A hadith depicts Muhammad saying, “War is deceit.” (Bukhari 4.52.268).
“SPECIAL REPORT: The peace campaigner who came to kill,” by Richard Ferrer, Jewish News, June 27, 2024 (thanks to The Religion of Peace):
Eight months before Machmud arrived at Batia Holin’s home to kill her, the two had jointly launched an exhibition aimed at promoting peace and unity between Israelis and Palestinians.
After connecting through a Facebook group for residents on the Israel-Gaza border, the pair spent months sharing pictures on WhatsApp of daily life from both sides of the fence. This seemingly heartfelt exchange blossomed into a poignant exhibition entitled Between Us, dedicated to bridging the divide. Due to the dire risks involved, they never spoke directly. ‘Normalisation’ (interacting with Jews) is the most serious crime a Gazan can commit.
“We didn’t discuss politics,” Batia tells me as we walk along the Gaza barrier fence on the outskirts of Kibbutz Kfar Aza, where Machmud – who told her he was a 28-year-old photographer from the Gazan town of Shuja’iyya – was one of 300 Hamas terrorists who breached the border on the morning of October 7 and entered her kibbutz.
The 71-year-old, who has lived on the kibbutz for more than 50 years, has dedicated her life to coexistence. The idea of collaborating with a Palestinian across the border, someone who experienced the same sights and sounds yet lived a vastly different reality, deeply resonated with her sense of purpose.
“Machmud and I wanted to show the world that, despite the circumstances in which we live, we share the same hope for a brighter future. That despite the obstacles, most people on both sides of the fence just want to live in peace.”
Their exhibition opened in Israel on 4 February 2023 in nearby Kibbutz Nahal Oz (where 14 people were killed and seven abducted), with plans for it to tour the United States. One of its most striking exhibits was photographs of the Mediterranean Sea, showing the same beach border from opposite perspectives: one looking north, the other south.
Machmud was, of course, unable to be there in person, so he wrote Batia a touching email: “I hope this project will influence and improve understanding, quality of life and security on both sides of the fence. I hope that with the help of my photos, Israeli society and the whole world will know that the Gaza Strip is not only a place of rockets and missiles but a place worth living in. I hope that with the help of my photos, Israeli society will see that in Gaza the people are simple, love life and are not fighters and terrorists. This exhibition, for me, is hope for a peaceful life.”
Today, in the wake of such unimaginable brutality, Batia’s dreams seem heartbreakingly naïve. Her faith has been so profoundly shattered that she fears there may not be a single adult in Gaza who shares her vision of peace. “The hardest feeling is the sense of total betrayal,” she tells me.
“The sense that everyone in Gaza was involved, even those who claim to oppose Hamas. I realise how awful that sounds. It truly is awful. But I cannot think anything else today. The past 17 years since Hamas took over Gaza have been difficult and it’s got worse over time. Before the attack, people called life here 90 percent heaven, 10 percent hell. Now it just feels like hell.”
Batia heard Machmud’s voice for the very first time at 10am on October 7 when she received a phone call from an Israeli number she did not recognise. He told her he was inside the kibbutz and asked if Israeli soldiers were nearby.
“I was so confused,” recalls Batia with a shudder. “At first, I thought Machmud must have heard about the attack and was calling out of concern. It didn’t take long to realise he had a different reason. He wanted to cause me harm. I didn’t speak to him. I just hung up. I didn’t have time to think about the call until two days later. Terrorists were everywhere. My husband and I were just trying to survive. Later, I gave all the details I had about Machmud to the army. His phone number, personal information he’d shared, screenshots of our chats. I have no idea what happened to him.”…
Eva says
I hope the IDF got him.
I really don’t understand these Jews who go all out for ‘peace’ with the enemy. I don’t understand their gross stupidity.
Have they learned nothing since 2005?
Scrap that.
Have they learned nothing since 1948?
carpediadem says
While agreeing with you I really don’t think you understand how Jews who face hatred and abuse everywhere cling to hope when someone expresses a desire for peace.
It is instructive to note that several Palestinian activists who were really for peace were betrayed and jailed by Hamas for speaking to Jewish peace activists online.
Jews in general do know better – but the trauma of constant murder on Jews in every generation tells.
ElderlyZionist says
+1
rob says
When will the “elite” lib-tards ever learn about their enemies? After 1400+ years of islam and 2024 years of Crhistian pogroms you would thanks they would eake up.
Ian says
One does not extend their hands to:
A coiled rattlesnake
A growling wolf
A hungry crocodile
A rabid dog
A friendly Gazan
somehistory says
Just as Americans need to learn the history of the nation, esp regarding islam, the Jews need to learn their history with islam being an enemy….mozlums are not their friends and can never be.
mozlums don’t want peace. mozlums want death and destruction and they use every means to achieve those goals; deceit is one of their main tools/weapons in reaching those goals.
Jews in America campaigning on behalf of hamas, and Jews in Israel making friends with hamas. And it takes a threat to their person….to their very lives…to make them realize that mozlums don’t make friends. They see everyone as their enemy, even people who have befriended them and helped them.
Taffy says
Trying to befriend the Muzzies is akin to trying to befriend the malaria infested mosquitoes. They have murder in their blood.
Cynthia says
Every country wants Israel to make peace with the Palestinians with a two state solution. It will be exactly like October 7 with constant terrorism on every front. You cannot have peace with those who believe your destruction is their greatest goal.
The world is willing to sacrifice Israel, but it will not end there. Islam is out to conquer us all.
abu taleb says
I don’t trust any muslim, how can I trust those who follow a religion that commands to kill or enslave me?
OLD GUY says
Peace activist try to murder partner? I didn’t know that peace and murder went together. Maybe those proposing to be peace activist are not so peaceful.
Atlantic1645 says
A Jewish friend of mine uses the term “toxic innocence” to describe the psychological trait which cannot acknowledge evil, and is therefore willfully blinded to evil by its own idealism.
Too many of us have held a willful, fact-defying innocence that assumes its brand of idealism is “the only reasonable position that persons of good will could hold.” As other posts have noted, Islam’s scriptures, history and followers speak from a totally different idealism, and I am truly sorry that this Israeli peace activist had to find these things out the hard way.