El proper 22 de gener la ciutadania israeliana exercirà
el seu dret de votar als seus
representants al parlament en un acte de normalitat democràtica en un país que
s’autodefineix com l’única democràcia de la regió. La mort de Samir Awad, un
noi palestí de 16 anys, a mans de soldats israelians no fa trontollar aquesta
visió perquè senzillament Samir no existeix a Israel.
Gideon Levy ho descriu en el següent article d’opinió
publicat a Haaretz el 20 de Gener:
A silent Palestinian voice
amid the din of the Israeli election
Whoever believes that the Awad family will continue to
be denied their rights forever is living a lie, the most revolting lie of this
election campaign.
Samir Awad won't be voting in Tuesday's election,
not only due to his age (16 ) or his Palestinian nationality. Samir Awad won't
be voting on Tuesday because he was shot dead from close range last week by
Israel Defense Forces soldiers: one bullet in his head, one in his back and one
in his thigh. The soldiers who shot him will vote on Tuesday, because democracy
is like that.
All of the neighbors from the hills opposite Awad's
home will also vote, despite living beyond the sovereign borders of their
country. Most of them will vote for those who wish to banish Samir's family, or
continue to make their life hard. His bereaved father, Ahmed, cannot vote in
this election despite living next to Israeli citizens, and working for years in
Israel, building its houses and renovating its villas.
This is the elephant in the room. The monster at
the door, who we try to ignore by saying, "If we won't look at it, it
won't exist." This is the worst deception of this election, the sickest lie
of Israeli Democracy, promoted by all voters and candidates.
In a true democracy, Samir's death would have
become a campaign issue. Four innocent Palestinians were killed in the week
leading up to the election. Nobody really cared, and one doubts if most
Israelis were even aware of the deaths. Awad who? A singer or a soccer player?
It's very easy to imagine the mood if, in the week
leading up to the election, four Israelis were to be killed in a similar
fashion: their deaths would rock the political establishment. But the
Palestinian deaths go by like dust, barely worth a mention. Even their very
presence in the backyard of the only democracy in the Middle East is as light
as the dust.
No one bothers to inquire any more how the Awad
family is prevented from participating in an election that will deeply affect
their lives, while their neighbors - in the settlements constructed on their
lands - enjoy rights that they can only dream of. Or how their neighbors
naturally participate in this election, the ones that preceded it and the ones
yet to come. How on earth can Israel be considered a democracy? How can it not
be called an apartheid state? Why is nobody even discussing the issue?
Samir was murdered in cold blood. There's no other
way to describe his death. A high school student who wasn't endangering anyone.
The soldiers who shot him in flight will never be brought to justice. I saw
their faces last week in a video clip, filmed several minutes after they killed
Samir (who was trying to climb the separation barrier that suffocates his
village ). They were a group of tough Israelis in uniform. Soon they will
complete their service and begin civilian life, taking pride in their military
service. After all, they are considered to be those with 'values,' those who
'carry the weight of the burden' - an issue that actually is present in the
debate surrounding the election.
One can suppose that none of them suffer from
sleepless nights, haunted by the death of the boy and the sorrow of his family.
Israelis in general lose no sleep due to horrendous actions carried out on
their behalf. And why should they? There are those who see to it that they
shouldn't be worried. Israel Radio reported that "the IDF prevented an
effort to infiltrate Israel."
Samir was two or three years younger than his
killers. He didn't have much of a future to look forward to, being one of a
17-strong family, supported by his father, who works in Israel. Even in the
days of mourning Ahmed sports a "Hava & Adam, the Modi'in Ecological Farm"
T-shirt. He still yearningly recalls how, in his broken Hebrew, he would
lecture about Palestinian agriculture to Israeli students.
The murderers of his son can expect a different
future: studies, entertainment, a career and voting rights. Only because
they're Jewish, not Palestinian. Israelis can vote on Tuesday for whoever they
wish. But whoever believes that the Awad family will continue to be denied
their rights forever is living a lie, the most revolting lie of this election
campaign. Samir is the silent voice of this election, the voice which should
have shocked and rocked the campaign.
