If "The soul of man is the candle of G-d," why do we have so many faults? We have been made in G-d's image to be a light unto the nations yet we are not perfect and we do not love everyone as if they were all the children of G-d. We categorize people into Israeli and Palestinian, Jewish and Muslim, Liberal and Conservative. We no longer see humanity we only see titles, graphs, political parties, flags and we forget that our blood is the same color.
As every day passes, I am faced with an emotional struggle.
Its hard to explain this struggle, maybe its just homesickness or that I’ve been faced with this inner criticism of a country I call mine. I spent some time in the West Bank, both in Palestinian cities and in settlements and I found myself wondering how can people continue to live like this? How can they continue to live in a settlement surrounded by the possibility of hostility, with 5-10 armed soldiers guarding their homes in case of potential aggression? Why does stubbornness and anger trump forgiveness and love?
Whenever I get into a cab I like to ask the cab drivers, what does this conflict mean to you? I remember an Israeli Jewish driver named Yaakov who told me, “this isn’t your fight, enjoy your time here in Israel but don’t trouble yourself with our struggle it will only disappoint you.” He continued to tell me of how he lost his 2 sons, his oldest in a suicide bombing during the Second Intifada and his second in Gaza right before the disengagement of the Gush Katif settlements and the complete termination of occupation of the Gaza Strip.
His story reminded me of a poem I had read a few years ago called “Ode. Intimations of Immortality from Recollections of Early Childhood” by William Wordsworth. I recently read the poem over and a few lines struck me.
Though nothing can bring back the hour
Of splendour in the grass, of glory in the flower;
We will grieve not, rather find
Strength in what remains behind
Nothing in this world can ever bring back those that have fallen whether it be in honor of the State of Israel or as an innocent victim who’s life was taken in a split second. Too many parents, on both sides have had to put their children in the ground. Too many children have been and will continue to be sent off to enforce a blockade that has drawn international criticism. Too many children will continue to be motivated and influenced by violence and hatred. So what do we do from here? How can we “find strength in what remains behind”? What has remained behind in the aftermath of 60+ years of conflict and suffering?
I struggle with these questions because I try to find the answers. I want the pain of these people to be healed; I want them to love peace more than they hate each other. The blame for this conflict does not fall on one side over another; it is a two-sided struggle. Two sides that have committed grave errors, human rights violations, and injustices.
During my first trip to Bethlehem a few weeks ago I met a Palestinian cab driver named Qnais. Qnais picked us up at the checkpoint and began taking us on a tour around Bethlehem. He drove by his house and showed us how the wall had cut through some of his property but he was compensated by the Israelis he said. A few weeks later I bumped into Qnais again in Bethlehem, he called me Boss and gave me a huge hug. It was nice to see him again, he was a very sweet man and it saddened me to see his living conditions. When he looks out the window every morning he sees the wall, when he leaves for work every morning he sees that same wall and he’ll probably continue to see the wall until a solution is reached between 2 nations and 2 people. I guess I envision that some day when there is peace, when there is calm, Israelis and Palestinians will tear down the wall together and no longer see each other as enemies but as neighbors and brothers. Its funny how I pride myself on being a realist yet I slip into bouts of idealism and it depresses me when I come to my senses and realize that something like this might not even happen in my lifetime.
There are so many people in this region that have suffered tremendously. We have all lost, we have all cried, we have all mourned and we have all wondered when will this all end? I think its so important to remember that the acknowledgment of the suffering of the other does diminish my own suffering. For a Palestinian to recognize the suffering of the Israeli people does not mean their own suffering does not exist. For an Israeli to recognize the plight of the Palestinian people does not denounce the pain they have endured.
The people I have met, the things I have done here have opened my heart, my eyes and my mind. I have found myself loving peace more than I hate my enemy and I have also seen the other not as an enemy but as a human, one with similar struggles as my own. I will end this entry with Psalms 40.
Psalms 40:2-4
2 I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry.
3 He brought me up also out of the tumultuous pit, out of the miry clay;
and He set my feet upon a rock, He established my goings.
4 And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God;
many shall see, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.
I will continue to pray, hope, and yearn for peace and maybe one day not only G-d will hear my cry but the world will as well.
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Saturday, June 12, 2010
A small break from interfaith dialogue
As amazing as the entire concept of Interfaith dialogue may sound it is completely exhausting. It's a taxing process that has involved me putting aside politics and opening myself up to a different form of dialogue. This dialogue does not involve a competition of which side has suffered more and who deserves what and which law is behind which nation. No, this is dialogue that is solely dependent on religion. How does your religion view spirituality, marriage, peace, the environment. Since my last encounter I have been to 3 more. This brings it to a total of 5 encounters, but nothing could have prepared me for what happened at an encounter a few nights ago.
The topic was "God's holy mountain" - can the Temple Mount and Jerusalem be shared the three major religions or at least can it be shared by Muslims and Jews? This interfaith encounter group was first held last year and it attracted big religious leaders in Israel. One of those leader was Sheikh Nimar-Darwish, the creator of the Islamic Radical movement in Israel. At this encounter he said, "If in the End of Days the Messiah says God told him to build the Temple here, no one will disobey his command. However if this [i.e. building the Temple] is the will of the messiah, I will bring the stones on my shoulders!"
I found that to be very interesting and maybe even optimistic. The encounter itself did not turn out that way. It was heated and stressful for me. But I realized those are learning experiences not everything I do during my internship will be easy and exciting. But after that I needed a break. So I made a trip to Caesarea, a town about 45minutes south of Tel Aviv. I am here visiting some family members and just overall relaxing, sitting by the pool, and NOT talking about the conflict. I was actually able to check out a huge protest outside a concert here. Surprisingly this protest had nothing to do with Israel, the Mavi Marmara, the Palestinian people, the Gaza blockade or anything political. This was a protest calling from Israel to divest from BP. This environmental group had put up signs all over the city against BP and the oil spill. FINALLY! No more politics. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this protest, for the first time in so long this was something not politically motivated and completely based on the environment and people's concern over the oil spill in the Gulf coast that has take a back seat in the international uproar that has ensued over the Mavi Marmara incident.
Anyways, I'm happy at least someone gives a damn about the environment. I also had the opportunity to sit by a pool and tan and eat great Moroccan food and listen to some amazing Moroccan music. This weekend was much needed and it definitely was a great one. I am not really looking forward to going back to Jerusalem but I know there is a time for vacation and now its not the time. This was a pleasant excursion and I am now on my way to continuing my amazing internship.
The topic was "God's holy mountain" - can the Temple Mount and Jerusalem be shared the three major religions or at least can it be shared by Muslims and Jews? This interfaith encounter group was first held last year and it attracted big religious leaders in Israel. One of those leader was Sheikh Nimar-Darwish, the creator of the Islamic Radical movement in Israel. At this encounter he said, "If in the End of Days the Messiah says God told him to build the Temple here, no one will disobey his command. However if this [i.e. building the Temple] is the will of the messiah, I will bring the stones on my shoulders!"
I found that to be very interesting and maybe even optimistic. The encounter itself did not turn out that way. It was heated and stressful for me. But I realized those are learning experiences not everything I do during my internship will be easy and exciting. But after that I needed a break. So I made a trip to Caesarea, a town about 45minutes south of Tel Aviv. I am here visiting some family members and just overall relaxing, sitting by the pool, and NOT talking about the conflict. I was actually able to check out a huge protest outside a concert here. Surprisingly this protest had nothing to do with Israel, the Mavi Marmara, the Palestinian people, the Gaza blockade or anything political. This was a protest calling from Israel to divest from BP. This environmental group had put up signs all over the city against BP and the oil spill. FINALLY! No more politics. I can't tell you how much I enjoyed this protest, for the first time in so long this was something not politically motivated and completely based on the environment and people's concern over the oil spill in the Gulf coast that has take a back seat in the international uproar that has ensued over the Mavi Marmara incident.
Anyways, I'm happy at least someone gives a damn about the environment. I also had the opportunity to sit by a pool and tan and eat great Moroccan food and listen to some amazing Moroccan music. This weekend was much needed and it definitely was a great one. I am not really looking forward to going back to Jerusalem but I know there is a time for vacation and now its not the time. This was a pleasant excursion and I am now on my way to continuing my amazing internship.
Sunday, June 6, 2010
Bet Jala Adventures
Today I had my interfaith encounter at Bet Jala. I once again wasn’t permitted to take many pictures but I took some. The restaurant we went to was called Everest in Bet Jala and when we arrived we drove past a building and in Hebrew graffiti on the building it said “There are no weapons here, this is a restaurant.” The history of Bet Jala is a sordid one. Back during the second intifada a group of Hamas militants took over Bet Jala and began to shoot into Gilo (a jewish settlement) and launch rockets into the small city.
Israel’s response resulted in loss of life and the destruction of much of the infrastructure in Bet Jala. This small Palestinian town is a Christian one and that can be seen by the plethora of churches and monasteries we drove by. When we arrived at the restaurant I met Talib for the first time. He is a professor at Al-Quds University, a world-renowned scholar, and a advocate for peace and understanding between the religions represented in the region.
The encounter was impactful, interesting and meaningful. A Palestinian woman, Maisoon from Hebron who I bonded with shared a lot about spirituality in Islam. At the end she hugged me and said to me “Inshallah I will see you again”. The dialogue and respect between the people who represented the 3 religions was inspiring. Another woman, Raphaela from Italy, has done peace work in Tibet and India and is currently working for an NGO in Italy that fights for rights of disabled people with multiple sclerosis. She is definitely another inspiring figure. She represented Catholicism on the issue of spirituality and holiness.
The rabbi in the group, Robert Carroll who happens to also be a Brandeis alum, shared a story from the Talmud with the group. The story goes, there were once 2 men who had a disagreement over some land. One man claimed that he owned the land and the other claimed that he owned the land. This is when Talib quipped, “well doesn’t that sound familiar.” These two men argued and fought over the land but to no avail, neither was willing to sacrifice what they believed to be was their land. They decided to go speak to a judge. This judge heard both their cases but was not able to make a decision on the matter. So the judge told both men, “I could not properly deliberate and therefore I have decided that we should ask the land what it thinks.” When they arrived at the plot of land the judge asked, “Which of these men is your rightful owner?” And the land replied, “Neither of these men own me, I own both of them.” Symbolically, this represents that we are just creatures in this world that are at the mercy of the environment. We are at the mercy of hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis. We are at the mercy of the rain, sun, and snow. We do not own the land, the land owns us. There has been so much bloodshed over this land that the Palestinians and Israelis have been fighting over for years but if we don’t respect one another, our claim to any land is futile. It’s a powerful message that resonated through every single person sitting at that encounter.
By the end of the encounter we were all family. We exchanged hugs and kisses on the cheeks. Talib took a liking to me, he told me, “keep spreading peace because you are OUR future.” I don’t think he was directly telling me that I am the future of the conflict but he was enforcing a message, that the youth of today are the future of this conflict. He continued on and said to me, you can convince 100 people out of your village of 101 to go to war but if that 1 person is against you, even if you win the war you are the loser. Because it only takes one to conquer you.” What I understood from this was, that even if you win the actual battle, if not everyone supports your message of peace, you will lose. You lose because if a message of understanding and respect and a willingness for peace isn’t something engrained into every single person’s mind form both sides, violence will just continue. It will have a constant presence in both Israel and the Palestinian territories and both sides will suffer tremendously.
This encounter was a productive and moving one. It has shown me inner beauty in so many people and that is something I have come to respect and yearn for. This sense of inner peace and respect towards people of all religions and political affiliations. And maturity and wisdom that is rarely seen anywhere else in the world. These people know the struggle because they are living the struggle, yet their view peace as the only option and they are willing to learn more and grow as human beings in order to achieve that outcome. I'm expecting and hoping that these encounters will be as amazing as this one.
Israel’s response resulted in loss of life and the destruction of much of the infrastructure in Bet Jala. This small Palestinian town is a Christian one and that can be seen by the plethora of churches and monasteries we drove by. When we arrived at the restaurant I met Talib for the first time. He is a professor at Al-Quds University, a world-renowned scholar, and a advocate for peace and understanding between the religions represented in the region.
The encounter was impactful, interesting and meaningful. A Palestinian woman, Maisoon from Hebron who I bonded with shared a lot about spirituality in Islam. At the end she hugged me and said to me “Inshallah I will see you again”. The dialogue and respect between the people who represented the 3 religions was inspiring. Another woman, Raphaela from Italy, has done peace work in Tibet and India and is currently working for an NGO in Italy that fights for rights of disabled people with multiple sclerosis. She is definitely another inspiring figure. She represented Catholicism on the issue of spirituality and holiness.
The rabbi in the group, Robert Carroll who happens to also be a Brandeis alum, shared a story from the Talmud with the group. The story goes, there were once 2 men who had a disagreement over some land. One man claimed that he owned the land and the other claimed that he owned the land. This is when Talib quipped, “well doesn’t that sound familiar.” These two men argued and fought over the land but to no avail, neither was willing to sacrifice what they believed to be was their land. They decided to go speak to a judge. This judge heard both their cases but was not able to make a decision on the matter. So the judge told both men, “I could not properly deliberate and therefore I have decided that we should ask the land what it thinks.” When they arrived at the plot of land the judge asked, “Which of these men is your rightful owner?” And the land replied, “Neither of these men own me, I own both of them.” Symbolically, this represents that we are just creatures in this world that are at the mercy of the environment. We are at the mercy of hurricanes, earthquakes, tsunamis. We are at the mercy of the rain, sun, and snow. We do not own the land, the land owns us. There has been so much bloodshed over this land that the Palestinians and Israelis have been fighting over for years but if we don’t respect one another, our claim to any land is futile. It’s a powerful message that resonated through every single person sitting at that encounter.
By the end of the encounter we were all family. We exchanged hugs and kisses on the cheeks. Talib took a liking to me, he told me, “keep spreading peace because you are OUR future.” I don’t think he was directly telling me that I am the future of the conflict but he was enforcing a message, that the youth of today are the future of this conflict. He continued on and said to me, you can convince 100 people out of your village of 101 to go to war but if that 1 person is against you, even if you win the war you are the loser. Because it only takes one to conquer you.” What I understood from this was, that even if you win the actual battle, if not everyone supports your message of peace, you will lose. You lose because if a message of understanding and respect and a willingness for peace isn’t something engrained into every single person’s mind form both sides, violence will just continue. It will have a constant presence in both Israel and the Palestinian territories and both sides will suffer tremendously.
This encounter was a productive and moving one. It has shown me inner beauty in so many people and that is something I have come to respect and yearn for. This sense of inner peace and respect towards people of all religions and political affiliations. And maturity and wisdom that is rarely seen anywhere else in the world. These people know the struggle because they are living the struggle, yet their view peace as the only option and they are willing to learn more and grow as human beings in order to achieve that outcome. I'm expecting and hoping that these encounters will be as amazing as this one.
Saturday, June 5, 2010
trip to bethlehem
Today we took a trip into the West Bank. Jordan came into Jerusalem from Jaffa and spent Shabbat with us. Then we woke up early this morning and prepared for our trip into the West Bank. We took an Arab shared taxi to the checkpoint where we were dropped off. Together we walked through the security checkpoint and alongside the fence/wall that separates Israel from the Palestinian Territories.
Our first destination would be the Church of the Nativity but in order to get there we would need to take a cab. None of us know the language, I know a few absolutely random words and phrases but that gets me nowhere in the West Bank. I quickly found a friend, a taxi driver named Qnais, a sweet, bubbly, middle aged man from Bethlehem. He took us through the city stopping to allow us to take a few photos. He kept calling me "Boss", which I found to be amusing. He dropped us off in front of the church and wished us well. After going through the church itself we decided to explore the city of Bethlehem. We entered a bustling market place and in just a few minutes we saw no more tourists, no more internationals, just Palestinians going about their daily lives buying, selling, and bargaining. Its funny how similar the Israelis and Palestinians really are, this scene was one that was mimicked in Machane Yehuda, a large shuk in Jerusalem.
After our journey through Bethlehem we visited the Dheishe refugee camp. Walking through the "camp" (not the typical refugee camp - there are buildings and houses, etc...) we saw a very unfortunate sight. It felt like a third world country to me, the great disparity between the city of Bethlehem and this refugee camp was very evident. Once again I made some friends along the way, 2 shop owners who asked me to take their picture. We chatted for a few minutes and one of them asked me where I was from, I said New York City. He went on to explain to me how he spent 2 days in New York 6 summers ago and how he liked Texas better. I laughed at his 10 minute anecdote that he struggled through due to his lack of English vocabulary. He definitely had very high spirits for someone living in a refugee camp. I liked that about him, it shows that there will always be people in this world who would rather smile and laugh then complain about the situation they live in or ask for any sort of pity. He was very optimistic and very kind, and as I was leaving he told me welcome and I told him shukran. He got a kick out of that, a white American girl trying to speak Arabic.
When we reached the end of the camp the houses became nicer, beautiful, well built, and clean. This was so radically different from the beginning of the camp. I soon found out that most of these nicer houses are owned by members of the Fatah Party and the Palestinian Authority. Unfortunately corruption is something very common in this world but I blame many of the conditions of the Dheisheh refugee camp on the government on Abu Mazen, and on Fatah. There is no excuse to allow this level of suffering while government and Fatah party officials live in the lap of luxury.
Finally, our short field trip came to an end we walked alongside the security fence/wall towards our checkpoint to enter back into Israel. The things written on the wall ranged from powerful, to meaningful, to pleading, to cruel, to anti-Semitic, and to memorable. Is was definitely a thought provoking and powerful way to end our trip. I think I will make my way back to Bethlehem next weekend and explore some more, maybe visit another refugee camp (there are 3 in Bethlehem). Tomorrow I go to Beit Jala for an interfaith encounter, it should be powerful and emotional. I can't wait until then! That's all from now but I'll write another post after my visit to Beit Jala tomorrow.
Our first destination would be the Church of the Nativity but in order to get there we would need to take a cab. None of us know the language, I know a few absolutely random words and phrases but that gets me nowhere in the West Bank. I quickly found a friend, a taxi driver named Qnais, a sweet, bubbly, middle aged man from Bethlehem. He took us through the city stopping to allow us to take a few photos. He kept calling me "Boss", which I found to be amusing. He dropped us off in front of the church and wished us well. After going through the church itself we decided to explore the city of Bethlehem. We entered a bustling market place and in just a few minutes we saw no more tourists, no more internationals, just Palestinians going about their daily lives buying, selling, and bargaining. Its funny how similar the Israelis and Palestinians really are, this scene was one that was mimicked in Machane Yehuda, a large shuk in Jerusalem.
After our journey through Bethlehem we visited the Dheishe refugee camp. Walking through the "camp" (not the typical refugee camp - there are buildings and houses, etc...) we saw a very unfortunate sight. It felt like a third world country to me, the great disparity between the city of Bethlehem and this refugee camp was very evident. Once again I made some friends along the way, 2 shop owners who asked me to take their picture. We chatted for a few minutes and one of them asked me where I was from, I said New York City. He went on to explain to me how he spent 2 days in New York 6 summers ago and how he liked Texas better. I laughed at his 10 minute anecdote that he struggled through due to his lack of English vocabulary. He definitely had very high spirits for someone living in a refugee camp. I liked that about him, it shows that there will always be people in this world who would rather smile and laugh then complain about the situation they live in or ask for any sort of pity. He was very optimistic and very kind, and as I was leaving he told me welcome and I told him shukran. He got a kick out of that, a white American girl trying to speak Arabic.
When we reached the end of the camp the houses became nicer, beautiful, well built, and clean. This was so radically different from the beginning of the camp. I soon found out that most of these nicer houses are owned by members of the Fatah Party and the Palestinian Authority. Unfortunately corruption is something very common in this world but I blame many of the conditions of the Dheisheh refugee camp on the government on Abu Mazen, and on Fatah. There is no excuse to allow this level of suffering while government and Fatah party officials live in the lap of luxury.
Finally, our short field trip came to an end we walked alongside the security fence/wall towards our checkpoint to enter back into Israel. The things written on the wall ranged from powerful, to meaningful, to pleading, to cruel, to anti-Semitic, and to memorable. Is was definitely a thought provoking and powerful way to end our trip. I think I will make my way back to Bethlehem next weekend and explore some more, maybe visit another refugee camp (there are 3 in Bethlehem). Tomorrow I go to Beit Jala for an interfaith encounter, it should be powerful and emotional. I can't wait until then! That's all from now but I'll write another post after my visit to Beit Jala tomorrow.
Tuesday, June 1, 2010
First Day!
Today was my first day at the Interfaith Encounter Association! It's a grassroots organization that has been working for many years to spread peace through interfaith dialogue. Depending on how my internship goes, Yehuda (my boss) and I discussed starting a branch at Brandeis University which, I think can become extremely beneficial to students of all faiths.
Tonight at 6:15pm I will be going to my first Interfaith Encounter in Jerusalem. Its an all female encounter of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish women from Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, Tel Aviv and the West Bank. It should be absolutely amazing. I'll be photographing and taking notes, just trying to take it all in and experience it to the fullest. So I will probably post some pictures and a short post later today on my experience.
Tonight at 6:15pm I will be going to my first Interfaith Encounter in Jerusalem. Its an all female encounter of Muslim, Christian, and Jewish women from Jerusalem, Jaffa, Haifa, Tel Aviv and the West Bank. It should be absolutely amazing. I'll be photographing and taking notes, just trying to take it all in and experience it to the fullest. So I will probably post some pictures and a short post later today on my experience.
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