Anael Harpaz
Copyright 2009
Just after the Six Day War in 1967, our school organized a trip for three months to come to Israel, to see the country and learn the language. Well, the euphoria here after the war was contagious. Every soldier I saw on the street became my hero and my big dream was to become one of them. Save my country from the enemy by killing all the Arabs that surrounded us. I had to protect my people in order never to be persecuted again!
When I got back home I drove my parents crazy. Begging to leave immediately and go back ?home?. They insisted I finish school and meantime my dad decided it is time for the whole family to go back ?home?. During those two years I also opened my eyes to what was going on in South Africa with the Apartheid. I became active in protesting against it?started to speak out ? which was very dangerous in those days. My mom would beg me to keep quiet because my speaking up could jeopardize my dad?s business. I refused to learn Afrikaans at school. Remember sitting in circle with my white Jewish friends singing ?We Shall Overcome?- having no hope that apartheid would ever be abolished?.and in March of 1970 I left it all and we came ?home?.
Now nobody ever mentioned that there is a whole other people here in Israel, who had been getting the same message of coming ?home?. So as I had lived my life in South Africa for so many years not being ?awake? to the suffering of the Black people who lived there ? I came to Israel and was not ?awake? to the suffering of the Palestinian people either. I was just so happy to be ?home?.
I tried to learn Hebrew on a kibbutz ulpan, studied to be kinder garden teacher. Worked as one. Was enlisted to the army at the age of 23 ? thank goodness I did nothing bad, actually nothing at all?.sitting in an office.