Imagine growing up in an environment where you are taught from your earliest moments that God is gathering the Jews in the Holy Land to make it easier for their extermination. You are told that when the time comes, God will give you the strength to eradicate them, and that Jews, out of fear, will hide behind trees and stones, which will then call out to guide you so you can kill them. You learn that these Jews are the reason for all your poverty, ignorance, and backwardness—that they are preventing your progress, stealing your resources, controlling your rulers, occupying your land, killing your scholars, and even stealing your inventions. They are depicted as controlling all the centers of power in the world, making it impossible for anyone to stand against them. In this narrative, they are not human beings; some might even say they have tails and horns.

This was my reality—a perspective not held by a small fringe group but prevalent throughout the Arab world, repeated daily until it becomes an unquestionable truth.

Every conflict involving Israel is presented as evidence to reinforce this narrative, just as is happening today. Those protesting against Israel now mirror my younger self when I marched alongside Palestinians in Amman, Jordan. Those burning the Israeli flag today remind me of when I did the same in 2006.

My hatred toward Jews dissipated in 2007 when I converted to Christianity. I realized that Jew-hatred was fueled by sacred religious text. And when I gained the opportunity to view the conflict from a different perspective, I realized that historical narratives have multiple facets, not just the one I was taught.

Israeli tanks and artillery are no longer extended symbols of inherent evil and conspiracies but representations of a resilient nation that, while defending its people on multiple fronts for many years, managed to build a great, stable, and prosperous state.

Imagine two families living side by side: in one, the father leads his family into turmoil, dragging them into unnecessary wars that destroy their dreams and aspirations; in the other, the father shields his family from harm, ensuring they thrive in a safe and prosperous environment. The majority of the leader figures I grew up looking up to in the Arab world resemble the first father, leading us into devastating conflicts that have shattered our hopes and ambitions and implanted hatred and violence into the fabric of our society.

The Israeli leadership, on the other hand, mirrors the second father, fortifying their society and providing their people with genuine prosperity and security despite continued attacks on their borders.

So I wanna ask: When did Israel truly initiate aggression? I would have laughed at this question in the past, Of course Israel attacked first, its ridiculous to think otherwise, well, this is not the case anymore. I genuinely ask: When did Israel initiate aggression?

In 1947, the Arab nations rejected the UN Partition Plan, which granted Israel the right to establish a state. Like other nations formed after the fall of the Ottoman Empire—Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Jordan—none of these modern states existed in their current form before then.

When the Arabs rejected the partition, Israel declared its statehood on May 14, 1948, regardless of Arab opposition. Israel did not demand restitution for the 800,000 Jews displaced from Lebanon, Syria, Morocco, Yemen, Egypt, and Iraq. Instead, it asked the Arabs to forgo claims to certain territories that became part of Israel.

Arab governments—led by Prince Abdullah bin Al-Hussein of Jordan, King Farouk of Egypt, President Shukri al-Quwatli of Syria, President Bechara El Khoury of Lebanon, and supported by Iraqi forces—urged Arab inhabitants of historical Palestine to leave their land to facilitate the elimination of Israel. Their subsequent defeat became known as the Nakba (The catastrophe)

Imagine how different the world might be if the Arab nations had recognized Israel’s right to exist at that pivotal moment in history. How many lives could have been spared, and how much suffering could have been avoided? What might these countries look like today if they had collaborated with Israel to build a brighter, more prosperous future together?

In 1967, President Gamal Abdel Nasser closed the Strait of Tiran and declared war with the intent to destroy Israel. Egyptian, Jordanian, and Syrian forces attacked Israel on June 5. Their defeat in this conflict was termed the Naksa. (The setback)

In 1973, on Yom Kippur—a sacred day in Israel—Arab forces led by Egypt and Syria launched a preemptive attack intending to destroy Israel. However, Israel managed to repel the assault, crossing the Suez Canal, engaging the Third Army, and approaching Damascus in Syria. The conflict ended without a decisive victory, leading to a UN-brokered ceasefire.

In 1968 the Battle of Karameh between Jordan and Israel occurred due to Palestinian guerrilla troops attacks on Israel from Jordanian territory. The Jordanian army and the Palestine Liberation Organization forces fought together, and Jordan claimed victory.

In 1970, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine hijacked three airplanes, including a Swissair flight, landing them in Jordan and holding 300 hostages, among them Israelis.

Israel’s invasion of Beirut was a response to repeated Palestinian attacks from Lebanese territory. It came at the request of Lebanese forces seeking an alliance with Christian factions after the Palestinians and other various groups undermined the sovereignty of Lebanon and used Lebanon as a launching pad against Israel.

So, when did Israel attack first? I challenge the uninformed protesters everywhere, I am Jordanian and I love my country but Israel didn’t attack Jordan first, I lived in Lebanon for 15 years and I love Lebanon, but Israel didn’t attack Lebanon first, I am an Arab and I admit that itt has always been us who hated Israel and don’t seem to know how to live peacefully before we wipe Israel off the map.

Israel didn’t start aggression, I will tell you what did Israel start:

• In 1950, David Ben-Gurion offered a peace initiative, which was rejected.
• In 1956, Moshe Sharett presented a comprehensive peace offer, including compensation for displaced persons and acceptance of the Jordan River project, but it was refused by Abdel Nasser.
• Moshe Dayan suggested a confederation with Jordan, which was declined.
• In 1967, Levi Eshkol‘s peace initiative was met with the famous “Three No’s” of the Khartoum Resolution: no peace with Israel, no recognition of Israel, no negotiations with it.
• Tunisian President Habib Bourguib a proposed a peace plan in 1965, which Israel agreed to via Levi Eshkol’s Knesset speech, but Arab leaders punished Bourguiba merely for suggesting peace.
• Uri Avnery proposed a referendum in the West Bank and Gaza to determine the fate of a Palestinian state through a federal union with Israel, but Abdel Nasser and Abdel Hakim Amer undermined the proposal.
• Golda Meir offered a peace agreement to Anwar Sadat, and he initially refused. However, When Anwar Sadat later chose peace, signing the Camp David Accords, Arab nations boycotted Egypt and accused him of betrayal. Yasser Arafat accepted the Oslo Accords, leading to images of him being burned in Arab streets and accusations of treason. Despite Yitzhak Rabin’s assassination by a Jewish extremist, the Oslo process continued. Ehud Barak later accepted all of Arafat’s conditions at the 2000 Camp David Summit, but Arafat declined the offer. Prince Bandar bin Sultan remarked that the bloodshed of the Second Intifada was on Arafat’s hands for refusing to sign.

Israel has made significant concessions in pursuit of peace:

• Ehud Barak withdrew from southern Lebanon.
• Ariel Sharon disengaged from Gaza.
• Before that, Menachem Begin returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt.

According to former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Yitzhak Rabin offered to withdraw from the Golan Heights in exchange for peace with Syria, but Syrian President Hafez al-Assad did not respond before Rabin’s assassination.

Benjamin Netanyahu opposed Rabin’s approach and the two-state solution, BECAUSE HE BELIEVES the Palestinians, even without a state, sought to eliminate Israel—how much more so if they had a state? History vindicated Netanyahu’s stance; when Hamas assumed power IN GAZA, it continued attacks against Israel despite being under siege.

I don’t claim that the successive Israeli governments are perfect; some Israelis hold fundamentalist views, and some have extreme ideas. However, Israel is a state founded on law and justice, and those who genuinely desire peace far outnumber the extremists. Unfortunately, the opposite is true on the other side—where the majority of our people embrace fundamentalism, and only a few voices advocate for peace.

Israel desires peace, even if some refuse to acknowledge it. The tragic events in Gaza are a military consequence of the decision to dismantle hostile forces, and despite their severity, Israel’s military objectives are aimed at preventing future attacks like those experienced on October 7.

Israel has endured threats and attacks for decades, often showing restraint in the face of provocation. Yet, proxies like Hezbollah have continued aggression, even at great cost to their countries and their people.

Since 1948, Israel has largely acted in defense of its sovereignty and the safety of its people.

One year ago Hamas launched an unprecedented and brutal attack, massacring 1,400 Israelis. This tragic event serves as yet another painful reminder of the ongoing conflict and the refusal by groups like Hamas to seek peaceful resolutions. Instead of pursuing peace, they continue to perpetuate violence, using innocent lives as pawns in their ideological warfare. This is not an isolated event but part of a long history of aggression and hatred aimed at Israel, reinforcing the pattern where Israel is compelled to defend itself against relentless hostility. As I reflect on this tragedy my message to theose who support hamas and hezballah, unless you are ready to answer my Question: when did Israel initiate aggression, probably you better shut up and let this great country defend it’s exsitenc!