In the small Israeli town of Nahariya, a few kilometers from the tense border with Lebanon, Jews, Muslims and Christians wait quietly for the fish to bite the bait they throw into the sea.
Meanwhile, a black ‘zodiac’ boat with armed soldiers patrols a few meters from the coast of this region on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea. Other soldiers walk along the banks of this city, where the army has parked about 20 armored vehicles.
Since the bloody offensive by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas in southern Israel, which left at least 1,400 dead, the possibility of an Israeli ground intervention in the Gaza Strip appears to be growing closer. In addition to an occasional action by the Lebanese pro-Iranian movement Hezbollah.
“Here the only religion is fishing. We are all brothers and if Hezbollah fires, we will protect ourselves in the same refuge,” said 90-year-old Jew Shlomo Louski.
Beside him, Bilal says he goes from Acre to Nahariya every day.
“I am a Muslim. What Hamas did to these women and children, to the young people who danced [no festival de música eletrónica]…it’s terrible. For me they are not Muslims,” he explains.
Bilal puts his arm lovingly around Shlomo’s shoulders. “This man? He’s just like my father and I know I’m just like his son. These barbarians won’t be able to change that,” the 34-year-old added.
“It seems the fish are more afraid of Hezbollah than we are… We haven’t caught anything since this morning,” he complains, looking at the empty bucket.
“We are like a big family. Every day we get together around seven in the morning and stay here fishing until the sun is high in the sky,” says Mariana, a young woman who comes here with her husband and believes that Hamas’ attack will not change the dynamics in this small coastal city.
Lev, an 80-year-old fisherman, proudly says that he was born in the Ukrainian capital Kiev. Since his retirement, he has divided his time in this Israeli city between two passions: fishing and painting.
“In Ukraine we know what barbarism is. There were Nazis and now there is Vladimir Putin. Hamas? It’s like Hitler and Putin together,” he says.
“God loves this country,” Mariana adds. “This is the land of Jesus and Abraham. They will not let us down. We will continue to catch beautiful fish here,” he says, as a train with huge tanks passes nearby.
Since the Islamist group’s attack, Israel has tightened its siege on the Gaza Strip, where Israeli bombardments have killed 2,750 people, including 700 children, according to local authorities.
Source: DN
