Combatants for Peace
Israeli, Palestinian ex-fighters reject violence, refuse to be enemies
Continued co-existence efforts by
people of goodwill to end the violent stalemate.
Both are described in the book, Maneuvering
between the Headlines, by Christian Science columnist and author Helen Schary Motro.
In today's Monitor, finally see a real phoenix
rising from the ashes of the
Meet the New Warriors of
The first photo caption in the Monitor's lead
news story says, today -- April 6, 2006:
The second photo is described:
Read on how Palestinian and Jewish Israeli
ex-fighters -- no doves, no strangers to war and courage -- are turning their
faces away from violence and toward one another.
New heroes in increasing numbers are finding one
another to redefine patriotism and power.
The power of meeting.
The power of listening.
The power of people.
Refusing to be enemies.
Published in The Christian Science Monitor -- Thursday, 06
April 2006
On the Web at http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0406/p13s02-wome.html
Enemy soldiers gather - to strive for peace
Shunned by their respective governments, former Israeli and
Palestinian fighters
have been meeting in secret, seeking common ground.
By Amelia Thomas
ARRAM, WEST BANK The stark white room buzzes with Arabic
and Hebrew conversation as a group of about 50 men jovially shake hands and
arrange themselves in seats around its perimeter. The men range in age from 20
to 60. Some wear suits and polished shoes; others are dressed casually in sweat
pants and T-shirts.
They have one thing in common: All are former combatants who struggled to
defend their state - but half of them are former Israeli soldiers or pilots,
while the other half are former Palestinian "freedom fighters," many
of whom served time in Israeli jails.
These men once fought against each other. Together
they form a new organization called Combatants for Peace, which - after being
kept secret for a year - will make its public debut in
Combatants for Peace brings
together these ex-fighters to encourage dialogue, peace, and an end to conflict
in the region.
Former commander Zohar Shapira, an elite Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldier for
15 years, started the ball rolling when he left the army because he felt its
actions and incursions in Palestinian territories were "immoral." He
contacted a group of former Palestinian Fatah fighters
from around
"Our members are fighters from all ranks of
Israeli military and Palestinian militant factions," says Bassam Aramin, one of the
Palestinian cocreators of the group. They "know
the meaning of freedom, and the price of war."
The group's monthly meetings are charged with emotion,
says Yonatan Shapira, Zohar's brother and another cofounder. For new Palestinian
members, it may be the first time they have seen an unarmed Israeli soldier, Yonatan says. "For Israelis," he continues,
"they're often at first afraid of talking in front of Palestinians about
what they did during combat. For every new member, it's a frightening
experience, but it's also exhilarating."
Mr. Aramin, who served seven
years in an Israeli jail for "acts of defiance" against Israeli
soldiers, agrees.
"It's a paradox," he says. "You hear a
man talking about how he shot, killed, damaged your neighbor's house. But you
feel empathy for him. You realize that we are all from the same background, but
just from different sides. The soldier wanted to protect his people, and so did
we. But we've all discovered we were wrong in how we did it."
On this particular night, eight new Israeli and
Palestinian members attend, bringing the total membership to roughly 90, evenly
divided between both sides. After a brief introduction from two chairmen, a new
Israeli member stands up and nervously greets the group. The new member remains
anonymous - there is no pressure for attendees to reveal their names.
The room becomes quiet. At first he is hesitant, but
then he opens up, describing the turning point that made him decide to refuse
army orders in Palestinian territories.
"I was a soldier in
His commanding officer, however, ordered him to fire
the bomb regardless of possible civilian casualties.
"When I fired," he recalls, "I asked
myself how I could be doing something that could kill innocent people."
This is not an uncommon experience in this group.
Another member, a former Israeli Air Force pilot, was ordered to bomb a
building in
"At first I asked him," says Aramin, "how he could live, how he could look at his
wife and children. But this is his way of making amends."
Raed, a Palestinian father
of two from
"But then, my cousin was killed, and something
changed," he says. "I suddenly started thinking there must be another
way. First I lost my friend, then my cousin. I didn't want to lose more. There
had to be a way out of this violent circle. I hope," he says, adding,
"this group will become an important part of both our societies, and an example
to the world of how peace is possible, even among fighters."
The leaders of Combatants for Peace felt it was
important to keep their group secret until they had established clear goals.
Their aim: To press for an end to Israeli settlements and military incursions,
and for the creation of clear frontiers between independent Israeli and
Palestinian states.
So far, the group's low-key approach has confined it
to speaking at smaller public events, to Jewish groups in the
That road is not without obstacles.
First, it's difficult for the group to find a meeting
location. It is illegal for Israelis to enter most of the
Members say it will become even more difficult to meet
as the "security wall" goes up. Half-finished sections of wall
currently slice through a main road in the center of town.
Despite its efforts to promote peace and
understanding, the group has opponents on both sides of the conflict. Group
member Elazar Elchanan says
they are "staunchly opposed by the Israeli government." Aramin says Hamas, too, sees the
group as part of the opposition.
"We may be putting our lives in danger just by
meeting," says Yonatan Shapira,
"but we need to do this for the sake of everyone. Palestinians have tried
for years to oppose the occupation, and everything they've done has just made
the response more brutal. So we want to create an alternative to the military,
so that young people on both sides can join us instead of army or militia
groups."
Yonatan knows, though, that
the group's decision to go public will have repercussions for its members. He
was an instrumental figure in the creation of the September 2003 "Pilots'
Letter" signed by 27 Israeli Air Force pilots that stated, "We, who
were raised to love the state of
"I was at the center of a storm," he says.
"It was a real crisis in my life when that letter went public."
Nevertheless, he says, as the new members' introductions
come to an end and the group divides up to discuss strategies for the upcoming
launch, these former fighters are willing to face another storm in order to
"truly serve their families, to finish the occupation and be able to live
in peace together."
"It doesn't cease to be hard," says Aramin with a smile and sighing deeply. "You must
listen to what each person has to say, even though he might be the one who once
hit you, or killed a member of your family. But you must listen, and you must
forgive, even for the most difficult things."