Daniel Lubetzky

My father, Roman Lubetzky, was a rarity among survivors of concentration camps. Most of his fellow survivors either were immersed in the horror of the Holocaust and sadly embittered by it, or were determined to shut it out of their lives and never again talk about it.   My Dad would talk about it to anyone who would listen, and would reignite suffering as he recounted his experiences as a little kid from 9 when the war started to 15 when he was rescued from Dachau. 

And yet he always talked about it with humanistic positive hope for the future, emphasizing the importance of building bridges and preventing the suffering of any human being.  He taught me compassion for the Palestinian cause, just as he was a fervent believer in Israel as the one homeland of the Jewish people.

Ziad Asali, whose latest article is here, is among the very few people I have ever met who reminds me of the moral courage that my Dad had – to proudly wear his historic pain on his shoulders, not to recriminate and as a way to guilt others, but as a responsibility to forge a better way for his people and for humanity.

Most Palestinians and Israelis would want to move on with their lives and would accept a two state solution.  But not enough people take it upon themselves to bring it about.

In the meantime, passionate minorities with far more extremist perspectives – that would deny the right of the other side to freedom, dignity, respect, security, and a State of their own – take it upon themselves to speak loudly – as often evidenced by those who take the time to express mean comments on these boards, from either extreme side.

Only if people like Ziad Asali lead the way will this conflict and the suffering that comes with it come to an end.  Anything other than a two state SOLUTION is just an illusion that will condemn those who live there with continued hatred and war.