Mercy Global Concern - 2003
ISRAEL TODAY - The Complexity of the Situation
Study Mission to Israel - January 2 - 10th, 2003
This briefing report is a summary of a Study Mission to Israel,
which I, along with a number of other NGO's at the United Nations,
was invited to be part of at the beginning of January 2003. The
purpose of the study mission was to meet with as many people as
possible in an effort to fully appreciate the complexity of the
situation there.
Our Study Mission under the auspices of the American- Israel Friendship
league and Americans for Peace Now was/is an attempt to dialogue
and meet with all sections involved in the conflict, so that we
might be able to engage in and offer help to all who feel besieged.
One of the reasons I agreed to be part of this delegation is that,
coming as I do from a society in conflict, I believe that it is
important for all sides get their story 'out there' in an effort
to work for peace instead of war. Being able to communicate and
being heard when one feels besieged is very important. I also feel
compelled to do something about the wave of anti-Semitism that is
rising today, as it did in the past. I for my part as a citizen
of the world never want to be charged with the crime of being a
'by-stander', when I could have done something to help.
Where our journey took us:
Meetings were held with Israeli's and Palestinians, with government
officials, academics, peace activists, educators, medical personnel,
as well as ordinary Jews, Christians and Muslims committed to working
for peace.
Naturally it did not provide insight into the whole picture of
the suffering of two peoples. Most of our contacts were with Jewish
men and women covering the whole spectrum of political and religious
positions. There was no chance to visit the occupied territories
and only limited chances to speak with Palestinian people. We heard
statements where one side attempted to demonise the other. We heard
statements that tried to look at the plight of the other with understanding.
That being said, it was a valuable and informative experience.
One of the concepts to which we were introduced early in the visit
was that of two narratives. Two peoples, one experience that each
endures; two opposing interpretations of and understanding of events
and their meaning. The existence of a Jewish and a Palestinian narrative
is not new. Indeed it is as old as Abraham our common father in
faith. Force and counter-force, violence and retaliation can never
lead to peace. A telling statement we heard was that this land has
"too much history and too little geography". What is sorely
needed is the opportunity for each to hear the other's narrative
or story as a non-negotiable first step. Hopefully then they can
begin to appreciate and respect the other's narrative, which tries
to make sense of their experience and attribute meaning to that
experience.
A Jewish woman teaching coexistence (which is the word used for
peace in these parts) through studying the Holocaust gave us a helpful
comment: "Don't try to compare and compete with your pain.
It is useless to say my suffering is greater than yours. Each side
has its own trauma, for the Palestinians the Naghbar, for the Jews
the Shoah. As partners in dialogue we must listen to the trauma
/pain of the other side"
Ingredients of the Tragedy:
Without a doubt the Middle East lost its best chance in 1977, when
President Anwar Sadat visited Jerusalem. The visit by this Arab
leader showed courage, decisiveness and extraordinary insight. To
go to Jerusalem, into the Israeli Knesset and declare to the Israeli
people: "we welcome you among us with full security and safety"
was a leap of faith and imagination, which has not been matched
since. Sadat must have known the risk he was taking and, like Yitzhak
Rabin fourteen years later, he paid with his life. If these two
deaths had brought Peace to this beleaguered region of the earth,
it might have been worth their sacrifice. Sadly, over three thousand
deaths later, Israelis and Palestinians are still locked in bitter
conflict.
So, in 2003 we witness:
- Terrible suffering and loss of life touches both Palestinian
and Israeli people.
- There has been a negative impact on the state of nutrition,
health, employment, access to education and health services for
most Palestinian people over the lifetime of the intifadeh.
- The number of illegal Israeli settlements has increased by 59
since the start of the intifada. (Settlement Watch's Director
Dror Itkins)
- Suicide bombings by Islamic radicals against Israeli civilians
have created an insupportable atmosphere of fear and anxiety among
the Israeli people.
- The economies of both peoples are suffering badly.
Today a new anti-Semitism has emerged. This is a dangerous situation
and the question must be asked: What has caused this present wave
of hatred and strongly worded expressions against Jews and the state
of Israel, reflected in the media, in street demonstrations, with
expressions within intellectual circles and in the failure of authorities
in countries to condemn what is taking place?
The greatest threat facing the Jewish people in Israel is not the
Palestinian people or their elected leadership, but rather groups
of Radical Islam. We were led to understand that the very success
of the IDF in containing Yasser Arafat in Ramallah, has allowed
extremist groups to increase the use of suicide bombing against
civilians and intemperate rhetoric to demonise the Jewish people
to precipitate more vicious retaliation by the IDF against Palestine.
Signs of Hope:
In the midst of our journey we found ourselves asking the question,
"Is there hope?"
We were privileged to meet men and women from both communities
who, in spite of the oppression and violence and in many cases personal
suffering, are searching for other ways to learn about and co-exist
with the 'other'.
We met Professor Sami Adwan, from Bethlehem University and Professor
Dan Bar-on from Ben Gurion, who are Co-Directors of PRIME (Peace
Research Institute of the Middle East). They are an excellent example
of individuals on the ground trying to help educators from both
sides develop education materials which can lead to understanding
about the 'other'.
We also meet with Raya Kalisman, Director of the Center for Humanistic
Education, a center bringing together Israeli Jewish, Christian
and Arab Students. We also visited Kibbutz Metzer. It sits cheek
by jowl with Palestinian villages on the "Green Line".
Both communities have lived peacefully there for many years. The
director told us how, after the slaying of a mother and two children
at the Kibbutz, hundreds of their Palestinian neighbors came to
offer their condolences.
At the Children's Medical Centre of Israel we saw a "bridge
to peace", where politics are left at the door and sick children
are treated with love and skill because they are children.
What can I/ We do?
This visit to the Middle East made one thing very clear. Somehow,
someone has to restore hope to both these peoples, by patiently
building their trust for each other. The minority Christian community
in this region must take seriously this responsibility. This process
must be hope-driven as well as process-driven.
It is vitally important that in trying to right one injustice another
is not perpetrated. Proper attention to the plight of the Palestinian
people must not be used as an excuse to fan the flames of anti-Semitism
against Jewish people. Hateful slogans by Radical Islam groups only
deepen the fear of many Jewish people in Israel that they are at
a grave disadvantage being one tiny nation surrounded by a sea of
Muslim states. This would only make the possibility of real negotiation
to lead to co-existence that much harder. The rhetoric of such radical
groups must be countered by the moderate voice of Islam.
If there is to be a move towards peace so desperately needed by
both sides, action must simultaneously happen from the top down
and from the bottom up. The Leaders of both Israel and the Palestinian
Authority must show some political will . A necessary first step
is to cease hostilities and begin a cooling off period. At the same
time cooperative action among Palestinian and Israeli peers is critical
to begin to dissipate the fog of pain, mistrust, suspicion, demonisation
and hate.
Time and time again we were told that the polls rate 70% or more
of both Palestinians and Israelis wanting peace and prepared to
make the concessions needed for this to follow. These signs of hope
(which already are numerous) must also be written about and communicated
both to their own people and to a world which looks on with sadness
and consternation.
I would want to be fair in presenting both the suffering and the
hopes of the people who live on both sides of this terrible cauldron
of fear and violence.
I would stress the right of both Jewish people and Palestinian
people to a homeland where they can live without fear. The gravest
obstacles to a peaceful solution are the illegal occupation of and
building of settlements on Palestinian territory, the targeting
of non-combatant Israeli civilians by Palestinian terrorists and
inordinate use of force against the Palestinian people by the Israeli
Defence Force.
When they were asked what could we as outsiders coming from USA
and elsewhere do to help the tragic situation of the Middle East,
there was a similarity in the response from many of the people with
whom we met: "Help people to see beyond the biased reporting,
past the propaganda which simplifies and demonises one side of the
conflict and absolves the other side, to the complexity of the situation.
We need people to believe that peace is possible. Be agents of peace;
keep on believing. Encourage one more step. You must believe in
peace".
I came away with many questions.
- The West (which includes USA, Europe as well as Australia and
New Zealand) needs to be seen as an honest peace broker in this
region and not an oil seeker? How can this perception be changed?
- What must the Israeli population do in order to get Palestinian
support for their right to the state of Israel?
- What must the Palestinian population do in order to get Israeli
support for their right to a Palestinian state?
The opportunity to visit the Middle East at this time has certainly
challenged me to read more about this very complex situation. While
we were in Israel a suicide bomb exploded in Tel Aviv killing 23
people and injuring over 80. This was followed by an attack by the
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) into a refugee camp. These bloody deeds
must be condemned. The international community must condemn violence
in all its forms in Israel and the Palestinian territories, especially
violence which targets innocent civilizations.
Working for human rights is about ensuring the dignity, equality
and security of all human beings everywhere. This are surely values
on which we can all agree.
" We must help both Israelis and Palestinians to break through
the barrier of which Sadat spoke: ' a barrier of suspicion, a barrier
of rejection, a barrier of fear, of deception, a barrier of hallucination...
a barrier of distorted interpretation of every event and statement.'
(Kofi Anan, Nov 13th 2002)
What is needed on both sides is true leadership." I commit
myself to this process.
Deirdre Mullan RSM
MGC
United Nations
New York, 2003
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