“Send thy peace O Lord, which is perfect and everlasting
That our souls may radiate peace.” (Pir Hazrat Kahn)

The group

Community of villages at Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum

Young soldiers

Fruit tree in Bah'ai garden in Haifa

When I joined the study trip to Israel with thirteen wonderful people, sponsored by the American Israeli Friendship League, a friend said it would break my heart. Indeed it did. This is the most intractable heartbreaking conflict I have known. It is not a matter of right and wrong – rather there are two rights and a tragedy.

In 1948, 840,000 Palestinians fled from their homes. By 2003, the latest comprehensive study published by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, counts 4 million Palestinians dispersed in Jordan, Egypt, Syria, Lebanon and all over the Near East. For those living in Palestine, checkpoint delays disrupt lives and threaten jobs; curfews and closures obstruct families; unemployment is at 60%, humanitarian deliveries of food, medicine and aid are thwarted. The building of the fence/wall, which is both cutting Palestinians off from their land and also walling them in, looms large on the horizon. We are told that the future holds little promise for people in the Middle East. “There is no feast. There is no peace. There is nothing to celebrate. We can only cry” is the word that came from Hebron after the recent Muslim Eid al Adha (Feast of Sacrifice). From Israel’s perspective, the fence/wall is for security from suicide bombers and the incursions into Palestine territory are to protect settlers. Young families in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv sadly told us that they will leave soon because it is not safe to raise a family in Israel.

It was frequently said to us that the leaders of both sides have nothing to gain from peace and everything to gain from continued war. Neither Sharon nor Arafat is working for peace.

And yet in the heart of the conflict is a powerful movement to build peace. We met six different peace-making groups:

PRIME – Peace Research Initiatives for the Middle East – is an institute for Israeli and Arab teachers to develop curriculum exposing the different narratives current on each side of the conflict. Their mission is to teach peace for coming generations.

Peace Now – A Settlement Watch Project – negotiates for peace with settlers on the West Bank and in the Gaza Strip. They monitor new settlements, 59 of which are illegal since the start of the most recent Intifada according to Dror Itkins, head of Peace Now.

The Bereaved Parents Forum taught us about reconciliation. Yitshak Frankenthal and Adel Misk explained to us that in their religions only the aggrieved can forgive. Their parents have been murdered so the injured are not able to forgive. But those left behind can reconcile, be friends and work together for peace.

ICCI – The Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel – demonstrates that religious leaders can and do dialogue with efficacy. Rabbi Kushner and Fr. Michael McGarry of Tantur brought with them a Palestinian woman. She and her women friends, Jewish and Arab, meet for dialogue in each other’s homes.

At the Center for Humanistic Education, in the Warsaw Ghetto Fighters’ Museum, Raya Kalisman introduced us to youth from both sides who have been trained to listen to and respect the narrative of the other.

And finally, the Village of Ma’alot Tarshicha, an Israeli-Arab village governed by one mayor and council, hosted a typical Middle Eastern lunch for us in a Bedouin Tent. Clearly they cherished their history of peaceful coexistence and demonstrated that peaceful social, economic and cultural interaction can be the hope for all of Israel.

But that beautiful settlement of the conflict is not yet. Rabbi Michael Melchior, member of the Knesset, Foreign Minister under Barak, opposition leader under Sharon, clarified the choice – a clash of civilizations or a coalition of civilizations. His three committee assignments in the Knesset highlight basic problems:

1. secular versus religious Jewish tensions;
2. religious Jews versus Arabs inside the Green Line border of Israel and
3. the environment (desalination and drip farming were described as part of the solution to the water crisis in this land).

He told us that Arabs, Christians and Jews must work for a coalition of civilizations – there is no other choice. Most of the Peace attempts are territorial in nature and will not solve the problem that is a basic refusal to understand and respect different cultures. What is needed is a mentality transformation. The need for religious dialogue is acute – religious leaders must prepare for the legitimization of a state of Palestine and a state of Israel and find a joint solution for the sacred religious sites. Learning each other’s narratives and dialogue among the religions will reveal that they have more common than dividing issues. There are common values across the religious borders. This is the only way to peace.

My final thought and prayer is that when this dialogue among cultures begins to succeed, it will be greatly enhanced by the blossoming of the exquisite flower nurtured by all the peace groups struggling today to bring peace to this tortured land.