Allegiance to the country

The editorial, “Remember the Farhud” (June 2), referring to the Farhud and by contrast to Nakba seemed to speak to an incident I recently observed.

I had just returned from an extended trip in the US in time to attend a university graduation of a family member, and as we were taking our seats, I briefly interacted with a clearly Muslim woman, with whom I exchanged a positive if transitory expression of good will.

This exchange, which would have gone unnoticed in the US here in Israel was significant enough to add to the general optimism of the graduation day. That feeling quickly dissipated, however, when at the conclusion of the ceremony the audience rose for a spirited singing of the “Hatikvah,” all except the aforementioned family, seated a few rows in front of me.

Perhaps my perspective was sharpened by my recent trip, but I felt that there was an “elephant in the room.”

This was different from someone “taking the knee” in the US or some other passing political protest to a particular policy or event. The fact that a sizeable portion of the population of Israel neither feels allegiance to the country in which they reside, nor even recognizes its legitimate existence, I think overrides all of the other issues of the day: Supreme Court reform, secular vs religious or any other of our national concerns.

When I mentioned this incident later to several people, I was met, at best, with expressions of “it is what it is.” An elephant, even if unseen, tends to take up more and more space until it cannot be ignored.

Perhaps it is time for this issue to be addressed openly in both private conversation and public discourse.