Voices From the Middle East:
Liat Margalit
Liat Margalit talks about her senior year and her thoughts on
the future.
By Liat Margalit
 I'm
in the senior class. We're about to graduate; the upcoming finals
we're about to have are the last ones. And yet, a real jubilation
is far from us. It can't be real when people our age are being killed
every day. We're all going to the army (IDF) soon, and the emotions
are mixed — fear is mixed with pride, joy is mixed with sadness.
A few of my closest friends are going to be fighters, a few by their
own choice and a few because they have to (boys with high military
profile must serve in combat units). And we pray nothing will happen
to them. It's not easy to focus on your math test with all the madness
around you.
When I get to school, it's so hard to avoid political discussion.
Right wing vs left wing. Everyone is a politician. Everyone has
his/her opinion about what's going on. Our discussions are always
political. Sometimes it seems like an Israeli child is BORN with
a political opinion. But it was only after the Intifada began that
it started to occupy more of our time. Sure, there is still the
usual typical teenage gossip, but the Intifada also gives more perspective
to everything that goes on your life. So who dumped who last Friday
is nothing in compared to Marwan Barghouti* being caught.
Every single person I know is more than proud to go and serve our
country. We think it's our obligation, because Israel gave, gives
and will give us a lot in our lives.
It is our only home, wherever we might be, and wherever the future
is to take us.
And in times like these, what you love conquers your fear. Before
all the recent violence, few of my friends thought of not going
to the army, but now I think everyone realizes Israel is the only
place we have, and that we must protect it by any means necessary
— because this is a war for our survival.
I can't speak on everyone's behalf when I say this, but I am part
of the first generation in my family born and raised in Israel —
I don't intend to be the last. I want my children and grandchildren,
and the generations to come, to be proud Israeli citizens.
*Marwan Barghouti is a senior Fatah leader in the West Bank.
Barghouti has denied accusations that he participates in military
operations.
— Liat Margalit is 17 years old and lives in Jerusalem.
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