Millions hope that the cease fire between Israel and Hamas will hold. The deeply imbedded issues behind this conflict will eventually be addressed. After decades of conflict both sides do not trust each other and have understandable doubt that they will be able to come to a lasting peace agreement.
Many if not most political commentators and scholars agree that an immediate cease fire was desperately needed for both sides, but continually say that real change is not possible.
In desperate situations many people take stances that, “nothing is going to change” or “that person will never change, it’s not possible.” While that perspective may be true for some, but not for Arin Ahmed, a twenty year old Palestinian terrorist.
In 2002, Arin Ahmed, age 20, in order to pass as a young Israeli woman was told to wear tight pants and a short shirt exposing a bare midriff. She did what she was told. She was on her way to the Israeli city of Rishon le-Zion. After writing a farewell letter to her family she put on her backpack containing a bomb.
Arin, who expected to undergo several months of preparation, was summoned to carry out an attack only four days after she had expressed her will to be a martyr. “Congratulations,” a militant told her as if she had just won the lottery. “We’ve chosen you. You are going to do a suicide bombing.”
“I was in shock. I never imagined it could happen so fast. I thought they would teach me about weapons and things like that. They told me, you’ll gain a very special status among the women suicide bombers. You’ll be a real heroine.”
Arin was part of a double suicide bombing operation. Arin and her partner Issa Badir had been introduced only that day, came from the outskirts of Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank with the aim to kill as many Jews as possible. Arin and Issa carried their black backpacks into the densely populated city just south of Tel Aviv.
Arin, fortunately, suddenly got cold feet and an unexpected warm heart. The would-be suicide bomber looked into the faces of the crowd and saw not hateful Jews, but an aging grandmother, a gurgling baby, a loving father, and a teenager who looked like a Jewish friend she once had.
“I suddenly understood what I was about to do and I said to myself how can I do such a thing? I changed my mind. Issa also had second thoughts, but they managed to convince him to go ahead. I saw him go and blow himself up.”
She ran back to her two handlers cowering in a car and told them she was scratching her mission. They were furious, of course. Her disappointed handlers glumly drove her back to Bethlehem. They asked her to carry out another mission in Jerusalem, but she refused.
We know Arin’s story because several days later Israeli security forces arrested her and her accomplices, members of the military (and terrorist) arm of Yasser Arafat’s al-Fatah organization. She’s was an Israeli jail, where Israeli Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer visited her to try to learn how typical was she and what drives people to kill innocent civilians?
How many like her want to change their minds, but can’t? Is there a point of no return? If so, where is it?
“Mr. Minister,” she asked of Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, “what will become of me? I have no future. I don’t want my whole life to be ruined because of this. I didn’t do anything. Don’t forget that. I didn’t do it. I changed my mind. Please let me out.”
Arin spent seven years behind bars for planning the attack and was released in February 2009. She has no regrets about aborting the bombing. When she emerged from prison she said,
“Everything is changing and continuing in a way or another, but you have to go forward.”
Today, Arin gives lectures at universities about why “she changed her mind.” This surprising conversation was documented by a reporter for the Israeli daily Ha’aretz. For the full audio and word transcript click here.
It’s encouraging to know people can change! There’s real hope for you and those you know. God has been changing hearts and minds of people and nations for thousands of years.
He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Hebrews 13:8
The God that changes not, changes everything! Be grateful that His love for you and I will never change! That’s one thing we can count on!
With Hope,
