Why do I find the hashtag #ThawretWeladElKalb shameful?

In the past 3 days, a new Arab hashtag was trending in the Arab world under the title #ThawretWeladElKalb meaning “the revolution of sons of bitches” in reference to the recent protests in Israel. From the way it has been spelled, I assume it was an Egyptian who made it up, but I have no evidence for it. I described this hashtag today, on my twitter account, as “discriminatory and racist” and I thought it is shameful to witness such an act practiced by the so called “Arab revolutionaries”. Many have reacted by calling me a Zionist or a self-hating Arab. Others started preaching me about the crimes done by the state of Israel as if I were Anwar Al-Sadaat!

I do not hate Israelis (although the Arab educational system raises you up to hate Jews automatically, and to feel superior towards others in general) but I definitely oppose and hate the crimes done by the state of Israel, just the way I do with our Arab dictatorships (keeping in my mind that Israel has been acting way more merciful with its own citizens, unlike our almighty police-state regimes). On the other hand, I also have the same feelings towards Arab suicide bombers who kill people in a night club or a school bus. I believe killing a human cannot be justified what so ever, regardless of the ideology, identity, or religion of the victim and the victimizer.

Arabs lately have been bragging about their “peaceful struggle” for democracy (although using the word democracy is very problematic) and the world has very much appreciated how the Arab Spring shows the other side of Arab nations unlike the deformed image that extremists have established for us over the years. And starting from this exact point, Arabs cannot give up the peaceful path they chose, just when the subject comes to their “classical enemy” Israel. Arab revolutionaries should act more responsible not to contradict themselves and clearly understand what Gandhi once said “an eye for an eye makes the world blind”. They should give up their long heritage that is filled with epics about revenge represented within heroic frames.

Arabs should also understand that their revolutions will only stand up truly when they strongly believe that the revolutions are not only against figures of their regimes but also revolutions to reconstruct their cultures and root out all forms of discrimination because simply discrimination can never be justified and verbal abuse only makes you look worse. Arabs cannot label every Israeli as a criminal, and ironically enough, they do not know that people who protested recently in Israel come from different backgrounds including anti-occupation activists and Arab-Israelis. What most of Arabs know about Israel is just what they know about Chinese linguists!

I am not a Zionist, and the Palestinian-Israeli question is not something we can easily answer. I am a strong believer in the one state solution because it is the only solution that chooses the human being over the imaginary frames created by frozen thoughts. However, it does not matter whether you are with the one state solution or with “getting the whole land back”, because at the end you should know that discriminating against Israelis will not make you look good, it will deepen the gap between you and others, and it will make you practice the sin that you wouldn’t want anyone to practice against you.

All sorts of human struggle should be hailed, respected, and appreciated. We need to act as humans above all because only this way we can win. We need to admit that discrimination is a norm in Arab countries and that revolutions should fight it in all its forms.