Jews, Arabs succeed on advice from 2,500 years ago
Sunday, 24
December 2006
What is Light in our time -- this December, 2006?
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PRINCIPLES
A. To survive, there is a principle to study and live by -- All is One -- Echad, Wahad.
There is no individual survival.
We must live as if we are neighbors forever -- with each other,
and with Earth upon whom we are totally dependent to live.
B. The means are the ends in
the making.
"The prophets were the first. . . in history to regard a nation's reliance upon
force as evil," wrote scholar Abraham Joshua Heschel.
After Sept. 11, 2001, turning for answers to those
biblical ancients was Richard E. Rubenstein (
RRubenst@gmu.edu ), Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at
Rubenstein could foresee the terrorist assault
provoking a violent American response, and that response provoking further
retaliation, in a potentially endless cycle of blows and counterblows.
To escape this trap, he consulted the prophets about
how to live in a world so deeply and violently divided.
They had their feet on the ground and their eyes on
people.
These nevi'im
-- the shouters -- were courageous citizens who declared indelible visions of
justice and compassion.
By what principles could a people preserve a
"unique spiritual and national identity"?
The first Isaiah recognized that "[w]hat
stabilizes political authority over the course of time ... is not a
government's command of force, but its justice and integrity -- or, as we might
say, its moral legitimacy."
It is to Isaiah we owe the unforgettable words of
beating swords into plowshares.
A century later, Jeremiah said survival and the best
life were best assured by living by high principles and rejecting war and
military alliances.
Second Isaiah prescribed success grounded in empathy.
Isaiah and Micah encouraged inclusiveness,
envisioning everyone ascending together in the name of one's own deity.
Rubenstein concludes with Jesus of Nazareth's
"imperishable contribution ... made on the terrain of ethical
creativity" first proclaimed by the classical prophets.
Jesus "broadens the application of Isaian justice to include new and controversial
categories of people requiring care and protection."
Read more from Jean Barker's book review:
Published in the
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/12/12/DDGAKMTIA21.DTL
All
they were saying -- 2,500 years ago -- is give peace a chance
Jean E. Barker
Thus Saith
the Lord
The Revolutionary Moral Vision of
Isaiah and Jeremiah
By Richard E. Rubenstein
HARCOURT; 258 pages
EXAMPLES (3)
BREAKING ICE:
Lebanese, Israeli girls phone across a boundary
An Arab and a Jew -- two very human young
students -- courageously and happily broke the ice between
Shir in
Hear their 7-minute conversation in a UNICEF Podcast -- http://odeo.com/audio/2276574/view
MUSICIAN PEACEMAKERS:
A third party for the
Lukas Pairon is
an example of unprecedented compassion and creativity.
Pairon is general director
of the music ensemble Ictus --http://ictus.be
.
He is president of Music Fund --
http://musicfund.be --
delivering musical instruments, and face-to-face music instruction, for people
in conflict to let the arts and relationships do their magic to transform
citizens and relationships.
Pairon
asked: What is it that we, Belgians and Europeans, can do for the inhabitants
of this region?
In what way can we give them support as a third party?
"By keeping contact in a selective, but also
very intense and committed manner, by putting together projects with all those
who are victims of the conflict in the region Palestinians in the occupied
territories, the Arabs and the Jews of Israel we show our solidarity with those
who, in spite of everything, continue to dream of peace in future, even if that
future seems remote."
Read his thoughtful essay:
It is also published at http://www.kibush.co.il/show_file.asp?num=18156
.
Read the hopeful preamble there:
"In a
few days, musicians from the Belgian music ensemble ICTUS and members of the organisation MUSIC FUND will arrive in
It is
the 14th time that soloists of ICTUS are coming to teach in music schools in
the region, since they started their project in October 2002, and it is Music
Fund`s 2nd shipment of music instruments in 1 year
time (now 311 music instruments are being donated to music schools, including
10 pianos).
The
following is an article by Lukas Pairon, the projects`
initiator, written as part of the Cultural Boycott debate in the Belgian press.
After
that: the schedule of appearances in Tel-Aviv,
CROSSING
BORDERS:
Israeli, Palestinian students travel to two-day dialogue
Overcoming physical and psychological
obstacles checkpoints and barriers, fear and resentment Peace Now convened a
landmark two-day dialogue between Israeli and Palestinian students Friday and
Saturday, December 15-16, 2006.
Participants were invited this way:
The dialogue brought
together students from across
The youth wrestled with issues of stereotypes,
culture and identity, internal Palestinian politics, and internal Israeli
politics.
Guest political figures spoke, including Knesset
Member Ran Cohen and Prof. Mohammed Dajani, director
of American studies at
Knowing that music matters, the young women and men
also learned Arab-style drumming from
In recent years, Israeli-Palestinian dialogues have
become increasingly rare, due in part to the logistical and security
difficulties of bringing Israelis and Palestinian together.
For this meeting, the IDF initially refused to issue
the travel permits that would allow the Palestinian students to cross into
To overcome this obstacle, Peace Now petitioned
Following the petition, the IDF reconsidered its
objections and granted the permits.
The organizers believe that building and maintaining
bridges of friendship and communication between Israelis and Palestinians
students, academics, civil society leaders is vital,
especially during this difficult period when contacts at the official level
have been cut off, and when most venues for interaction are no longer
accessible.
More meetings are anticipated.
See PHOTOS and more at http://peacenow.org/updates.asp?rid=0&cid=3293 .
Read YOUTH RESPONSES at http://peacenow.org/shalom/news.asp?rid=0&cid=3294 .