Israel/Palestine

simply because I am Israeli .
There are also those against me because of my Left wing politics .

Its an on line forum , Ive learnt to swallow the abuse and move on .

Living with the abuse in reality is a totally different experience tho .
Let me give you an example :

'People Say My Son Brought Oct. 7 on Himself – as if He Invited Terrorists Into His Home'

Hannah Wacholder Katsman knew that facing the anniversary of her son's death on October 7 would be difficult, but grieving in wartime Israel has been a challenge over the whole year, ever since her son was killed by Hamas terrorists in Kibbutz Holit, she said on the Haaretz Podcast.

Hayim Katsman, an American-Israeli who would have turned 33 on October 3, was a political scientist specializing in right-wing religious Zionism and a devoted peace activist, with eclectic interests and hobbies which he pursued alongside his teaching and research: gardening, music and auto mechanics. His dissertation was dedicated to "all life forms that exist between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea."

He was shot to death at his kibbutz home while protecting his next-door neighbor Avital Alajem.

His mother said that her year of mourning has included the experience of being "screamed at" while attending rallies and demonstrations in support of the families of those being held hostage in Gaza by Hamas and advocating for a deal for a cease-fire that would bring them home.

"There's just been a lot of hostility toward hostage families and toward peace activists like my son," she said, pointing to "offensive" comments from right-wing Israelis regarding victims of October 7 who were politically left-wing, "blaming the victims" for their fate.

Noting that pundits have commented that "soon they're going to say the hostages kidnapped themselves" she said she "identified" with that sentiment, "because people really are saying things like that; that Hayim brought it on himself, as if he invited all of these terrorists into his house and because he was a peace activist."

The "private and communal support that I've had over this year has been enormous," Wacholder Katsman said. But hearing sentiments disparaging her son and other victims, and experiencing the hostility at public events, has been painful.

"I am disappointed by the callousness shown toward the hostages and to some extent, toward us, the families – especially toward the hostage families. That to me, has been unfathomable, unbelievable, hurtful and painful."

She noted that in the months following her son's death, she received "a lot more support from the United States government" than from Israel's. No government representatives made in-person or phone contact with her or her family, or attended the funeral, visited her while mourning or attended memorial events.

Wacholder Katsman, who grew up in Cincinnati, where her rabbi father taught at Hebrew Union College, remains active in U.S. politics as a board member of American Democrats in Israel.

While she has focused her energy over the past year on memorializing her slain son, she said she remains engaged in the U.S. election and believes that Vice President Kamala Harris "has shown herself to be a strong supporter of Israel"

At the same time, she is worried about the "extremely, extremely troubling things that Trump has been saying about Jews, and his crazed rants at rallies. "This isn't someone we want in charge of the country. It's not going to be good for Israel: it's not going to be good for anyone if the US goes down and we go down with it. It's a very very scary situation."

Source : Haaretz
Link : https://archive.md/AQ1lz#selection-1235.0-1303.242