Bringing the world not to its knees, but to its senses

Crossing into Bethlehem the second time was considerably easier because President Abbas was not using the checkpoint on Saturday; his entourage had tied up traffic throughout the district on Friday much as an American President’s cavalcade would in New York or Chicago. And we were only crossing the wall to sit in the offices of Wi’am which have recently moved in to “new offices” (the building was constructed in 1889), which look directly at the wall.

Wi’am, the Palestinian Conflict Resolution Center, is one of the oldest organizations teaching the principles and practices of nonviolence in the West Bank. Zoughbi Zoughbi, the executive director, and a member of IFOR’s international governing board, is renouned globally for his leadership in Palestinian civil society.

They take a holistic approach to programming, working with children, youth, women, and families. As they note in this desriptive brochure: “In all of our work, workshops and activities, we advocate for nonviolence. The best way to support the people of Palestine is to create a healthy society by working to end the occupation which strips dignity, entrenches injustice, and impresses poverty. We do not want you to be pro-Palestinian or Pro-Israeli, we need you to be pro-justice and work for the liberation of all people.” The name of the organization, Wi’am, is the Arabic word for agape. This is an organization which embodies the truth and love of FOR’s premise for being.

Zoughbi, Mr. Rock, and Imad (who joined us for lunch), all approach their lives with good humor and ebullient hospitality, even in the shadow of a 27-foot wall covered with graffiti (left), which they have chosen to face as a reminder of the struggles they face. They characterize their position as not to bring the world to its knees but to its senses, urging the world community to assume responsibility for the resolution of the conflict, liberating both the Israelis and the Palestinians of their psychology of victimhood, and injecting the situation with hope by demonstrating the power of nonviolence.

As our hosts in Bethlehem excused themselves for a family wedding, we headed directly for Jaffa, the ancient port city south of Tel Aviv where the Jaffa Coordinating Committee had announced a solidarity march with the Palestinians of Gaza on the anniversary of the invasion in 2008-2009. It felt much like a peace movement march in the United States with hundreds in a slow walk with mimeists, drumming groups, cadenced chants, and side conversations over a couple of miles. We ended in front of a mosque where speakers and a hip-hop group (above) called for lifting the siege of Gaza and advocating respect for Palestinian values and peoples.

Among the marchers were a goodly number from the Israeli peace movement, including Amos Gwirtz of Shefayim (at right, second from left), a kibbutz long related to the Fellowship of Reconciliation. Amos’s basic interpretation of the conflict, from 1948 to the present, is a historical process to remove the Palestinians from the land. Through a long history of active nonviolence, Amos and his colleagues have sought to educate Israelis and the world about this dynamic. Today he is focused more on the rights of the Bedouin in the face of similar pressures. I’ll write more about Amos in another blog.

Afterward a dozen of us gathered at the apartment of FOR friends in Jaffa for another couple of hours of analysis and the solidarity of the small community continuing to advance the cause of nonviolence.