israel is….. and I taught that to my children too.