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. So having to then also explain and communicate it to your kids is doubly difficult. But 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. So 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.