Israeli blogger Noa (whom I have had the pleasure of meeting in real life at the recent Israeli blogger bash), has just begun nursing school, after resisting the Dark Side of the Force (i.e. her law career).
In this post on the day of her nursing school orientation, she takes the opportunity to also discuss her political orientation.
I think the thing that most impacted me was when she said, “Look outside those windows. See the hills, and the city? That’s where politics will stay. Politics has no place in nursing, nor in any healthcare profession. In this building, and in this hospital, we are all the same…Jew, Muslim, religious, non-religious. All patients are the same and all healthcare workers as well.”—-My political orientation is right-wing. Not violent right-wing, or anarchist right-wing, but right-wing. I believe Israel has a right to all land won in any war (just like any other country), has a right to erect a fence to protect its citizens, has a right to retaliate and even instigate attacks in order to protect its citizens. I just wish we didn’t have to. I don’t believe all Arabs are bad, or out to get me. Its just hard, because I can’t always know who is friend and who is foe.So if I cross the street to avoid an Arab person, its not because I hate them, or I’m racist. It’s out of fear. When I’m in a place I deem safe (inside a building where we’ve already gone through security), I enjoy learning about the Arab culture, and a few words here and there. And the nursing school is definitely a safe place. I finally have an opportunity to establish an ongoing relationship with Arabs, and I’m excited about that too. I’m not sure the world’s problems can be solved by dialogue and cookies, but for me, it’s a good start.
Amen to that.
