I am a Mizrahi Jewish Israeli, who believes Palestinians and Israelis can live together in peace, AMA.

[u/HenMazzigHere]

My name is Hen Mazzig. I was born in Israel to a father whose family fled forced labor camps under Nazi occupation in Tunisia and a mother whose family fled the bloody Farhud pogrom in Iraq.

I grew up speaking Hebrew at school and Arabic at home with my family. At 12, I was almost killed in a terrorist attack near my home in Petach Tikva. During my five years of service in the IDF, I worked as a humanitarian officer, supporting Palestinian civilians in the West Bank and Gaza. I oversaw the construction of hundreds of humanitarian projects, roads, and hospitals and facilitated the work of international humanitarian organizations.

I currently live in the UK with my husband, but I plan to fly back to Israel when the elections begin so I can vote for a new government, as I oppose the current one. I believe that both Palestinians and Israelis have ties and love this land, and I have met with and talked to many Palestinians who simply want peace and self-determination, as is their right. Because I do not believe Israel should be destroyed, as my family has nowhere else to go, I am often labeled a pro-Israel propagandist by some progressives and a Hamas sympathizer by some on the right.

Ask me anything.

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[u/OmegaLink9]

I like you on X, but I think this sub is the wrong place for this AMA. It's like preaching to the choir.

[u/Olivedoggy → u/OmegaLink9]

Yup.

[u/Sara_Tona]

Hey Hen!! I'm from Iraq, and I've been following you on Instagram ever since Oct 7, since you're from an Iraqi Jewish family, I wanna ask why you think Palestinians are different from other Arabs? Like, we all grew up hating on Jews/Israel since birth, and we used to celebrate attacks on Israel as kids, but thankfully I got out of this brainwashing but unfortunately I can't say the same about almost every Palestinian I talked to.

[u/Thomas-Omalley]

When the PLO was founded in 64, the Jordan-controlled West Bank and Egypt-controlled Gaza were not declared as part of Palestine. After Israel took over in 67, they became part of "historic Palestine" (in addition to the rest of Israel). Does this not prove to you, that in Palestinian eyes Palestine=where the Jews are at the moment? How can you believe that we can live together when the rejection of Israel sits at the core of Palestinian identity?

[u/rybbah]

How much do you think Israelis should compromise for the peace? What are your preconditions for peace? Do you believe that there will be a new Palestinian leader who’ll say “yes we need peace with Israel as a Jewish state”?

[u/danhakimi]

I think that a lot of anti-Israel activists do a good job of making their case seem essentially sympathetic to people, and, by contrast, making Israel seem essentially unsympatehtic. It seems like we have a hard time saying "yes, they're dying, but we want to live too. Yes, war is horrible, but they keep instigating wars, and things get complicated." In ways that make us look like villains. People keep defending Hassan.

You're good at making the case. But you're outnumbered. We're outnumbered.

How do we get our point across better? At scale?

[u/revolverXD]

I follow you on X I think you're a bit naive,

The current generation of the pali is not a partner for peace

[u/Coolidge-egg]

Can you please tell us about willing peace partners on the Palestinian side, and where you fit within or outside the umbrella of Zionism (by your interpretation) and how have or haven't you overcome that obstacle when dealing with Palestinians?

[u/HyperlaneWizard]

Nothing against you. I follow you on IG and all. But I can't get myself to listen to you. You're too apologetic and it's tiring. Keep up the good work tho.

[u/BigFatJewishPickle]

• What does peace look like to you? Two states, one state?
• If you support one state... how the hell are we going to avoid the "demographic bomb" problem and avoid Jews becoming a minority in Israel?
• If you support two states... how the hell are we going to deal with Gaza + WB being physically disconnected?

Either solution seems completely insane to me. I think it's going to be the (very unfortunate) "status quo" for the foreseeable future.

But I would love to be proven wrong (in a good way).

[u/Raaaasclat]

What makes you confident that Israelis and Palestinians can live in perpetual peace?

[u/Responsible_Ad_9749]

Who are you planning to vote for, and why should we vote for that party in your opinion? 

[u/Low_Sea9402]

Shalom Hen! Really appreciate you doing this AMA. As a gay Jew and Zionist myself, seeing someone speak so openly about heritage, LGBTQ+ identity, and a commitment to peace means a lot. Sending love and strength to you and Marc!

Based on your direct work with Palestinian civilians and international organizations in the West Bank and Gaza, what is one practical, ground-level step you believe both sides can take today to build genuine trust for a shared future?

[u/brend0p3]

Hi Hen, no question, diaspora Jew here that just wants to thank you for all the hard work you put in and want you to know i appreciate how emotionally taxing it surely is.

Thanks for speaking up and being a voice of reason when it's dangerous to do so in the West currently. You're a real mensch.

[u/Original-Brick2836]

Hen, you are an amazing advocate and a much needed voice.

How do you deal with the constant hate? When I see people like you online, it’s just unrelenting. Does it get to you?

[u/RefrigeratorGrand516]

Thanks for all the work you do!!!!!!

[u/VladShlomo]

Have you read or saw any lecture of Dr. Mordechai Kedar, an Israeli Arabist and former IDF Intelligence officer ? He explains it to even a haredi Neturei Karta Yodel guy why its currently impossible. https://youtu.be/hwXD3bHdA1M

[u/SpiritedForm3068 → u/VladShlomo]

וואו לאמאמין עשו פודקאסט ביחד

[u/Lumpy-Push-347]

What are you smoking?

[u/Wh04m3y3]

You have problem with the logic that Palestinians (Arabs now days) can live with Israelis in peace, because the whole Palestinians agenda since the mufti, is to eliminate Israel from the map, yaser Arafat kept the agenda, and now days it's hamas from Gaza strip and Judea and Samaria.

I wish you will wake up some day.

[u/Minimum_Curve7545]

What kind of “humanitarian projects “ did you oversee, and do you think it was a good investment ? They still abuse refugee status and try to normalize it indefinitely

[u/DrMikeH49]

Hi Hen— Greetings from Northern California! We already know each other (look at my user name). Just wanted to say that your writing has been particularly excellent lately, and you have really good insights on the US political system despite only having lived here for a few years!

[u/AsterEsque]

Hi! Admittedly I don't live in Israel myself, but my mother and brother do. I work in food aid in the US, and I'm planning on getting a degree in Emergency Management so I can deploy to disaster areas and facilitate disaster response and recovery. I'd love to hear more about your humanitarian work!

• What does a Humanitarian Officer in the IDF do? Both big picture, and what did your day-to-day look like?

• What are some of the biggest challenges in your current job overseeing the construction projects?

• What are your opinions about some of the humanitarian NGO's in the region? Which ones are your favorites to work with, which ones are your least favorites, and why?

• What would you say are the biggest obstacles to (re)building Gaza and the West Bank into places where everyone can thrive and de-radicalize? Do you have any ideas about how those obstacles might be tackled?

[u/Diogenese-]

What do you say to people that feel you shouldn’t vote in the elections since you don’t live here full time?

[u/FullTrip6175]

Thanks for doing this! What is your perspective on rising antisemitism around the globe, and what do you think can be done to combat it?

[u/icculus1980]

Hello! You’re coming to speak at the school where I teach in December. Very excited to welcome you and see you learn with my students

[u/munchinbuttercup]

משתתפת בצערך, לאף אחד לא מגיע לגדול בפ"ת

[u/FudgeAtron]

How do you see the Segalovits Raam merger going?

[u/Improv92]

I follow you on Twitter (x). Big fan. Keep up the amazing work.

[u/According-Ground-756]

your mom's iraq is a better place for your co-existance experiments