Israel: Reaching Out to the Other Side
04 December 2006

Visiting Israel recently, we were struck by the enormous pressure under which both Israelis and Palestinians live.

Israel – with its sun-lit white houses and buildings, with the waving palm trees, the abundance of citrus trees and with plants flowering outside which in my country (the Netherlands) only grow inside – is a not an ordinary country. Underneath the surface of this thriving and enterprising society, tension is always there. It is felt in the way people anxiously follow the news, they phone each other all the time, as if to make sure that friends are still alive. The places where suicide bombings made numerous victims are pointed out to visitors. The army is everywhere, there are security gates and bags have to be opened for inspection.

Visiting Israel recently, we were struck by the enormous pressure under which both Israelis and Palestinians live. The measures Israel takes to protect its people cause great suffering and injustice to the Palestinians. We visited the wall/fence built around East Jerusalem and saw how this divides communities and Palestinian farmers from their land. But we were also struck by how many people there are on both sides who do not accept the situation as it is, and who try to change things for the better with courage and persistence. And who unfortunately do not reach the world’s headlines as those who use violent means do.

We were the guests of Merri Minuskin, director of the Center of Education for Reconciliation and Cooperation (CERC), which she founded three years ago. For Merri this centre is in line with her conviction for Initiatives of Change, which she met some ten years ago. In Caux she found allies in her desire to build trust across divides. Her first aim with CERC is to bring people together, both the different ethnic groups living within Israel and also Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians. She also organises programmes to empower women to take initiatives and to mediate. She brings mayors from the border areas from Israel and Jordan together to discuss common issues. There are programmes related to agriculture, sports, micro-financing and human rights. When we were there, an article and photo appeared in a major national newspaper, featuring a programme of CERC where Israelis and Jordanians play soccer together. This soccer group is also studying non-violent behaviour and how to mediate ‘win-win’ situations. CERC is writing a syllabus for high school teachers for teaching reconciliation in both the Palestinian territories and Israel. Next year they will be working with the children and the teachers in the schools.

It is increasingly difficult for some programmes to take place, because it is almost impossible for Palestinians to get permission to enter Israel. Yet, Merri often manages to get the required permission, with her extensive contacts and persuasive way.

Many we met talked about the Oslo agreement (1993) and how disastrous it is that these plans have not materialised. They had placed their hope in the ‘two state solution’. The murder of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin on 4 November 1995, by a fellow Jew, put the hope for a peaceful solution even further away. Our host Avner Huberman took us to the place where the murder took place. He could hardly hold back his tears when he described the events of that day, starting with a large peace demonstration where Rabin was the main speaker.

Israel is not an ordinary country because it lives under the shadow of the Holocaust. Many Jews who live there are descendants of survivors, like our hosts, Avner and Merri. In spite of everything – or maybe because of everything, because the only alternative to hate and fear is hope – Merri and her soul-mates continue with their efforts to bring change. When people meet one another and start to talk honestly, there is a chance that they start to understand the other’s point of view. And perhaps in the end a ‘win-win’ situation can be reached – that is Merri’s belief. Her aim is to work on different levels, at the grass-roots, at the level of civil society and at the governmental level.

‘To live in peace, you must live peace’, she says. ‘We must stretch out our hands to the Other. Many people are afraid that if they do, their hands will be chopped off. The important ingredient of my work is reconciliation. Reconciliation begins with the realisation that there is a wound. We need to open the wound in order to heal it. We need to go deep and not be afraid to be honest. We need to admit that both sides have a real truth. I hope we can find connecting points of the two truths – and build a new truth. This is the basis of all our programmes.’ ‘We cannot afford any more to work only in our own community and to make peace only with ourselves,’ is her firm conviction. ‘The only one who can solve my problem is someone from the other side. I must apologize to the right person. We need to reach the heart of the other person.’


COMMENTS

Pre-1948 Nakba Palestine – with its old-fashioned houses and farms, with the waving palm trees, the abundance of citrus trees and with plants flowering outside – was an extraordinary country. Underneath the surface of this peaceful and loving society, there was not tension before the British Mandate and Balfour Declaration. This tension is there now and felt in the way people anxiously follow the news, they phone each other all the time, especially after sonic-booms, incursions, assassinations, mass-killing, and brutality of a well-armed army, as if to make sure that friends and relatives are still alive. The places where 1000-pound laser-guided bombs and US-made missiles were dropped and made numerous victims including babies, infants, kids and elderly are pointed out to journalists and peace activist to tell about. The Israeli army is everywhere—land, sea and airspace—besieging Gaza Strip and deployed in the West Bank. There are security gates, checkpoints, wall and electric fences splitting villages and families. Palestine is not an ordinary country because it lives the new Holocaust of holocaust survivors’ descendants.

'To live in peace, you MUST live peace' and recognize the pain and agony that the Palestinians suffer.

Does it make sense to punish a whole population of more than 5 million to protect your own?!

Is the Israeli Army operations justified then? Is killing 20-30 person a day justified? I wonder we did not hear from you when there was massacres in northern Gaza two weeks ago, and examples continue.

Thanks for your 'objective' article.
Abdallah Ali, 04 December 2006

It's a splendid effort and a wonderful article. God may very especially bless Hennie de Pous-de Jonge in her peace efforts. Yours in peace,
Khush Gill, 06 December 2006

Unless stated otherwise, all content on this site falls under the terms of the Creative Commons Licence 3.0