ISLAND VOICES
Respect key to peace in Mideast
By Tom Levy
When U.S. Rep. Ed Case returned from a trip to Israel recently, he urged Hawai'i Jews to weigh in on the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. But like many Islanders, Jews are often reluctant to make waves.
Now that we've observed the Jewish New Year, or Rosh Hashana, and will have wound up 10 days of deep reflection leading up to Yom Kippur, a day of fasting and atonement, I feel compelled to talk about the conflict across the globe that has me torn between my love for the Jewish homeland and my grief over the damage done and lives lost in the name of security, religion and nationalism.
Because when Israel is wounded, all Jews bleed.
The security "fence" being erected to divide Israel from the West Bank is a recent example of what Israelis feel they must do to protect themselves. But the barrier being built east of the "Green Line" raises questions about whether its purpose is to protect Israel's from suicide bombers or to grab more Palestinian land.
In the latest twist, Israel says it will build a horseshoe-shaped barrier around Ariel, a settlement of 18,000 Jews 12 miles inside the West Bank. This creates one more roadblock to future Palestinian sovereignty over the West Bank.
Why do I care? As a boy, I fantasized that Israel was a land of idealistic kibbutzniks, making the desert bloom and building a nation while fighting off Arab armies. In 1967, I took pride in Israel's Six Day War victory. Jews were victims no more.
Thirty-six years later, I'm depressed by the seemingly endless death spiral in which Israelis and Palestinians are locked. Anyone with a conscience ought to agree that the killing of innocents, whether by Palestinian suicide bombers or the "collateral damage" of Israeli army security measures, is abhorrent.
Instead of hearing about the incessant bloodshed, I want to hear about solutions, a Holy Land ho'opono'pono, so to speak.
That's the approach of Eliyahu Mclean, a Jew who grew up on O'ahu's North Shore, was bar mitzvahed at Temple Emanu-El, got a degree in Middle East Studies at the University of California-Berkeley and moved to Israel in 1990, where he is now director of Peacemaker Community.
He and fellow peace activist Rami Mahamid, an Israeli Muslim, believe building bridges through shared rituals is the most effective way to break out of the violence-revenge-violence cycle.
Some of the ways Mclean has brought the two faiths together: A weekly prayer vigil of Muslims and Jews near the Western Wall, praying together at one another's homes and temples, a series of walks by interfaith groups through Arab and Jewish communities, and participating in Sufi singing and dancing.
Through these shared rituals, Mclean has witnessed improbable friendships develop between Jews and Muslims. And that's ultimately how peace will be secured.
Yes, political solutions must be put in place. Yes, suicide bombers must be stopped. Yes, the occupation must end. Yes, both peoples need to feel safe and secure. But what they need more than fences are bridges of mutual understanding and respect.
