Quote
"Force is all-conquering, but its victories are short-lived." Abraham Lincoln
News
Last week's interception of six ships in the "Gaza flotilla" by Israeli security forces led to a pitched battle and the deaths of nine people. One disturbing aspect of this event is the blurring of distinctions: the flotilla was both an aid mission taking relief supplies to beleaguered Palestinians and an act of political defiance by activists seeking to undermine Israel's blockade of Gaza.
The Israeli and Palestinian positions are so deeply entrenched it is hard for either side to see any action by their opponents in anything other than the most negative light. Both sides are engaged in “competitive victimhood” which is used to justify their hardline actions and responses. Deep and lasting hostility leads to “demonization” of the other, whereby Israelis fail to recognise the common humanity of Palestinians and vice versa.
This conflict won’t ultimately be ended by a political agreement – which so far has eluded the most valiant attempts by international leaders and mediators. Sooner or later it must be brought down to personal reconciliation of relationships between Israelis and Palestinians, and between their respective international supporters.
Read on...
One organisation that is creating a range of opportunities for this kind of reconciliation is called Musalaha, based in Jerusalem. They bring together Israelis and Palestinians for several days of encounter in the desert, where they listen to each other’s stories and begin to see their traditional “enemies” as fellow human beings once more.
Our colleagues at the peace-building charity Concordis International held a recent consultation for British Churches on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict; an article by Musalaha founder Salim Munayer is among others in the conference papers, which you can read here http://www.concordis-international.org/files/pdfs/Concordis_Papers_VIII_UKChurches_ISRPALConflict_2ndEdition.pdf
Walk the talk
Is there someone you have an ongoing personal conflict with? Perhaps you could take the courageous initiative to invite him or her to a neutral place, where you can meet and try to extend your relationship beyond the territory dominated by the conflict. It may result that both of you appreciate the other’s humanity a little better, and understand more clearly why the conflict persists.
The last word
From the Bible, Matthew 5, verses 23-24: “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.”
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