Subscribe to Print Edition | Sun., October 18, 2009 Tishrei 30, 5770 | | Israel Time: 18:51 (EST+7)
Haaretz israel news English
web haaretz.com
Jewish World Haaretz Toolbar
Diplomacy
Defense Opinion National
Print Edition
Car Rental
Focus U.S.A. Strenger than Fiction Business Travel Magazine Week's End Anglo File Books
Share |
Last update - 20:16 14/10/2009
Working for peace is a form of prayer
By Bradley Burston
Tags: Israel News, J Street 

Click here for more articles by Bradley Burston
____________________


It's been a decade and a half that fanatics on both sides have ruined our lives. But there's a change coming. Whether the extremists like it or not. The sign came on the eve of the Sukkot festival, when Israel freed a group of Palestinian women prisoners in exchange for a video of IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, held by Hamas for well over three years.

The exchange was a quiet tectonic shift. The families of the Palestinian women told Israel television that they hoped that the Shalit family would soon be as happy as they were. A natural response, to be sure, but shocking in contrast to the tone of years past.

The exchange came about not because Ismail Haniyeh and Benjamin Netanyahu wanted it, and certainly not Avigdor Lieberman and Mahmoud Zahar. It came about because Palestinians and Israelis wanted it. They want to see their loved ones come home. And the result may well be a tectonic shift in the peace process, deriving from an issue of crucial importance to huge numbers of Israelis and Palestinians, one overshadowed in most accounts of the Mideast impasse, which is often portrayed as confined largely to questions of borders, holy sites, refugee repatriation and settler repatriation.

A prisoner exchange, in the context of a wider deal encompassing the Israeli siege on Gaza, rocket fire against Israel, and accompanied by Fatah-Hamas rapprochement and close Quartet involvement, could spark powerful, publicly supported momentum toward the establishment of Palestinian statehood and an eventual solution of the conflict.

There was something propitious about the timing of the release of the prisoners and of proof that Gilad Shalit was alive. Another sign may well come later this month. An unapologetically pro-peace and pro-Israel political convention may prove to be a landmark event in American Jewish history, and a turning point in the relationship between Israel and the largest Jewish community in the Diaspora.

The national conference of J Street will see an unprecedented North
American gathering of activists seeking a Mideast future anchored by the co-existence of a safely independent Israel and a justly independent Palestine.

Then there is the matter of Sukkot, a time of deep gladness and imminent judgment. It is a time for leaving the armor of the comfort zone, for going out and setting up a vulnerable shelter which allows neighbors to come not only as guests, but as equals.

May we take the opportunity to forget, for the moment, to hate. May we take our stomped expectations, our crumpled wish lists, our boiling blood and our lanced dreams, and still have the vision to seek a future in which two curiously similar, wholly incompatible peoples can be themselves, both secure, both self-governing, both truly independent. Two states.

Do people outside of the Holy Land have the right to push for changes in the Israeli-Palestinian equation? Absolutely. There are more Palestinians living outside of Palestine than within it, and more Jews living outside of the Jewish state than within it. For those who feel it, Palestine and Israel are certainly part of them, a core of their identity.

But in a region which needs healing much more than it needs hatred, it is more important than ever that activism be oriented toward a goal that can work. God knows, there are enough well-financed extremists working on both sides for a one-state solution that disenfranchises the other. As the real common enemy of both sides, fanatics don't need more help. They are more than capable of delaying peace on their own. They're praying as hard as they can that the two-state solution fails.

Yet prayer can also arouse new awareness, recover lost hope, and broaden compassion, and that is what the two-state solution requires. If it is to succeed, this is the time. If it is to succeed, the groups mentioned below are some of the people who could make it happen. They'll need all the help, and prayers, they can get.

It's only fitting. Working for peace is itself a form of prayer. Bearing the taunts, the frustration, the abuse from your own side and the distrust of the other, and yet retaining the faith and the power to keep on, is worship at its core. Working for peace is doing God's work.

Especially now. Now that extremism has corrupted two of the world's great religions. It has distorted them, taken them over, driven them as tools and engines of fanaticism. It has taken the two religions most zealous in their opposition to idolatry, and commanded them to hold certain collections of stones, certain parcels of soil, sacred beyond human life.

It has taken two peoples descended from one man, and turned them into mortal enemies. It has taken two peoples schooled and skilled as no others in the art of bargaining, negotiation, and reaching agreements, and has forbidden compromise, openness, creativity, compassion, accommodation, as forms of treason and mortal sin. It has taken one God, and taught Jews that Allah is not their Almighty, and Muslims that Elohim is not their All Merciful.

Working for peace is a form of reclaiming holiness lost. Like prayer, working for peace is a way of meeting, at long last, and often in surprise, our own hearts. The heart, that fist of muscle which appears from the outside to be in a continual fight with itself. Working for peace is a way to find out what that fight is really for.

_________________


[With thanks to Gershon Baskin, Kenneth Bob, Rabbi Miri Gold, and Ned Lazarus]

Among the many organizations working for a two-state solution are:
Ameinu
Brit Tzedek v'Shalom
Combatants for Peace
Gush Shalom
Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information
J Street
Meretz USA
Palestinian Peace Coalition
Panorama
Peace Now
The Geneva Initiative
Israel Policy Forum

Among the numerous groups working for reconciliation between Arabs and Jews, and for greater social justice in the Holy Land, are:

Alliance for Middle East Peace
B'Tselem
Just Vision
Negev Institute for Strategies of Peace and Development
New Israel Fund
One Voice
The Abraham Fund Initiatives
The Parents' Circle- Family Forum
Tikkun

Follow Bradley Burston on Twitter

Previous Blogs:

The cowardice, the vanity, the sin of boycotting Israel
The Gaza War 'victory' - Has Israel grown dependent on terror?
Can there be such a thing as an Israeli hero?
For Israel, a New Year, and a new left
This Jewish New Year, let's put an end to hope
A straight's prayer for young Israelis shot for being gay
Mr. Obama, have a talk with these Israelis, and soon
The painful cost to Israel of its settler adventure

PROMOTION: Mamilla Hotel
Bookmark to del.icio.us  
 
Goldstone battle ahead
Netanyahu: Prepare for long struggle against Goldstone Gaza report
Olmert, interrupted
WATCH: 'War criminal' calls interrupt Olmert speech at University of Chicago
  1.   Bradley Regardless Of The News... 00:17  |  Yosemite 06/10/09
  2.   Yes peace is a form of prayer 08:53  |  Prem Nizar Hameed 06/10/09
  3.   Amen 10:28  |  Rosie 06/10/09
  4.   Peace activities go in 2 directions 12:21  |  Alan Abbey 06/10/09
  5.   "...retaining the faith and the power to keep on.." 12:40  |  Simon 06/10/09
  6.   Still won`t happen 12:43  |  Ryan 06/10/09
  7.   Cutie Burston ,Israel has released many prisoners in the past. 12:55  |  Absolute Sweden 06/10/09
  8.   We already know most Jews support Palestinian+Jewish states 13:13  |  Sam 06/10/09
  9.   prayers 13:22  |  oz 06/10/09
  10.   No peace with these choices 14:12  |  The Other Alan 06/10/09
  11.   A Special Place in Hell 14:14  |  Bob 06/10/09
  12.   freedom then peace 14:22  |  Yossi 06/10/09
  13.   The leopard does not change his spots 14:41  |  Boaz 06/10/09
  14.   May Your Words Be Translated Into Actions 14:41  |  Yaakov Sullivan 06/10/09
  15.   Prayer isn`t enough 15:24  |  sh 06/10/09
  16.   BRADLEY BURSTON 15:52  |  PATRICK RIORDAN 06/10/09
  17.   Sorry Bradley 15:55  |  Clear-Eyed 06/10/09
  18.   incompatibility? 16:07  |  Harvie 06/10/09
  19.   Incompatibility? 16:18  |  Harvie 06/10/09
  20.   Fanatics of the Third Side 16:55  |  sergey 06/10/09
  21.   Agreed Mr. Burston 17:45  |  Mark Lincoln 06/10/09
  22.   Incompatible peoples 18:19  |  Canderra 06/10/09
  23.   Working for Peace . . . 18:31  |  RallyGirl 06/10/09
  24.   Re #1 Yosemite 19:02  |  Apa 06/10/09
  25.   To Sergey of Germantown 19:29  |  Otto Rand 06/10/09
  26.   Sergey - the 4th side is the biggest 19:36  |  Don Boston 06/10/09
  27.   To Sergey of Germantown 19:39  |  Otto Rand 06/10/09
  28.   Working for peace is a form of prayer, but... 21:03  |  american observer 06/10/09
  29.   Working for peace is a form of prayer 21:22  |  Brian John Deveau 06/10/09
  30.   Peace is a form of prayer 22:10  |  Brian John Deveau 06/10/09
  31.   Bradley,Why not work on changing the mindset of the Pals to co-ex 22:27  |  ks 06/10/09
  32.   IT SOUNDS WONDERFUL 23:44  |  TOBIA 06/10/09
  33.   Working for peace is a form of prayer 00:16  |  Brian John Deveau 07/10/09
  34.   Wow, so praying is as hard a job as fighting for justice 00:27  |  Mark B. 07/10/09
  35.   Amos Oz for PM & Bradley Burston for Minister of Education - 00:28  |  ivo 07/10/09
  36.   ks, so many errors, hard to know where to start... 00:48  |  BBSNews 07/10/09
  37.   To ks 02:01  |  Otto Rand 07/10/09
  38.   Dear Apa... 03:25  |  Yosemite 07/10/09
  39.   Peace between people 04:07  |  S. Minanel 07/10/09
  40.   Great article and truly incredible work throughout the 04:28  |  Smadar 07/10/09
  41.   hey moderator 04:43  |  Chaphari 07/10/09
  42.   Only One Divine Exit from Hell 05:15  |  Shimon Cleopas 07/10/09
  43.   #2 Prem Nizar Hameed You Have Your Heart In The Right Place But.. 05:27  |  Tim R 07/10/09
  44.   What to pray 05:34  |  Shimon Cleopas 07/10/09
  45.   B.J. Deveau, what an elegant poem 06:32  |  Richard Pearce 07/10/09
  46.   @Tim R 07:49  |  Prem Nizar Hameed 07/10/09
  47.   #28 Prem Nizar Hameed, I Am Glad That We ... 09:50  |  Tim R 07/10/09
  48.   #14 The Problem With Views Like Yours, Otto Rand, is .. 10:06  |  Tim R 07/10/09
  49.   Never mind the heart 06:31  |  Time 09/10/09
  50.   Prayer, war and peace are state of mind 10:45  |  Time 09/10/09
  51.   the hell is here and now 21:30  |  cristian 10/10/09
  52.   I whish Bradley were a Palestinian Arab 10:46  |  anthony Bley 11/10/09
  53.   Moral equivalence 13:53  |  Purple Canary 11/10/09
  54.   to ks #31 16:22  |  zeev 12/10/09
  55.   to anthony Bley #52 17:06  |  zeev 12/10/09
  56.   peace 01:38  |  yvonne 14/10/09
  57.   GIVING IN TO PEACE 22:36  |  Michael Greenberg 14/10/09
Special Offers
Advertisement
Eldan Rent a Car
Israel's leading car rental company offers you a 20% discount on online reservations
Date Local Jewish Singles
Ready to meet your match? Join Jdate today!
Junkyard
Junk a car - get free towing nationwide and a tax-deductible receipt
More Headlines
17:35 Iran blames U.S. and U.K. for suicide attack, vows revenge
17:21 Finance Minister: UN backing of Goldstone report is `anti-Semitic`
18:44 Rishon Letzion family of 6 laid to rest day after murdered at home
15:19 Report: IDF espionage devices uncovered in south Lebanon
18:09 Report: Israeli cafe boycotts Turkish coffee amid tensions
16:45 Israeli designers strut their stuff at L.A. fashion show
18:39 Thai billboard featuring Hitler causes diplomatic flap
09:19 TV ROUND-UP: Family of 6 brutally murdered; Olmert heckled in Chicago
13:25 Abbas popularity dips over response to Goldstone Gaza report
09:24 Netanyahu: Turkey can't be 'honest broker' in Syria talks
13:51 Gaza militants fire Qassam into southern Israel
09:06 Coming soon to Israel: Berlusconi and his topless beauties
09:31 Comment / How do Turkey and Israel measure each other's love?
Home | TV | Print Edition | Diplomacy | Opinion | Arts & Leisure | Sports | Jewish World | Site rules |
| Advert: Recommended Restaurants | Makom: Engaging on Israel
| Search engine marketing
Haaretz.com, the online edition of Haaretz Newspaper in Israel, offers real-time breaking news, opinions and analysis from Israel and the Middle East. Haaretz.com provides extensive and in-depth coverage of Israel, the Jewish World and the Middle East, including defense, diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the peace process, Israeli politics, Jerusalem affairs, international relations, Iran, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, the Palestinian Authority, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the Israeli business world and Jewish life in Israel and the Diaspora.
© Copyright  Haaretz. All rights reserved