The Psychology of Confrontation Between Nations
\nBy Hossam Badrawi<\/p>\n
A group of young people gathered with me for an engaging conversation. A young, adventurous, and active woman shared a recent experience she had in Italy. She and her friend had been on a cultural tour with a group of young people from around the world, attending a concert by one of the most popular bands.<\/p>\n
She said:
\n\u201cI went through a deeply human and psychological experience. My friend and I went to the hotel reception to book a car with a driver to take us to the concert and wait to take us back, as we were worried about the lack of taxis late at night. There was a young man and his girlfriend from the tourist group with us, two of the nicest people we\u2019d met on the trip.<\/p>\n
The young man said: \u2018We\u2019re doing the same thing. Why don\u2019t we share a car and split the costs?\u2019<\/p>\n
We replied: \u2018Why not?\u2019
\nWe introduced ourselves, and I said, \u2018I\u2019m Laila.\u2019 The girl smiled and said, \u2018No way! My name is Laila too!\u2019 We both exclaimed, \u2018Where are you from?\u2019
\n\u2018We\u2019re from Egypt.\u2019<\/p>\n
The other Laila and her friend then screamed in amazement: \u2018No way! We\u2019re originally from Egypt too! Our parents lived in Alexandria, but they left Egypt in the early 1950s, moving to France and then to Israel, where we were born & raised up.\u2019<\/p>\n
Our Liaila continued: \u201cIt was as if we were struck by lightning. , \u2018So you\u2019re Israeli?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
The unease and hesitation were clearly visible on our faces, prompting the young man to say after a moment of silence, \u201cGuys, the beauty of music dissolves differences between people; art brings out the best in humanity.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laila turned to , and said, \u201cAt that moment, I didn\u2019t have the courage to express my anger and said to myself, \u2018No,No No, I will never share a car with an Israeli.\u2019 It wasn\u2019t anything personal against them, but we withdrew from the conversation and avoided being with them for the rest of the trip.<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cMaybe they are good people, but we couldn\u2019t bring ourselves to share a car with them. Thoughts of the oppression, killings, and suffering inflicted on the Palestinian people kept running through our minds, as if Orlando and Israeli Laila were personally responsible for it all.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ahmed , a young man in the group then shared a contrasting experience. He had met two Palestinians through a mutual friend and sympathised with their plight. However, he soon discovered that they were staunch supporters of Hamas, even viewing the Hamas extremist stance toward Egypt as justified.
\nAhmed continued: my feelings were torn between my sympathy for the Palestinians and readiness to die with & for them and the anger from the hatred to Egypt and the desire to punish the only country that had made such a sacrifice for the Palestinian case.<\/p>\n
One of my friends, who has lived in Belgium for years, shared a different story. His granddaughter was part of a school volleyball team participating in an international tournament. She and her Egyptian friend were the only Egyptians on the team, which was made up of various nationalities. The semi-final match was against an Israeli school team , and my granddaughter and her friend initially decided not to play to avoid shaking hands with the Israeli players. The families discussed this and ultimately encouraged the girls to play without making physical contact.<\/p>\n
The friend added: \u201cThe impact of what happens in Palestine goes beyond a historical moment. It shapes the identity and psyche of future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Laila , who started sharing her story , then expressed her view on Western governments\u2019 actions, from the Balfour Declaration to current U.S. support of Israel\u2019s actions in Palestine. She explained that, while she harbors resentment toward the actions of the west who created the whole conflict yet , her feelings don\u2019t extend to British or American citizens. \u201cIsn\u2019t that a psychological contradiction?\u201d she asked. \u201cDoesn\u2019t it require study?\u201d
\nWhy do I feel that way to Israelites in particular?!!!<\/p>\n
Samy , Another young man, a political science student, described his internal conflict. He believes in the Palestinian cause, but he struggles to reconcile his empathy for the Palestinian people with his disapproval of Hamas\u2019 actions, especially when those actions are directed against Egypt.<\/p>\n
The discussion took a turn toward global politics when Hassan ,another young man asked me, \u201cDoctor, do you see a connection between Ethiopia\u2019s dam project & the threat to the main artery to life of Egyptians , River Nile and what\u2019s happening in occupied Palestine?\u201d<\/p>\n
I replied, \u201cI can\u2019t help but see a link between the start of construction of the dam during the chaos of Egypt\u2019s 2011 revolution and subsequent interference by Hamas. I also see an Israeli intelligent influence in Ethiopia and remember the Ethiopian Prime Minister receiving a Nobel Prize for peace before he even took office. I cannot ignore the suspicion that these events may be interconnected, with the ultimate goal being control of Egypt\u2019s lifeblood: the Nile River.<\/p>\n
History teaches us that there are no coincidences in politics. Plans, probabilities, calculations, and goals all converge. The ultimate aim, as history has shown us, is the dominance of Zionism and the weakening\u2014if not the dismantling\u2014of the only civilisation in the region that can stand up to it: Egypt.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Psychology of Confrontation Between Nations By Hossam Badrawi A group of young people gathered with me for an engaging conversation. A young, adventurous, and active woman shared a recent experience she had in Italy. She and her friend had been on a cultural tour with a group of young people from around the world, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[167,103,16,197],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2024-collective-articles","category-all-articles","category-articles-by-dr-badrawi","category-translated-articles"],"yoast_head":"\n