Tourism,
Hummus, Religions, and Pins
for Loving
One Another
Tuesday, 10 November 2015
"There are
some things only governments can do, such as negotiating binding agreements.
But
there are some
things that only citizens outside government can do, such as
changing human
relationships."
~ Dr. Harold Saunders, former U.S.
Assistant Secretary of State
and Negotiator of the Camp David Accords
"Could we not
allow ourselves the opportunity here and now to be together, to think together,
in a way that goes
beyond the pain and fog that we traditionally carry around leading people
past that natural
defenses into genuine contact with one another?"
~ William Isaacs
in
Dialogue: The Art of Thinking Together (2008)
"The future
is not some place we are going, but one we are creating.
The paths are not
to be found, but made.
And the activity
of making them changes both the maker and their destination."
~ Johnn Schaar
"We are all
at once both a composition and a composer.
We have the
ability not only to compose the future of our own lives, but to
help compose the
future of everyone around us and the communities in which we live.".
~ Maya Angelou
In the Holy
Land and around Earth, war's killing, exploding, starving, and refugee creation
cannot help us...or them.
No
power-over, no technology, neither distance nor walls, can provide the security
we desire.
Only love will succeed -- acts of goodwill, and ongoing human
relationships and communication excellence beginning with a listening that
inquires, dignifies, equalizes, familiarizes, and closes distances.
Here are some of today's initiatives of every-day citizens.
They move people toward one another to change human relationships
and compose the future.
= = 1 = =
Creating Tourism
for Inclusiveness
Modern Holy Land
citizen tour guides are becoming messengers of listening and empathy.
Contemporary travelers who hear various - sometimes conflicting - life stories
from widely diverse people and neighborhoods are challenged to expand, to hear
all the equally human voices as one. . .to see with empathy the larger story,
Our Story.
With thousands of daily tourists comes hope for a rise in understanding, heart
connection, and compassion that dignifies everyone and creates community.
Some of the cultural innovators are:
1. Tour for
Change
2. Mejdi Tours
3. Tiyul-Rihla-Trip
4. Masa-Massar-Journey
These tourism
opportunities are described at http://traubman.igc.org/tours.htm
= = 2 = =
Creating Safe Space, Quality Hummus, and
Generous Incentives for Changing Relationships
During
current, devastating Israeli-Palestinian violence, one hummus restaurant is not
robbed of its imagination, participation, or generosity.
They are paying Jews and Arabs to sit down together for a meal.
On Oct. 13, Kobi Tzafrir, owner of the Humus
Bar in a shopping mall in Kfar Vitkin,
north of Tel Aviv, advertised a 50 percent discount to Jews and Arabs who eat
together on his restaurant's Facebook page -- https://www.facebook.com/Mhumusbar/posts/1690316271200214
"Are you afraid of
Arabs?
Are you afraid of Jews?
By us there are no Arabs, but
also no Jews.
We have human beings!
And real excellent Arab
hummus! And great Jewish falafel!"
His post was
shared more than 2,000 times with over 8,000 likes, and news of the deal has
made headlines around the world.
Business is up 20 percent.
Tzafrir, an Israeli Jew, is a latecomer to hummus and
a true believer in its powers.
Growing up in the suburbs of Tel Aviv, he ate mostly packaged hummus from
the supermarket.
When he was about 20, he tried his first bowl of freshly ground chickpea paste,
served hot, at an Arab restaurant and he became an evangelist.
"If you eat a good hummus, you will feel love from the person who made
it," he says.
"You don't want to (harm) him."
Hummus
Diplomacy: Israeli Cafe Discounts Meals Shared By Jews And Arabs
NPR - 23 October 2015
= = 3 = =
Palestinian-Jewish Experiences
Inspiring the Changing World's Religions
Hosted a
resource booth for the Parliament of the World's Religions in Salt Lake City,
Utah, to engage thousands of global faith-based citizens and gift how-to DVDs
and other tools for communication success
Every five years the Parliament of the World's Religions gathers in one
place nearly 10,000 citizens from all continents to cultivate face-to-face
engagement and harmony among the world's religious and spiritual communities.
The 2015 Parliament was in Salt Lake City, Utah USA.
Earlier meetings were in Melbourne (2009), Barcelona (2004), Cape Town (1999),
and Chicago (1993).
In October, 2015, participants of the 23-year-old Jewish-Palestinian Living
Room Dialogue -- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jewish-Palestinian_Living_Room_Dialogue_Group
-- traveled from California to create a resource booth for five days of
mutual learning and exchanging life experiences.
The four person team engaged many hundreds of global travelers and gifted to
attendees how-to, inspirational Dialogue guidelines and a thousand DVDs of its
instructive documentary films.
Included on the team was Charles Obiorah Kwuelum, to represent the Dialogue's outreach into Nigeria,
greater Africa, and all continents.
Palpable this year was the decline of "religion as a box" and
increase of religions as paths "home" to one another and Earth.
Many wept and had renewed inspiration to see so many examples of
successful, living relationships where they thought non
existed.
SEE PHOTOS at http://traubman.igc.org/parliament.pdf
= = 4 = =
Creating Love
Your Neighbor Buttons
for Changing Spirit
Carol
Wolman, is a California physician and experienced psychiatrist who knows a lot
about people -- relationship, reconciliation, and healing.
A few years ago, she was praying for the peace of Jerusalem, moved by Psalm
122:6 -- "Pray for peace for Jerusalem: May those who love you be at
peace."
Carol -- unaccustomed to numinous experience -- then received a vision that Holy
Land reconciliation will come only through "The Law of Love Your
Neighbor."
She created a "Love Your Neighbor" button in English, and now newly
tri-lingual in Arabic, Hebrew, and English with generous translation help
from Palestinians and Israeli Jews.
Carol writes: "It's my prayer that people all over the world will order
and wear these, so that the love of our neighbors will replace the endless war
and hatred now ruining the planet."
She describes the pins on her site -- http://loveyourneighborintheholyland.blogspot.com
To order pins for your community, go to Wacky Buttons -- http://www.wackybuttons.com
Click on (1) Order then (2) Order By Design Code 5132919 -- the most
popular in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. The English-only pin is Design
Code 1025346 . Usual pin sizes are 2-1/4", sometimes 3".
- - - -
This message is on the Web at http://traubman.igc.org/messages/689.htm
Hundreds of other success stories are preserved at http://traubman.igc.org/messages.htm