Interview with Deaf Israeli Maor Ben Zeev

Maor Ben Zeev: Thank you for the interview. My name is Maor. This is my sign name. Not these signs, but this one. I’m a citizen of Israel, ever since I was born. I grew up here. I live in Tel Aviv.

Alex (Daily Moth): How have you been doing in the week since everything happened?

Maor: After a week, I have started to feel, although it’s sad to say, used to it. I’m aware and careful. Last Friday, I was driving to visit my mother. There was a (missile) alarm. We can’t stay in a car as we have to get out and run. I went outside with other people and as we were sheltering, I saw the missile being stopped (by the Iron Dome). It was powerful. It was also the first time in my life that I saw a civilian quickly get out their firearms to prepare for any incident. Wow. In Tel Aviv?

I want to make it clear that the (Oct 7.) terrorist attack – many in the world thought it was horrible, just like we do and the Israeli government as well – with at least 1,300 murdered and over 3,000 injured – many thought this all happened in a day. No, it was not a day. It was in a few hours. It went on from 6:30 in the morning when 2,000 terrorists broke through and did their rampage. They caused massive chaos. It was not a small thing. There was also a famous music festival called Nova.

Alex: Yes, people were at the festival.

Maor: They took advantage of the festival to cause mass harm. One of my friends who was at the festival was murdered. My other friend from high school, who is hearing, was looking for his missing father for a week and found out yesterday that he died. He was murdered. I don’t want to say that he passed away because he was murdered. It’s important which word you use. If someone dies, it means it happened, like they were in a car accident or maybe a bomb, or by other reason. But they (died) solely because they were Jewish. That’s all.

Alex: Now the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they want to eliminate Hamas. You sign it this way (Hamas).

Maor: Yes, that’s the sign.

Alex: You want them to be finished. There were some conflicts in the past but you want – over the past week there was a siege.

Maor: Yes, the area is blocked off. Do you know why? It’s sad to say but this is the truth, it’s for safety. What happened last week was insane. I want to emphasize the number again, 1,300 killed. In America, you have many people, so it would be like you losing 25,000 people in one day.

Alex: You’re making a comparison.

Maor: We have 9 million people, which is small. So we are imposing a siege for safety. I’m really, really sad for those who live (in Gaza). The civilians who live there. I know that they didn’t do anything wrong. Yes. I also want to make it clear to everyone that there are two different flags, one for Palestine. That one has black, white, and green – I am not sure – black, red, white with a triangle in it. It’s not the official one but it’s their flag. There is also a Hamas flag. It’s green. Hamas is taking advantage of (Palestine) and riding on them. Many in the world think that Hamas is associated with Palestine, but it’s not true.

Alex: I understand.

Maor: So there’s a siege and I hope that they will be okay. I truly hope for that.

Alex: So there’s this siege and I can understand because it is a time of war. Now, the IDF has been bombing buildings and the death toll in Gaza…

Maor: I’ve heard about it.

Alex: The toll is almost at 3,000. These are not Hamas members but normal people.

Maor: Civilians.

Alex: Civilians. 3,000 of them died.

Maor: Yes. I also want to say this because many are not aware – Hamas is using them. For example, in a building full of homes where families and children live, Hamas is hiding there under it. Why is Hamas using these buildings?

Alex: I’ve seen that before.

Maor: I don’t see the IDF working under this building. I don’t see the IDF here. They’re usually far away in remote locations. They’re far away from families here. But Hamas doesn’t care about Palestinian people and basically take advantage of them, forcing them.

I want to say that if Hamas only captured those who are associated with the IDF as hostages or hurt them, I would say, “That’s a part of warfare.” But Hamas didn’t do this. They hurt anyone, such as civilians. Even babies. What’s wrong with babies? That’s the problem. I know that we (Israel) did bomb them and that they have babies who died as well.

Alex: Yes.

Maor: But they’re in these buildings. Can you tell me how these families can run away if Hamas is telling them to stay there? They’re trapped. It’s not easy at all.

Alex: I understand. It’s like a standoff.

Maor: Yes, exactly. I feel that many in the world are making this a black or white issue. But that’s not right. It’s very gray. Very gray.

Alex: I understand.

What do you feel, your views, also of your family and friends, is the right response to the horrible attack you experienced. The stabbings, it’s very tragic. What’s the appropriate response? So far, what do you think?

Maor: My friends and my family all have various opinions. There’s no one “same” opinion.

Alex: Right.

Maor: Some of them feel that it’s not enough. There are a few people who want to wipe out all of Gaza. I would then tell them, “No! That doesn’t make sense.” There are people in Gaza who have done nothing wrong. I tell them that Hamas has to be wiped out, absolutely. I have no love for them because they are a terrorist organization, period. Some understand this but others are stubborn. So I leave them alone. My viewpoint is that it’s not enough. But I can understand why as there are problems, there is pressure from the world, for humanity. I am also hopeful that our IDF forces and the Israeli government don't lose their humanity.
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Alex: There are some people who make statements against Israel, against Jewish people, hateful comments. That has always been a problem for a long time, antisemitism. Like during Nazi times.

Maor: Yes, antisemitism.

Alex: Antisemitism, it makes me pause. Yes there is a war, and there are many real feelings about Gaza, but antisemitism cannot be allowed to fester. Have you seen antisemitism during this time?

Maor: Yes. When I travel, I experience this many times. But I’m used to it and ignore it. I just move on. I will not let it affect me or try to argue back. It’s my personality to just move on. But here, in this situation, there is antisemitism on (social) media. What do I mean? Whenever I make post and talk about (this situation), people will send me DMs saying, “You’re a Nazi.” I’m taken aback. How can you call me a Nazi? My family died due to Nazis. So it is a contradiction and it is really hurtful. I have to just move on. The second comment I got is that I’m a baby killer. That I kill babies. Me? How? So these are the impactful comments. It’s true. I can see this happening in Europe but it’s not new to us. We experience this all the time.

Alex: Yeah. I see the flip side as well with people making hateful comments towards Gaza residents, that Muslims are bad.

Maor: Palestinians, the correct term is Palestinians. I see people hating Palestinians.

Alex: Palestinians. I see people calling them terrorists. Others are calling the other side colonists.

Maor: It’s just the constant back and forth. I think we really need to find a politics solution. I hope I spelled that right. Do you understand what I mean?

Alex: A political solution.

Maor: Yes, we have to find that for both. We have to. We can’t leave it like this. I saw an interview with the father of a woman who was taken hostage in the very well-known video of the female hostage on a motorbike saying, “No!” as she is taken away.

Alex: Yes, she was separated.

[Video clip showing the woman hostage, Noa Argamani] https://www.independent.co.uk/tv/news/israel-kidnapping-motorbike-video-hamas-b2426470.html

Maor: The father pleaded for a political solution. He said he just wanted her back. He said he knew that there are people in Gaza who are not involved with Hamas who are having it hard as well. The father said both are in the same situation of suffering.

It is a very sensitive time.

Alex: I think that many in the world are pleading that the IDF does not completely wipe out Gaza.

Maor: That won’t happen.

Alex: It looks like the IDF is angry and won’t stop the bombing. Are some of you pleading with the IDF to not flatten Gaza?

Maor: It depends. It really depends. Some people are against it. But some say enough is enough. When I hear that, sometimes I see posts in Israel with the statement such as “Wipe out Gaza,” I send them the message that they can’t wipe out Gaza because there are people who live there. You have to wipe out (only) Hamas. They reply that they agree but they feel that enough is enough. They believe that their children will inherit the hate. I don’t think this is true. I believe it can be changed. But there are some who are just completely fed up and say, “Enough is enough.” They say they understand the sensitivity but they ask how many chances they can give. That’s what they feel. I try to be steadfast in caring about human rights.

We are trying to bomb only the sites where they are shooting rockets from.

Alex: You’re bombing where they fire from.

Maor: We have a special tool from the IDF called the Iron Dome. It’s amazing. We’re lucky. If we didn’t have it, many of our buildings would already be destroyed. Believe me, they would be gone.

Last week I was sitting down with my psychologist. We met on Zoom. We were talking and the psychologist knows sign language. They asked why I was so outspoken. I just feel like I have to make a stand because I see that many hearing people are speaking out but other Deaf people don’t do this. I have to take a stand. Where does that come from? It’s from my family. I told you what my great grandfather went through. He had 9 siblings but only two survived. The other 7 died from the Nazis. I was able to know him. He died when he was 104 and when I was 23. That means we had many conversations. He said what happened was because they were silent. That’s all. People in Nazi Germany – the Polish people could see what they did but didn’t say anything. They just walked away. The (Nazis) were giving education on what Jewish people were. They put emphasis on the curved nose. They created drawings and showed it. They took measurements and showcased it. For example, a famous antisemitic trope is the Jewish nose, that they have big noses. So the (Nazis) showed it, they taught it to their children, the Nazis/SS. And then things happened. Silence had an impact. It happened slowly, but 6 million (died). But it was more than 6 million. Do you know this? They killed 11 million in total, but out of that, 6 million were Jewish.

Alex: So the point is silence is…

Maor: That had an impact on me. I can’t stay silent. I have to speak up. Because of my family.

Alex: And you’re fighting back with the war. You’re not staying meek. Because of what happened during World War II.

Maor: Right.

Alex: Thank you very much. I appreciate your time in explaining things. Thank you.

Maor: No problem. Thank you for allowing this interview to happen. I hope people will understand more.

Alex: Absolutely.