U.S. special envoy Jared Kushner recently said that Gaza will not be rebuilt until it’s demilitarized.
asserted
it → say → ?
His reasoning was straightforward: no one wants to pour billions of dollars into reconstruction only to see the territory taken over by terrorists or destroyed again.
asserted
territory → want → terrorists
But demilitarization alone will not solve it.
asserted
demilitarization → solve → it
Taking away the terrorist’s weapons is necessary.
asserted
Taking → take → weapons
But so is asking what made generations of young people willing to carry them in the first place.
asserted
generations → ask → place
If Gaza is to have a different future, reconstruction and rehabilitation must happen together.
asserted
reconstruction → have → future
One to rebuild the physical environment, and the other to rebuild the institutions and ideas that shape future generations.
asserted
that → rebuild → generations
I know this because I grew up in Gaza.
asserted
I → know → Gaza
In fourth grade, my Islamic education teacher called me to the front of the classroom.
asserted
teacher → call → classroom
He ran toward me, performed a military-style roll, then stood with his hands positioned around an imaginary rifle.
asserted
hands → run → rifle
“You need to learn these movements,” he told us.
asserted
he → need → us
We needed to become soldiers, he said.
asserted
he → need → ?
The war against the Jews would continue until the end of time, and killing Jews, according to my teacher, was an act of worship.
uncertain
killing → continue → worship
The same teacher condemned the Oslo Accords and called the Palestinian Authority traitors.
asserted
teacher → condemn → traitors
I did not know what the Oslo Accords were.
asserted
Accords → know → ?
I did not even know where Oslo was.
asserted
Oslo → know → ?
I knew who I was supposed to hate before I even understood the conflict.
asserted
I → know → conflict
By secondary school, the imaginary rifle became a real Kalashnikov.
asserted
rifle → become → school
We had a class in which we learned to disassemble and reassemble weapons.
asserted
we → have → weapons
The instructor belonged to Hamas’s security apparatus.
asserted
instructor → belong → apparatus
Once, his rifle accidentally discharged and a bullet tore through a classroom wall.
asserted
bullet → discharge → wall
My father was furious when he learned that I was being trained with weapons.
asserted
I → learn → weapons
He went to the school and objected.
asserted
He → go → school
Two days later, the principal humiliated me during morning assembly, calling me weak because I had brought my father instead of behaving like the “men” who fight to liberate Palestine.
asserted
who → humiliate → Palestine
My father understood something my school did not: patriotism did not require turning his son into a soldier.
asserted
patriotism → understand → soldier
This is why the debate over Gaza’s reconstruction cannot be limited to buildings.
asserted
debate → limit → buildings
A school is not rehabilitated because someone replaces its windows, pours new concrete and installs new desks.
asserted
someone → rehabilitate → desks
What matters is what happens after children sit at those desks.
asserted
children → matter → desks
The United States and its partners therefore need to think about Gaza’s reconstruction in two inseparable tracks: demilitarization and deradicalization, physical reconstruction and civic rehabilitation.
asserted
States → need → tracks
That does not mean erasing Palestinian identity or political aspirations.
asserted
That → mean → identity
Palestinians should be free to advocate for statehood, challenge Israeli policies and tell their own history.
asserted
Palestinians → advocate → history
Deradicalization cannot become a euphemism for political submission.
asserted
Deradicalization → become → submission
It should mean something much more specific: ending the institutional glorification of violence, religious hatred and the militarization of children.
asserted
It → mean → children
Washington should make that principle part of any reconstruction framework.
asserted
principle → make → framework
International funding for education should require independent reviews of the curricula and teaching materials.
asserted
funding → require → curricula
Teachers and administrators should be screened for involvement in armed organizations.
asserted
Teachers → screen → organizations
Schools should be strictly separated from military activities.
asserted
Schools → separate → activities
Religious instruction should not be used to dehumanize Jews or sanctify violence against civilians.
asserted
instruction → use → civilians
Teacher training matters just as much as textbooks.
asserted
training → matter → textbooks
A beautifully written curriculum means little if the adult standing in front of the classroom teaches children that compromise is treason and death in battle is the highest form of achievement.
asserted
death → write → achievement
…and 16 more, not listed.
The Aporia
