The below is an excerpt:
“I mentioned to her that…I once had a Palestinian friend in the past that severed our friendship in the aftermath of October 7th. Without hesitation, build-up, segue, or any other kind of transition, she posed the question directly: ‘Do you support Israel or Palestine?’
“….Without a word, I placed my thumb under my star of David and raised it up to her. The shift in her expression was noticeable, to put it lightly. She immediately asked if I was okay with kids dying in Gaza. I told her I’m not okay with kids dying anywhere. She made a few comments about Israel and genocide, but due to surrounding circumstances, I was not willing to have that discussion. Not the time and not the place.
“Had this been the end of it, I would have had no story to tell….But it was everything that came next that horrified me.
“She then asked me what I thought of Netanyahu, to which I responded I have complicated feelings on him, but I did not elaborate any further.
“She then told me she believed that one day the Arab nations would rise up, kill all the Israelis, and free Palestine. Thankfully, we both had to return to work separately as soon as she said that, but she let me know she was going to come back during lunch break.
“When lunch break came, she….immediately brought up the question again, and my answers were affirmative but not elaborate. Do I think Israel has a right to exist? ‘Yes.’ Do I think Israel had the right to take Sinai? ‘Defensive war, so also yes.’
“She justified October 7th saying it was because of what she said Israel had done in the past, but to be fair to her, she did say she loved Hamas before Oct 7th but hated them after because they started this war and sacrificed their own civilians.
“Looking back, I think I saw a glimmer of hope that this interaction could be turned around due to this admission. I asked if she had ever read Hamas’s charter, to which she had never heard of it, so I read her Article 7.
“That is when she explained to me that the Arabs in the middle east where she grew up saw no difference between Jews, Israelis, and Zionists. She explained they intentionally used the word Al-Yahud to encompass all 3. She even shared some morning affirmations many Arabs make that involve openly cursing Al-Yahud.
“There’s more, and at this point I’m horrified. Yes, people had said this stuff to me in private messages, comments, etc, but hearing it to my face for the first time was different. What’s worse is that none of this was designed to get a reaction; everything was stated as a matter of fact, and even sometimes with a smile. Bear that in mind as I continue.
“I asked the question directly: ‘Ok, what happens if the Palestinians win?’
‘They will kill every Israeli.’
“I’m staring at her silently, and she continues. ‘This is not the Islamic way, but that is likely what’s going to happen. They will kill all the soldiers.’
“‘OK, military loses, soldiers dead, Palestine wins. What happens to Israeli women and children?’
“‘They will be taken hostage.’
“Again, I pause. ‘And held as hostages against…who?’
“‘If the Israeli government still exists, then against them, but if not, then we’ll send them to live in a small area or land.’
“‘I am a Jew. Now let me ask you, what choices does your Quran give me if Islam takes over?’
This time, she paused, and her voice cracked as she answered in a low voice. ‘Convert, pay jizya, or death.’
“‘Now, with everything you told me, how do you think we’re going to feel when we hear this?’
“‘Not good.’
“‘And what do you think we’re going to do about it?’
“‘…You’re going to fight.’
“I stared her dead in the eye. ‘Exactly.’
“After this…she was able to sum it to me perfectly: ‘You believe both sides are human beings and you want everyone to live.’….She nailed it, but she couldn’t comprehend it.
“Then the holocaust came up, because why not. She asked me how many I ‘think’ died. I told her 6 million. She said she doesn’t believe that many died…said all that could be made up, so I asked why on earth anyone would forge an entire genocide. The answer was that Germany likely made this up to ‘make themselves appear stronger.’
“After trying to unravel that Gordian knot of logic, I asked her how many she believed died….Her answer was 100k.
“I’m leaving a lot out, but every word of this was matter-of-fact. Then we had to get back to work, and on the way out, she asked if I was mad at her….I do regret lying and saying ‘No,’ but I had to make it through a few more hours and the chances of working with her again were slim, and I saw no benefit to carrying this further.
“No further conversation came up (I didn’t let it) and I resorted to being professional and polite, but not allowing any interaction to go past surface level. But throughout all this, her demeanor was bubbly and friendly, as if I just hadn’t heard some of the most evil things I had ever heard in my life said in such a matter-of-fact way.
“Even at the end of the day, she joined my colleagues and I on our way out, chitchatting like she was part of the gang. But during the time in between, I carried on my work in a daze of shock and horror. If I had ever had a 1000 yard stare in my life, it was today.
“I told my wife that had it been some crazy Nazi shouting off Julius Streicher quotes, it wouldn’t have fazed me, but what I couldn’t shake was just how second nature it all was. Not one word was meant to get a reaction, and that’s what truly terrified me.”
Robert George, April 9, 2026, via Facebook, https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1CaZx7zdAp/?mibextid=wwXIfr
Writing by Dr. Dannielle Blumenthal 