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Tuesday, January 31, 2006

One Small Step...

...toward peace between Jews and Arabs.

Today, I took that small step - and my Arab neighbor took one in return. Will this be the first of many steps, in an effort to build an everlasting peace between Jew and Arab?

In a building that has 6 Jewish families, there is but one apartment of Arabs - and yet, the Arabs number almost as many as the Jews. There has been some animosity, usually kept under a tight lid; with an occasional flare-up, usually meant to disturb the otherwise peaceful lives. These flare-ups sometimes lead to responses, which lead to greater disruptions: But in the end, all returns to a tense quiet.

But today was different. Today's historic event, the opening of the door to a brilliant future, may be looked back upon one day as the catalyst for a lasting peace. Today, all the rubbish was removed, as that door was opened - and held open - by a team. A team that is rarely seen, but a team nevertheless: A team of Jew and Arab.

Today, I am proud to say that I took that small step and opened that door - and my young Arab neighbor took a small step herself and held that door open. I let her in, and she returned the favor.

Yes. Today, I took out that garbage: And on my way out, I let in that Arab neighbor. She then held the door for her Jewish neighbor, me, as I maneuvered the garbage outside. It was incredible, and it was touching. It was a moment that will live in Kew Gardens Hills history.

My wife is happy, too.

19 comments:

  1. Wow. I'm tearing up.

    SOMEBODY GET THIS MAN TO WASHINGTON!

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  2. Dont fool yourself.If you are a Jew who keeps Shabbos then peace will happen. But if you dont keep the Torah you can haul the entire garabage of the gaza and they will still hate you. No Shabbos No peace.

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  3. I had a Palestinian friend a few years ago who would sell me pot. She was very nice, and we always shared.

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  4. know Shabbos, know peas :P


    mmmmmm....peas

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  5. Robbie - LOL... I don't think you'd vote for me in the end. Wait - she sold it to you, then you shared?! What a sucker!

    Heshy - Um... okay...

    Tovya - Wow, that's heart-warming. (sniff)

    HH - Heh. Ya know, I'm coming to LA in a week...! You going to say hello?

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  6. My new manager is a Palestinian Arab.

    And we are going on a business trip next week together.

    Should be fun.

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  7. A Palestinian associate once asked me to rub the crease in his skull where he claims he got clipped by rifle fire during a protest.

    He left to go back to the Intifada. I wonder if he is still alive. Even if he wasn't killed by the Israelis doing something stupid, he didn't seem like the type to survive interfaction warfare.

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  8. EoZ - I'm sure that will be interesting... does she know you have a blog?

    R2JB - Woah, that's crazy. Must have been interesting to work with.

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  9. (I'm wondering why you think it is a "she.")

    No, I am now trying to hide my daytime blog activities. I knew his name was Arab, but we all went out to a kosher deli and someone asked what the benscher was. The manager said he once knew how to read Hebrew a long time ago and proceeded to read the beginning of Shalom Aleichem! I asked him how he knew Hebrew and he said he was born in Jerusalem.

    While I will be traveling with him, I am going to try mightily to avoid politics.

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  10. Whoops - I thought you wrote "she".

    And... I would always avoid politics, unless I was sure it wouldn't be a problem. In your case - yeah. Smart.

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  11. Ofcourse, drop me a line.

    I can wait for you at the airport with a big sign: EZZIE: READER OF MUCH KFIRA BLOGS.

    That should get you some unwanted attention.

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  12. Maybe it's different in The Bronx, where I grew up, but we always got along fine with our Arab neighbors.

    My mother once said "If you look for a problem, you'll find it".

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  13. HH: You have no idea... :) E-mail me.

    Mordechai - True. Sometimes, even if you don't.

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  14. Ezzie,

    I can almost smell a Nobel Prize (or as that just the garbage on your hands?) :)

    DL

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  15. LOL, David. Hey, I wash my hands!

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  16. only in america.
    you think you deserve a medal or somethin?

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  17. Anon - A medal would be nice! (um, this was sarcastic - you knew that, right?)

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  18. BTW, I think the reason your wife was happy was not because of your great strides for peace but because you actually took out the garbage!

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