The Cross, the Crescent and the Star of David

We receive letters from friends describing how the news media abroad depict Israel in a biased and negative way, impressing upon viewers the image of Jews and Arabs with their hands around each others throats. Unfortunately, the news media do not often document the many examples of good relations between Israeli Jews and Arabs.

Recently, a friend and I went to Haifa to visit a Christian lady (born in Israel) with whom I used to live when I first arrived in Israel. Having been to Haifa only three times since 1966, I had forgotten how the Jews and Arabs of this city live together with mutual respect and tolerance, how they ride public busses together, live in the same apartment houses, and mingle together in stores, restaurants and at various social functions.

I asked our host if there were still Jews and Arabs living in her apartment building. "Oh yes," she said, "upstairs is a Moslem Arab family, across from them is an Armenian family. I live under them. Across from me is a Christian Arab family, and below us are two Jewish families." Later, we walked down to have lunch at a restaurant owned by Arab Christians. We knew this because on a shelf, surrounded by copper pots and plates, there was a ceramic statue of the Virgin Mary. The customers in the restaurant were Jews, Moslem Arabs and Christian Arabs, and the food was delicious.

Later, my friend and I walked past the Arab-Jewish community center where in 1966 I attended a picnic with Jews and Arabs. We then took a bus up to the Carmel section of Haifa where there is a beautiful panorama of Haifa and the bay. Some of the passengers on the bus were Moslem women and children. We then took the cable car from Stella Maris (a Greek Monastery) to the sea, a short but scenic ride. Upon landing, we saw a couple of outdoor cafes run by Arabs where a busload of Arab young people were sitting and having a great time. I was amazed to see both Moslem and Christians together. The Moslem girls were wearing long dresses and head scarves and the Christian girls jeans and very modern tops. The Christian Arab young men all wore crosses. And indeed, you see the cross worn throughout the city of Haifa.

There are many places in Israel where good relations exist between Jews and Arabs, where Jews will run to help an Arab in trouble and where Arabs have risked their lives to save a Jew from dying. These things you do not read about in the newspapers or see on TV news reports. So the next time you see or hear about violence and fighting in media reports from Israel, remember, there is another side to the story.