Published: 5 September 2024
Last updated: 5 September 2024
An Israeli woman living in Berlin recently joined an "Israelis for Peace" protest outside the German Foreign Ministry opposing arms sales to Israel and calling for an end to the war in Gaza.
Her friends in Israel considered her protest a betrayal. They used social media to try to bring her into line, tagging her on a video of the protest and sharing their criticisms on Instagram.
The October 7 massacre and the ensuing bloody war have created a profound divide between Israelis at home and Israeli expats. Maybe Israeli expats are beginning to identify more with Diaspora Jews. Or perhaps we are simply growing apart from Israelis back home.
Or maybe it is because it has become harder to visit our families in Israel. But there seems to be a growing divide, almost a wall, between those here and those living there, who still mostly support the war.
The accusations from Israel are sometimes almost absurd. Another woman I know, a musician who now lives in London, had family members kidnapped on October 7 and taken to Gaza. While one of her relatives has since returned, the other member remains in captivity. The musician created a powerful piece of classical music that was accompanied by footage from both Israel and war-torn Gaza.
Maybe Israeli expats are beginning to identify more with Diaspora Jews. Or perhaps we are growing apart from Israelis back home.
When she shared it on social media, she received a huge number of negative comments. And when the woman who joined Israelis for Peace in Berlin shared this video on her social media, she got a message, saying: "Oh, so you're now with Hamas." She responded in disbelief, saying, "What? Hamas kidnapped her family! What are you talking about?" It is as if empathy had been lost from the Israeli lexicon.
