The Jerusalem Post
As a child growing up in Egyptian-controlled Gaza in the 1950s, Nonie Darwish remembers how she was taught to hate Jews from a very young age.
(snip)
Now, nearly five decades later, Darwish has discarded the views with which she was raised, and become a vocal activist on Israel's behalf. She recently launched a Web site, ArabsforIsrael.com, and has begun lecturing across the US about the need to stand behind Israel and support its existence.
(snip)
The turning point, though, came with the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, which was when Darwish says she at last developed a fuller grasp of the realities of the region.
"The most crucial reason for me to support Israel was 9/11. That was when I realized that Israel was the victim of Arab terrorism for all its history," she says. "My culture of origin was responsible for this unspeakable terror in New York and the Pentagon."
In the wake of the attacks, Darwish began to speak out, saying that she could no longer be silent while "terrorism is destroying the moral fabric of Muslim society."
Her message is twofold: stop pressuring Israel, and push for reform of the Arab world as a means of developing a freer and more diverse Middle East.
(snip) read in entirety at above link
Mata Musing
This is one brave woman and I can't give her enough praise for overcoming such hatred and awakening to what must be a very difficult truth. Muslims need countless more like her.
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