In the interview, the interview Ruth Marjalizo, begins with this question: “You were a stalwart follower of Israel during your whole life, but nowadays you are not anymore – or not as much as before. Can you explain to us what made you change your mind?”
Richard Forer responds by saying that when Israel invaded Lebanon in July 2006 in retaliation for a cross-border raid into northern Israel, he fully supported Israel’s action, without regard for the consequences to Lebanon’s civilian population. Although I was not fully aware of it at the time, the real motivation for my one-sided perspective was Fear. Being Jewish, I identified with the Israeli soldiers who had been killed and abducted in the raid by Hezbollah. As a Jew, I identified with all Jews everywhere, who, I believed, were eternal targets of Hezbollah, Hamas and, in my mind, the entire Arab world. Without bothering to do any honest research to confirm my assumptions, I took for granted that this world was pathologically anti-Semitic. (I define anti-Semitic as an aversion toward the Jewish religion and its people) and, therefore, a threat to my life.
Please click here to read the rest of this fascinating and important interview. Richard Forer is the author of the breakthrough book “Breakthrough: Transforming Fear Into Compassion,” available from Amazon in both kindle and paperback.
Musings by George Polley 