Wartime Diaries: Anwar Ben Badis

The war has, among many other things, been incredibly tough on parents. Simply understanding what’s going on — factually, emotionally, politically, morally — is hard enough. Having to then also explain and communicate it to your kids is doubly difficult.

If that is a challenge that nearly every parent here has felt since the start of the war, the parenting tightrope that Anwar Ben Badis has had to walk is unique: Anwar is Palestinian and is married to Sari, who is an Israeli Jew. They have an 8-year-old daughter, Hili, who attends the bilingual Hand-in-Hand School in Jerusalem.

Figuring out what to say, what not to say, and how to balance dueling narratives and identities — all that is a daily challenge in Anwar’s case. It is as if the entire conflict, with all of its barbed complexities, exists within his home.

The end song is Yalda Sheli Ktana (“Little Girl of Mine”) by Idan Raichel. (Licensed by Israel Story through Acum)

Produced in partnership with The Times of Israel.

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