When I was a small child in Jerusalem, I would go shopping with my mother. We would see lots of people with numbers tattooed on their arms. When I asked my mother why these people had tattoos on their arms, she would not reply but would change the subject. Only later did I realize why I had no grandfather or grandmother on either my mother’s or my father’s side.My father, who was still serving in the Israeli Defense Forces reserves, told me he was sure that when I grew up, I would serve in an army of peace.
I joined the army. I was involved in a number of wars and saw some of my best friends pay with their lives for the right to live in the State of Israel, the state of the Jewish People.
When my son Eran was born, I looked at him during his Brit Millah, and I prayed for him and for us all that when he grew up, he would serve in an army of peace. Eran is now serving in an IDF combat unit. I hope and pray that perhaps his son will grow up and serve in an army of peace.
Throughout my life in public service, I have tried to adopt the way of the Rambam and to follow the path of the golden mean together with the path of action.
Let us all pray that, together, we shall be able to bring peace and security between ourselves and our neighbors.
Amen.
Zeev Bielski serves as a member of the Israeli Knesset. He is the Chairman of the Jewish Agency and a former mayor of Ra’anana.
