A Journey of Resilience

Grandma Stella recalls the journey of Shahnaz Soghier, an Iraqi Jew who fled persecution and rebuilt her life multiple times without seeing herself as a victim. Reflecting on the contrast with the Palestinians, she questions the world’s perception of the situation and expresses frustration with the blame placed on Israel.

Shahnaz Soghier, I am an Iraqi Jew. There was an insurgence against our people in the 1940s. I was a toddler then. My parents and I escaped Iraq on a British army plane. We went to Iran. My father worked very hard and succeeded in giving us a comfortable life under the Shah’s reign. We lived there until the revolution which started in 1977. Once more we fled. This time to the United States. Once more we had to start over again.

In all that time we did not regard ourselves as victims. We kept on going. No one felt sorry for us, including ourselves. We once more built our lives up.

During that same period of time, the Palestinians just sat there doing nothing to help themselves. They complained bitterly that they are victims and the world commiserated with them. In this last incident, they were the ones who attacked, as they always do. They are the ones who are crying out foul! Why? For what reason? They are the ones who instigated this! Not Israel!

When is the world going to open its eyes and see them for what they are? Why is it Israel’s fault? Come on! I am running out of patience with this attitude. I do not feel sorry for them.

What about Israel? It has citizens to protect from a war it did not start nor did it want! Enough is enough!