Alkas Cakmak:

Hello Maxim, I am glad to see you here. I am going to have a couple of question to you as a businessman, social activist and as a native Jewish. As far as we know, there is ongoing conflict between Moslem world and Jewish word, how would you analyze this conflict as a native Jewish man and from the point of Israel? And what should be done to stop this conflict?

Maxim:

Good evening! The Jews have never been a warlike nation. We have no qualms with Muslims. Our problem is with the extremists and fanatics, that is, those who seek to kill us. It has been 70 years, more or less, since we went through the Holocaust. Perhaps this is the reason for the (foundation of the) Israeli state, and perhaps if things were different, this country would not have existed. Because the Jewish people needed a place to live and defend themselves. We are capable of defending ourselves. But we have never been the aggressive side. Neither Judaism and the Torah nor the Qur'an and the Bible, none of these Holy Books preaches killing or oppression; all of them preach benevolence. Apart from that, all of these Books contain pretty much the same teachings. What the Muslim extremist do today is to interpret the message of the Qur'an arbitrarily and make up things that are not in there. I do not think the Qur'an would contain any verses about those who kill the Jews being rewarded with 30 something virgins. Something like this would never be written in the Qur'an. Inherently, the Qur'an does not teach people hatred; on the contrary, it forbids it. And it is the same message as any other religion. All religions preach that man should lead a life of goodness, not oppression.

How can the issues between Muslims and Jews be resolved? For example, there is an ongoing war across our borders. We are frequently accused of helping some people is Syria. This is actually not true; we are not helping anyone in Syria. We are merely providing treatment to women and children staying in our hospitals.

Alkas Cakmak:

Yes, I have heard about that. I am deeply grateful to you for helping Muslim women and children; what you are doing is really commendable.

Maxim:

Yes, we offer a helping hand to all who are in need. When people talk about Israel attacking somewhere, what we merely do is, if we perceive a threat, see an armed civilian approaching or someone who is collaborating with our enemies or terrorist organizations, we lay waste to them. In other words, we are simply fighting to defend our own lives.

The problem today is that, even with Palestine, it is quite difficult to make any attempt at negotiation and come to an agreement even on the most trivial things. At times, people have been fueled by grudges and hatred, but other than that, they actually make money from this war. The humanitarian aids sent by relief organizations do not even have the chance to reach the civilian population.

Alkas Cakmak:

Those who are in charge of this most probably pocket the aids themselves.

Maxim:

 Anyone who can lay their hands on the money takes it for themselves. Yes, that is right, the administration is pocketing the aid money while the population is suffering starvation, and we cannot do anything about them. This situation will not change for the better until the population realizes that the administration must change. But we are always ready to help. On multiple occasions, we offered to establish industrial zones across the border to provide them with job opportunities. Besides, most of the Palestinians who have jobs are working in Israel.

Alkas Cakmak:

Yes, many Palestinians are working in your industrial sites.

Maxim:

Yes they are working at constructions and anywhere they can find a job. What we offer to the Palestinians is exactly this; "Live alongside us in harmony and we will restore your economy by opening new factories and enterprises, develop new businesses where you can find employment opportunities." We are capable of doing that. I can assure you, anyone can say anything about Jews, but no one can say that they are stupid.

Alkas Cakmak:

Of course...

Maxim:

For that reason, it is not a secret today that Israel is seeking to make deals with the moderate ones among the Arabic, Muslim countries. We do not like to count any agreements or deals, but I will tell you much more. The news just reported 5 minutes ago that the first Israeli cargo plane flew over Saudi Arabia. Priorly, they would have never allowed us to do that.

Alkas Cakmak:

 That is incredible news! Yes, this is good news not only for Saudi Arabia and Israel, but the whole world.

Maxim:

Indeed, we want to live in peace and cooperation. We do not ask for more; we only want to live in peace. During the last war with Lebanon, my children slept in bomb shelters for an entire month. The sounds of sirens and missiles being launched were constantly heard at the distance. How can you explain a little child why we are being fired at? That is a small child and he/she suffers from the effects of this trauma throughout his/her life.

Alkas Cakmak:

It scars him/her.

Maxim:

This is why we always say, if we have to defend ourselves, we will. We are a small but a prideful country. We are capable of fighting. But for example, the name of our army literally translates into (Russian) English as "Israel Defense Army." We are simply defending ourselves. We never initiate aggression and always favor living in harmony.

Alkas Cakmak:

You have said some wonderful things. The only thing I can add is that there are many Muslims in the world and we are ready to cooperate with you. If good people starts working together, it will make the people with malicious intentions afraid, which in turn will prevent terrorist activities, in my opinion. This is why we pay heed to our own channels. There are many good people who really opt for peace on earth and work to preserve it. Therefore, we must unite under this goal, and we are ready to do so in our country. I know that your country is ready for this too.

 Maxim:

There is a saying in the Torah, "Open your heart along with your hand." It means, if you are to give something, do it wholeheartedly.

Alkas Cakmak:

Our hands are open, too. I am very pleased to meet you. I thank you so much. I thank you again and again. I might have thanked too much.

Alkas Cakmak:

You have made some very good points. It makes me happy to see the existence of such people who wish for peace. We think we need to work together with such good people. When that is the case, the evil people who cause troubles in the world will be afraid to pursue their evil intentions. Our children and grandchildren will have better lives. You said that when people meet, they open their hands. So, I open my hand to express my pleasure for meeting you. Thank you very much. Thank you, Maxim! He is a social activist, businessman and above all, our friend. Thank you!