First Sergeant Major tom kitiain
Tom grew up in Neve Shalom, a community whose members are Palestinians and Jews; Israeli citizens who chose to create together constant dialogues and a search for a different and equal reality. Daniela, his mother: “Here, Tom absorbed values of peace, love, nature, and love of man. He was a boy who heart was full and overflowing with beauty, intelligence and naiveté. He was the first to finish sixth grade in the community; the first class of two students. He was the first male soldier in Neve Shalom and the first IDF death in Neve Shalom.”
“The night of the tragedy was a very tense night. There was a mess with the television reports, but we had immediate insight. The people of the community, Arabs and Jews, started coming to us and there was so much empathy for the pain and the bereavement. They told us in the early morning and with time the things became more and more complicated. Things that are taken for granted in one place can create dilemmas that are not easy. Take for example the issue of the memorialization. There were members of the community that objected to memorializing a combat soldier in Lebanon because people could think the community supports fighting. This is a place that is full of difficulties and demands determination.”
“The night of the tragedy was a very tense night. There was a mess with the television reports, but we had immediate insight. The people of the community, Arabs and Jews, started coming to us and there was so much empathy for the pain and the bereavement. They told us in the early morning and with time the things became more and more complicated. Things that are taken for granted in one place can create dilemmas that are not easy. Take for example the issue of the memorialization. There were members of the community that objected to memorializing a combat soldier in Lebanon because people could think the community supports fighting. This is a place that is full of difficulties and demands determination.”