The Torah of Nonviolence
Written in the wake of Obama's speech at West Point, New York on December 1, 2009
Not by military might, nor force of arms; only by Spirit. (Zechariah 4:6, during the Babylonian exile)
Once an arrow leaves the bow, not even the strongest warrior can bring it back. (Avot de Rebbe Natan, 2nd century Israel, during Roman occupation)
"Many stupid beliefs people once held, such as idol worship that demanded child sacrifice, etc., thank God, have disappeared. But, as of yet, the foolish belief in the pursuit of war... has not disappeared... Is there any greater stupidity than this? To murder so many people for nothing?" (Rebbe Nachman of Bratislav, during the Napoleonic wars)
"All her pathways lead to peace." The kind of Judaism I practice is Shomer Shalom, a Jewish way of life based on principles of The Torah of Nonviolence. The principles are simple and all encompassing: Life is sacred and we are all interconnected. Do not use destructive means to bring about constructive ends; rather, resolve conflict so that all parties benefit and peace is restored. Abstain from war.
Last night I stood at the gates of the United States Military Academy at West Point with three hundred people near the shimmering waters of the ample Muh-he-kun-ne-tuk(*) who danced in the soft winter cold wearing the moon like a white feather headdress. Those of us who gathered in the town square huddle together, the warmth of the candles we hold in our hands reflect our prayerful sorrow, our sense of disappointment, our outrage. We stand with friends and strangers, a gathering of Americans deeply skeptical of Obama's strategy of sending 30,000 more troops. While Obama orates his well-thought out reasons for a surge in troops before the very soldiers who will no doubt carry out this next round of military strategy, a young tow haired soldier who refuses to go back to Afghanistan leans on a crutch and addresses the crowd. 'We're just killing women and children," he says, piercing the night with his lament.
Among the crowd gathered near the gates of America's most famous military academy founded in March 1802, I observed veterans for peace from the Korean War who have witnessed American Empire's military follies since the 1950s and freshmen from Sarah Lawrence, some of whom have come here to demonstrate against war for the first time. For a while, I stood near Andrew, and we spoke of the Iraqi Student Project with which he is involved in order to create a future for a few of the tens of thousands of displaced young people trying to piece together their lives after 'shock and awe' onslaughts drove them from their family homes and killed their families. Many of us with graying hair and sagging skin spoke of Vietnam which seared our once youthful vision with images of asian forests burning with the poisons that scorched flesh and earth so nothing lives. Dirges after war sound alike. "No plants grow, no animals roam, no birds fly, we sit alone. What will become of us?"
In the gentle nip of young winter, by the waters of the mighty Hudson River where golden eagles nest and teach their fledglings to fly, Carolyn shares the dream she had last night, of looking up at the New York skies and seeing the drones that drop death on the deserts of Afghanistan, firing upon us.
Several people already asked, "Will the candlelight vigil make a difference?" Obama's address clarified our need to network, for regional, national and international pulling together of all groups working on human rights, safe families and communities, and peaceful alternatives to pull together and resist the urge to war. This is partly why we elected Obama. The Nobel Peace Prize properly goes to us, the American people. By electing Barack Obama, we were expressing our deepest desire for a future without racism and war, but only we can create such a future by generating nonviolent alternatives that construct peace and transform conflict, until violence as a means of 'peace through strength' is no longer considered a sane option.
It is our duty to discover what Afghani peace activists telling us, so we can construct our response to the newest call for military solutions on the basis of the people who will be most negatively impacted.
Here is a quote from RAWA's home page. The Revolutionary Association of Women of Afghanistan have a long history of struggling for women's human rights in their own country, first under the Soviet Empire, and now under the United States.
"The US 'War on Terrorism' removed the Taliban regime in October 2001, but it has not removed religious fundamentalism which is the main cause of all our miseries. In fact, by reinstalling the warlords in power in Afghanistan, the US administration is replacing one fundamentalist regime with another. The US government and Mr.Karzai mostly rely on Northern Alliance criminal leaders who are as brutal and misogynist as the Taliban.
RAWA believes that freedom and democracy can't be donated; it is the duty of the people of a country to fight and achieve these values. Under the US-supported government, the sworn enemies of human rights, democracy, and secularism have gripped their claws over our country and attempt to restore their religious fascism on our people.
Whenever fundamentalists exist as a military and political force in our injured land, the problem of Afghanistan will not be solved. Today RAWA's mission for women's rights is far from over and we have to work hard for establishment of an independent, free, democratic and secular Afghanistan. We need the solidarity and support of all people around the world."
As the full moon begins its descent to the longest night, let us hold a candle to a force more powerful, that is, the wisdom of nonviolence, and find new ways to support a peaceful tomorrow for the sake of all our children.
(*) Muhhekunnetuk is the Haudenosaune (Iroquois) name of the Hudson River.
Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb is cofounder of the Shomer Shalom Network for Jewish Nonviolence, which is based in Stony Point, New York at the Community of Living Traditions, hosted by the Stony Point Center.
