3rd Report from the Ground

Dear Friend,

Are We Closer to Real Engagement?

A Third Report from the Ground, by John Kleinheksel Sr.

Secretary of State John Kerry is working hard to get the two parties to sit down and talk. There is skepticism and cynicism on all sides. Will Israelis and Palestinians truly interact, hear each other’s grievances, address them honestly and take steps to resolve the issues?

Let’s put it this way: Has the ground been prepared? Have life-giving seeds taken root that can bear fruit for peace? Are life-giving structures ready to take the place of death-dealing realities? What will bring about changes in personal relationships and institutional dysfunction/disease?

Upon my return from another exposure to a variety of spokespersons from both sides, I’ve been plunged into reflective meditation about our region and how we can “move forward” toward resolution of basic issues.

I have made no secret of my profound discouragement when I reflect, yet I was encouraged when the New York Times (July 13, 2013) published a great article by Rina Castelnuovo about the “Parents Circle-Families Forum”. Entitled “Bereaved”, she writes:


They are Palestinians, and they are Israelis. They have lost their sisters and brothers and children, lost them in terrorist attacks, clashes, suicide bombings and military service.

They understand that the only way to break down the barriers and come out of their darkness is by recognizing one another.

They are dreaming of reconciliation . . . .

They say it is critical to learn the other side’s narrative, because the only hope for ending the bloody struggle is through empathy and reconciliation.

In sharing the pain of bereavement, many have bonded and work closely together. Reconciliation with the enemy has become the purpose of their lives in the name of their dead.

After more than 30 years of photographing war and funerals, I find hope in meeting the bereaved families and witnessing their reconciliation process. If they can do this, everybody else should.

I attended their meetings, reconciliation sessions and activities. They devote much of their time to lecturing both Israeli and Palestinian youth about the sanctity of life. By appearing together at high schools and in public venues, they are living proof that there is another way. There are many activities to nurture their friendships: tours, field trips, cultural events. But forgiving is not forgetting (some refuse to use “forgiving” in their vocabulary.)

Many of the parents talk about the difficult progression to reconcile and befriend the enemy, and their own commitment is tested over and over again when they face hostility from their own people, or their own family members.

Bushra Awad, a 48-year-old Palestinian from the West Bank village of Beit Ummar, lost her 17-year-old son, Mahmoud, during a protest against Israeli soldiers in 2008. He was a high school student . . . . [After Mahmoud was buried] I wanted so much to go out and take revenge for my son. I wanted to go out and kill any Israeli. I’m a mother; I did not know I possessed such feelings of wanting to take somebody’s life. I was so full of pain and hate . . . .

I knew I had to do something, anything that would save my other children from a similar fate. But how? Then a friend, a woman who lost her family member in same circumstances, invited me to a meeting in her home with other bereaved. She told me there would be Israeli mothers present as well. I would not hear any of that; she was inviting me to meet my enemies! Those who caused us such great pain.

For two years, she kept inviting me, telling me it was important for our children, it was important to save more lives. I decided to go but I would not look at the Israelis or shake their hands, I would just listen. There I met an Israeli mother. She showed me a picture of her dead son; I showed her a picture of my son Mahmoud. We both cried for our loss.

Ever since that meeting, I’m part of the circle of bereaved mothers. We share a pain, and we share a hope to end the bloody cycle and maybe one day our leaders will negotiate peace . . . .

Then Ms. Castelnuovo tells about Ben Kir, a 65 year old Israeli from Ashkelon, who lost his 22 year old daughter Yael, in a Palestinian suicide bombing in 2003. Here is part of his story:

I could not stop crying for days, and I was so full of anger that I could explode. I was angry at the Palestinians for killing my child. I was angry at the army for not preventing the attack. I was angry at the leaders for not reaching a deal. And I wanted revenge.

I started planning it into particulars. I was lying in bed for days planning my revenge. I thought it was either revenge or I die; there was no meaning to my life any longer.

I was fantasizing how I would walk over to the construction site near my house where Palestinians were working and shoot them.

I was planning it in such detail that I even knew what clothes I would wear to do the killings. The more I planned, the more I realized that, while achieving my revenge, my acts would bring more death to my people.

The families of the dead workers would surely seek revenge on Israelis, the army would retaliate in Gaza, and the circle of death would never end.

Desperation overcame me because I also realized I was only thinking of myself and my immense pain. I thought there was no other way, that I should just die.

In those awful days I received a pile of condolence letters which I hardly looked at, I was so immersed in my grief, anger and quest for vengeance. But I read this one, from a woman named Hagit, a bereaved mother.

I called her and we cried a lot. She invited me to a gathering of bereaved Israelis and Palestinians.

I hung the phone up on her.

But then, I just went. I did not know why, I went. I sat and listened to some 60 people, Israelis and Palestinians, and I was not alone in my grief any longer.

Those wonderful people gave me a reason to go on living. I realized that the Palestinian stories and my story are no different. Our tears taste the same; our blood is the same color. I feel more comfortable with a bereaved Palestinian then with a regular Israeli citizen. We know what loss is, the shadow of our dead following us every day, every moment of our lives. But I’m not a walking dead any longer.

I live for a cause, and this is what I am saying in every lecture. Whether Israelis or Palestinians, revenge is not an answer. It will only bring more and more death. It is not easy to open up your wounds and expose yourself in front of so many people every day, but I believe today that only through mass reconciliation can we make peace one day . . . .

What can we learn from bereaved families? Can we apply these lessons to the larger society?

The unjust death of a family member triggers pain and outrage. If anger seethes long enough without being harnessed, it leads to revenge and the cycle of violence spirals downward.

These parents have gone through purging fire, refining them to arrive at the essence of human existence: making room for each other; ending the spirit of revenge; sharing common pain, even with the enemy; and sincerely seeking reconciliation.

There have been many Israeli and Palestinian deaths. Both peoples have suffered. It is hard to face the truth about actions that have brought outrage: 1) doing violence to Palestinian villagers and villages; 2) doing violence to Israeli buses, restaurants and schools in retaliation.

It takes “grace” to admit we are all flawed human beings in need of undeserved favor. Yet, the world does not look with favor on those who mourn. To be vulnerable and subject to criticism is to be weak. And we want to be seen as “strong” and in charge. Never admit you might have been in the wrong!

As you read these words, the “basis” for talks between the parties is being “formalized”. Each side has its precious shibboleths (settlements are OK; there is no Occupation) and historic positions to defend and protect (restitution is a must; and the right of return). Each side wants to avoid betrayal (again)!

Can we break out of predetermined “roles” that we are expected to play?

Can’t we just sit down and talk about what’s bothering us? Please . . . .

Will the parties truly interact? Can we be frank with each other?

My devotions today included Jesus’ Parable of the Soils (Mark 4:1-20). I wondered what kind of soil we have in I/P now? Is it “good soil”? Do life-giving seeds have a chance to take root, be free of distracting weeds and bear fruit for the flourishing of all the people in that tortured land? Or are hearts hard, ears closed, hands clenched into fists, and feet paralyzed?

Bushra Awad and Ben Kfir and the bereaved parents are working on it. Simple people, not the walking dead, but the wounded living, who steer clear of detours, distractions and dead ends and lead us forward toward a hopeful future for everyone, Israelis and Palestinians alike.

Second Report, Study Tour, 6/13

How Long? A 2nd Report (from the Ground)

John Kleinheksel Sr., 12 July, 2013

I must say I am profoundly disheartened as I reflect on the plight of Palestinians as the Israeli State continues to branch out in that part of Planet Earth.

In a follow-up inquiry to a spokesman for the Israeli/Zionist State, I was directed to a recent article in The Forward by Aharon Barak (who was President of the Israeli Supreme Court, 1995-2006). In it, Mr. Barak accents “the centrality of the State of Israel and its Jewish character” and appeals to the Declaration of Independence, and urges his fellow Jews to “defend the dignity and freedom of every person within it, whether Jewish or not.” He urges Israel to be Jewish and democratic at the same time. But is that really what the Declaration says?

So I found and studied the full English translation of the Declaration of Independence, signed the night of May 14, 15, 1948, during a time of great unrest by the Arab majority. The Declaration “proclaims the establishment of the Jewish State in Palestine, to be called Israel . . . [which]

• will be open to the immigration of Jews from all countries in their dispersion

• will promote the development of the country for the benefit of all (ital mine) its inhabitants

• will be based on the precepts of liberty, justice and peace taught by the Hebrew prophets

• will uphold the full social and political equality of all (ital mine) its citizens, without distinction of race, creed or sex [gender]

Then this statement: “In the midst of wanton aggression, we yet call upon the Arab inhabitants of the State of Israel to return to the ways of peace and play their part in the development of the State, with full and equal citizenship (ital mine) . . .”

On its face, the newly declared State of Israel invited Arab Palestinians to become “full and equal” citizens of this new enterprise! It’s like saying, “We Jews from all over the world invite you to help us build the Jewish State as full and equal citizens!” In fact, to this day, about 20% of Israeli citizens are Arab Palestinian. But “full and equal citizens” they are not. They are subject to a different set of laws. They remain to this day, second class citizens of the State. Furthermore, their loyalty to the Jewish State is suspect by Jews and their loyalty to the Palestinian cause is suspect by stateless Palestinians. When will this promise, set forth so eloquently and clearly in the Declaration of Independence, be realized? Is the Knesset working on it, or moving in the opposite direction?

The vast majority of Arab Palestinians were made to feel unwelcome when over 400 of their villages were destroyed in the war of independence of 1948 (to say nothing of the massacre of 600 villagers at Deir Yassin on April 9, 1948, which served as a lesson to Arabs, to get out or face the deadly consequences). The refugee problem remains to be adjudicated, including their “right of return”. Historically, the State of Israel has sought to disenfranchise the people of the land and block every effort by the Palestinians to establish their own State. In addition, especially since the “successful” war of 1967, it has done everything possible to settle all parts of the country, confiscating Palestinian land, demolishing their homes, uprooting their olive orchards, restricting their water rights and controlling movements between their villages and orchards. The result has been restricting the Arabs to smaller and smaller disconnected enclaves with no hope of forming their own State.

Israel, with the full support of the United States, seems content to “manage” any Palestinian discontent (insurrection). It tolerates no dissent (violent or nonviolent) against its occupation of historic Palestinian land. Those who raise their heads too high are either incarcerated (7,000 minimum in Israeli prisons), or assassinated (non-judicially). Israel fully intends to harass them out of the land if they will not be “pacified”. Those are the choices. Because of their great fear of reprisals (“terror”), Israeli leaders refuse to sit down and discuss the underlying issues with Palestinian leaders. Yet, many Palestinians are not leaving. They are staying, insisting on “justice” for their cause.
The lack of trust is deep-seated in both parties to the “conflict”. Furthermore, the “security fence” is heightening the separation of the two peoples, intensifying walls of suspicion, distrust, misunderstanding and dislike.

I’m reminded of the verse cited by the great Catholic activist Dorothy Day. She applies it to the divide between African Americans and US Caucasians, but can as easily apply to Israelis and Palestinians.

THE COLD WITHIN

Six humans trapped by circumstance in black and bitter cold;
each held so close a stick of wood, (or so the story's told).

Their dying fire needed logs. The first one held hers back;
for on the faces ‘round the fire, she noticed one was black.

The next man looking 'cross the way saw not one from his church;
he couldn't bring himself to give the fire his stick of birch.

The third one sat in tattered clothes and gave his coat a hitch;
why should his log be put to use to warm the idle rich?

The rich man just sat back and thought of wealth he had in store;
and how to keep what he had earned from the lazy, shiftless poor.

The black man's face bespoke revenge as fire passed from his sight;
for what he saw in his wood stick was how to spite the white.

The last one of this forlorn group did naught except for gain.
To give only to those who gave was how he played the game.

The logs held tight in Death's still hands was proof of human sin;
they didn't die from cold without; they died from cold within.

Here is Dorothy Day’s own commentary on this text: "Whenever I groan within myself and think how hard it is to keep writing about love in these times of tension and strife which may, at any moment, become for us all a time of terror, I think to myself: What else is the world interested in? What else do we all want, each one of us, except to love and be loved, in our families, in our work, in all our relationships? God is Love. Love casts out fear. Even the most ardent revolutionist, seeking to change the world, to overturn the tables of the money changers, is trying to make a world where it is easier for people to love, to stand in that relationship to each other.

"It is when we love the most intensely and most humanly that we can recognize how tepid our love for others is. The keenness and intensity of love brings with it suffering, of course, but joy too, because it is a foretaste of heaven. When you love people, you see all the good in them, all the Christ in them. God sees Christ, His Son, in us. And so we should see Christ in others, and nothing else, and love them. There can never be enough of it" (from, Dorothy Day: Selected Writings, ed. Robert Ellsberg (Orbis Books, 1992).

Is Jesus, as embodied by Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., able to come alive in this impossible situation in Israel/Palestine? Even if your tradition does not see the love of Jesus of Nazareth, can you see “love for the neighbor” in your own tradition and begin to practice it more?

We met with Jeff Halper, head of ICAHD (Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions). He keeps track of Palestinian home demolitions and has thought about the conflict intensely over many years. He has a thoughtful proposal (www.icahdusa.org) but at a minimum lists the following principles to be followed:

1. A just peace and the process leading up to it must conform to human rights, international law and UN resolutions.

2. Regardless of whether there should or should not have been an Israel, two peoples now reside in Palestine-Israel and a just peace must be based on that bi-national reality.

3. A just peace requires an acceptance of the Palestinian refugees’ right of return.

4. A just peace must be economically viable, with all the country’s inhabitants enjoying equal access to the country’s resources and economic institutions.

Even with Secretary Kerry’s recent initiative, we are a long way from a “solution”. In this high stakes card game, Israel, with US support, holds all the high cards and can seemingly trump any efforts by the Palestinians and their supporters for “full and equal” status, despite what the Declaration of Independence promises. And that is very sad. Justice delayed is justice denied.

How long?

First Report Study Tour, 6/13

Dear Friend,

I'm back in the US after two weeks in I/P. Our group of 16 is processing who we've met and what we've learned.

The July 1 NY Times ("Mideast Chaos Grows as US Focuses on Israel") questions Sec. Kerry's seeming priority of getting the two sides together for substantive talks. (Of course we can't ignore the chaos in both Egypt and Syria).

We did encounter a lack of urgency even among some Israelis and Palestinians. Modern Tel Aviv bustles with no Palestinians in sight. Yet, new leaders, the young Turks among the Palestinians, demand systemic changes and desire renewed efforts toward the Two State solution.

We found that the overriding issue among Israelis is security. Among the Palestinians the issue is justice. This morning I was reminded of an unforgettable story from Henri Nouwen's book Lifesigns (Doubleday, pp. 110, 111). Know that I'm taking great liberty in adapting it to our region.



Once there was a people who looked at "their" country and said to each other, “How will we have enough when the Native people demand their own State?”

So they started hoarding the Native's land, water, homes and freedom of movement.

The Native people protested, “You have more than you need. What is more, you are taking what is legitimately ours”

The First Staters replied, “No, no, we need to have these reserves in case things go bad and our lives are threatened.”

But the Natives said, “We are dying now. We can’t wait any longer. You keep treating us as illegitimate terrorists.”

Then the fearful First Staters became even more afraid of attack. So they said, “Let’s build walls so ‘other’s’ can’t take from us.”

The walls became so high they couldn’t see the ‘others’ anymore, and their fears increased.

“Our enemies may get stronger and tear down our walls. We need guided missiles so that ‘they’ won’t dare even come close to us.”

But instead of feeling safer and more secure, they found themselves trapped in the prison they had built with their own fear.

This story illumines the dilemma between the Israelis and Palestinians. Fear builds walls. Love builds bridges. Fear hides our vulnerabilities. Love admits our wounds. The image of God in you and the image of God in me wants respect on a deep level. How big is "family"? And who is my "neighbor"? Fear and threats are obstacles. Trust building actions lead the way to deeper engagement. Trust has to be earned. Is there enough trust between us? Can neighbors believe in the good intentions of the other side?


Pray for gifted leaders who are in touch with their extreme elements, yet press forward to stake out common ground with "the enemy", so we can live side by side, respecting the boundaries/borders that give us both legitimacy.

Kairos USA (from the Horse's Mouth!)

Dear Friend,

As you may know, FPI has aligned itself with the Kairos USA movement, as articulated by those followers of Jesus who are responding to Kairos Palestine.

We have taken our inspiration from Mark Braverman, an American of Jewish heritage. There are others, but he has rallied ecumenical and evangelical Jesus-followers to respond to the cries of Palestinian Christians and Muslims for justice.


If you want to know what Kairos USA and Mark are about, you can go no better place than this interview by Ira Glunt and Philip Weiss (in Mondoweiss, June 5, 2013) through this link: The comments that follow the (long) interview are also very revealing.


I might quibble with Mark about a few things in re my understanding of the person and work of Jesus and Paul (and the whole supercessionism matter), but I know him personally, and can vouch for the truth that he has been captured by a vision of Jesus as the one who best articulates the soul of the Prophetic tradition of Judaism, and a Torah pointing to love for God and neighbor. He has a new book coming out on the application of the South African model to I/P. Be sure to read his book, Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews and the Search for Peace in the Holy Land. As most of you know, I archive these posts on my blog (link below).


Pray for us going to Isr/Pal June 15-29, to meet with Israelis and Palestinians "on the ground", to put hearts, heads, hands and feet to the vision of an inclusive community in a city and a state for three faiths and two peoples. JRK

A Clear Call for Resolution/Redress!

Dear Friend,


Seldom do we find such a pithy, comprehensive, clear diagnosis of what ails us, and a compelling perscription for addressing it.


Yet, below, is Adam Keller's (GUSH SHALOM) call to join for a demonstration this Saturday, calling on the present government to give up the Occupation.

There is much that the Palestinians have done to fulfill what has been asked of them by the US and the International community. Yet, Israel drags her feet, apparently reluctant to do her part so peace with justice may prevail between the two peoples. There is disunity between Palestinian factions, an absence of elections, and evidence of corruption in the ranks. Yet, all of that pales in comparison to the ways our "friends" have flaunted the expectations of her friend the US and those in Europe and Asia. Of course, there are many details to be worked out, but those will come when the leadership changes their heart and mind about the OCCUPATION.

This is the Future speaking. This is the direction toward which the world is heading, to include "peace-keeping forces" to insure compliance with what is agreed to.

Adam Keller is the younger associate of Uri Avnery, from GUSH SHALOM, one of our regular contributors. Thank you Adam and GUSH SHALOM for this prophetic call to action! JRK

THIS SATURDAY, JUNE 1, 2013, AT 7:00 P.M. AT SARONA PARK!

After 46 years of [O]ccupation, the underlying realities are more than ever laid bare. It is now clear whose interests are served by the policy of perpetual occupation and ever-threatening wars. Since 1967, Prime Ministers and their cabinets continually strove to mobilize international support for their ongoing dragging of feet. Ever and again, they deliberately avoided any true and honest diplomatic process – since such a process would have led to an end to the occupation and would have posed the June 4, 1967lines as the indispensable basis for the achievement of peace.

Bloodshed, bereavement, oppression, plunder and the plight of the Palestinian people, deprived of their right to self-determination – all of these are but part of the calamities resulting from occupation and war, which are perpetrated in the service of foreign and anti-patriotic interests. Half of the state budget is devoted to military expenditures and to repayment of debts from past wars. This leaves no room for social justice, no money for education, health and public housing, and dooms more than a third of Israeli children to live below the poverty line.


By now it is obvious, for all to see, that the interests which maintain war and occupation are the very same interests that increase poverty, trample upon democracy and deepen ethnic discrimination and racism. It has become manifestly clear, more than ever before, what baleful influence is wielded by the arms industry and arms dealers, whose turnover amounts to billions. They are dictating a warlike agenda which fits their interests, and push aside all political alternatives. “National Security” has become the code word for pushing social issues down to the bottom of national priorities. Social needs are being completely suppressed and silenced, paving the way to continued oppression and exploitation.


On Saturday night, June 1, 2013 at 7:00 PM, we will gather at the Sarona Park, opposite the Ministry of Defense on Kaplan St,. Tel Aviv. Men and women, Jews and Arabs, all together we will march towards Metzudat Ze’ev, the ruling party’s headquarters on King George Street. Together we will cry out: No more wars! : No more occupation! No more favoring of arms industries at the expense of the masses! No more provoking of other peoples! Yes to the Palestinian People’s right to self-determination! Yes to peace between two states, Israel and Palestine! Yes to evacuation of the settlements! Yes to two capitals in Jerusalem! Yes to resolving the refugee issue on the basis of UN resolutions! Yes to ending the occupation! Yes to a just peace!

There is no PEACE without JUSTICE; there is no justice without LOVE ---- JRK

Up to the Moment, with Uri Avnery

Dear Friend,


I'm leading a day-long seminar at 1st Presbyterian Church, Ann Arbor this Saturday. We will cover Christian Zionism and Kairos USA, (the US response to Kairos Palestine). Pray for us.

Below is a critique of a recent post by Uri Avnery, the aging lion of Israeli dissidents. By clicking on the link (in the article), you can go directly to his post, which prompted my critique and updating on how the I/P "conflict" is being played out up to the moment.

I'll be joining the Chicago Presbytery ME Study group as they travel to I/P June 15-29.

I was hopeful that President Obama's visit there earlier this year would prompt new efforts at rapprochement between Israelis and Arab Palestinians. We'll check it out and let you know.

Today, Peace Now, (an Israeli-based rights group with an American affiliate), reported the government seems ready to give the go-ahead to four new settlements, heretofore deemed "illegal". Not a hopeful sign.

We are still not at the tipping point. Yet, more and more Americans are becoming aware of the systemic injustice of having your property confiscated, your home demolished, your olive orchard destroyed, leaving you no place to live on land that was once your own. JRK for FPI

One-State, Two-State, Bi-National State

John R. Kleinheksel Sr.

In his May 11, 2013 Gush Shalom piece, Uri Avnery rejoins the One-State, Two-State, Bi-National State debate. There is a lot of grudging respect for this aging gadfly-critic of his beloved Israel. Even when he calls her “a defacto evil State of oppression and brutality” (!) Read it first-hand here: http://zope.gush-shalom.org/home/en/channels/avnery/1368181918>

Though critical of the Occupation, he doesn’t want to turn Israel into a Bi-National pluralistic State, thus losing her Jewish identity.

What a dilemma. Each people group wants their own (One) State, but only Israel already has it—on land stolen from the Palestinians, who remain stateless.

Through the years, there have been those willing to share the land in a pluralistic democratic State, but the wars of 1948 and 1967 basically gave the edge to the transplants, at the expense of the natives. To the victors go the spoils, though “the world” is strongly opposed.

Uri Avnery, now well into his eighth decade, knows the injustice of it all and sees the settlement movement as the key impediment. Unlike many others who see the growth of the settlements as the “death of the Two State” solution, Mr. Avnery firmly believes the spread of the settlements can be “reversed”, citing the evacuations of the Sinai and Gaza settlements as precedents. Where there is the will, there will be the ways to solve this issue, he writes.

He doesn’t like the comparison of Israel with (Apartheid) South Africa and thinks “leftists” expect the world will eventually compel Greater Israel to grant full [citizenship] rights to the Palestinians “and Israel will become [bi-national] Palestine” [with no Jewish majority](5th paragraph from the end).

Frankly, the international community would be content with either a separate Palestinian State or a Bi-National pluralistic State, if the two peoples could just resolve their issues peacefully. The present Israeli government (with US support), will allow neither an autonomous Palestinian State nor a Bi-National one. Mr. Avnery argues that if Israel refuses to allow a Palestinian State now, why would she allow world opinion to dictate that they dismantle the Jewish State to make way for a Bi-National one? So, how does this advance us to a solution? The lukewarm response to the renewed Arab Peace Initiative, trumpeted by Sec. John Kerry, is not a good sign.

The unmentioned elephant in the closet is the fear that the Palestinians will go to any lengths to wrest control from the Israelis and treat Israelis as harshly as they were treated! Distrust is deep and visceral.

How is fear to be addressed? We can continue sharing narratives with each other for starters, walking in the shoes of “the other” as urged by President Obama on his recent visit to both sides. Very few are talking about “love”. At least Mr. Avnery allows that “the birth of new love between the two peoples” would be “wonderful, even miraculous” even though there is no sign of it. He betrays the cynic’s disguised yearning for Israelis and Palestinians to find “their common values, the common roots of their history and languages, [and] their common love for this country”. He might have added that then there might be mutual respect and a willingness to coexist in peace.

Moshe Arens, the respected retired Israeli diplomat, argues in a May 14, 2013 Haaretz op-ed that Israel is already a Bi-National State. He urges the government to double the immigration of Jews from 20k to 40k/year and work to better integrate Arab citizens into Israeli society—even allowing as many as 30% of citizens to be Arabs (instead of the present 17-20%).
On the other hand, Ali Abunimah reminds us of the Occupation and confiscation of historic Arab Palestinian land. Lauding Stephen Hawking’s boycott of a scientific and economic conference in Jerusalem, he writes: Israel cannot continue to pretend that it is a country of culture, technology and enlightenment while millions of Palestinians live invisibly under the brutal rule of bullets, bulldozers and armed settlers.

Secretary of State John Kerry has the unenviable task, not of compelling but of persuading the settlement-strengthened Netanyahu administration to rein in the settlers. How likely is that? And how long will the US support the injustice of it all? How long?

It will come down to the newer generations of Israelis (and Palestinians) heeding President Obama’s plea and pulling their elders along: “Put yourself in their shoes. Don’t you want for them what you want for yourselves? Don’t you care?”

Indeed! I see this approach bearing fruit plus a more vigorous BDS campaign (Boycotts, Divestments and Sanctions) reluctantly but doggedly pursued by more and more people with more nonviolent demonstrations, to bring the powers-that-be to their senses. John Kleinheksel

To Persist in Conciliation!

Dear Friend,

This is the spirit that will "win" in the end. Persistent, rational, dogged determination that the forces of extremism will not prevail. JRK

Former Palestinian fighter now battles for a middle path

By Christa Case Bryant, Staff writer / May 8, 2013 (Christian Science Moniter)

Palestinian Mohammed Dajani's staircase in the Jerusalem neighborhood of Beit Hanina is a literal paper trail of his family and career, from an Ottoman sultan's decree that gave his relatives custodianship of David's tomb to the photos just behind him of then-Senator Barack Obama visiting his Al Quds University classroom.

East Jerusalem

By his own admission, Mohammed Dajani was “extremely radical” as a young man working for the Palestinian militant group Fatah in Lebanon.


His family was forced to leave their stately Jerusalem home during the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. Following the example set by his grandfather, who ripped up the refugee card given to his wife, Mr. Dajani has refused to label himself a refugee: “We are citizens and human beings and we have to earn our way,” he says.

But as a young man he saw no other solution than taking back all of historic Palestine from the Israelis.

“I believed that it was us or them and that the only solution was to liberate our land,” he says. “And if we did not have the power to do that, we should do what Samson did and bring down the temple on everyone’s head,” he says, referring to the biblical story of a Hebrew prisoner who killed 3,000 people, including himself, when he removed the central pillars of a Philistine temple.

After that, however, he went to the US to get a PhD; getting some distance from the conflict changed his outlook dramatically and he began working for peace.

Those efforts crystallized into a new initiative after he witnessed a standoff at an Israeli checkpoint near his home. Palestinians who wanted to pray in Jerusalem amassed at the checkpoint, but Israeli guards initially refused to let them pass. Eventually they worked out a deal – the Palestinians were allowed to pass in exchange for leaving their essentially indispensable identification cards at the checkpoint, virtually guaranteeing they would return.

The 2006 incident showed him that despite the strong feelings and distrust on both sides, there is also pragmatism, and convinced him there was a need to a middle path for Palestinians who were devout and committed to pressing for their rights, but also willing to negotiate.

“They [were] not jihadi Islamic guys … because those people would have refused to negotiate with Israelis,” he says. “They were able to negotiate their way to go to Jerusalem, and to convince Israelis that they are not there to put bombs, that they are just going there to pray.”

“And the Israelis, because of the multitudes and the pressure and all that, instead of dealing with it with force, dealt with it more with the mind, with rationality,” he adds.

“Who represents those people? No one. So I started Wasatia.”

The movement, founded in early 2007 and named after a Quranic term for “moderation” or “balance,” aims to give a voice to what Dajani considers a majority of Palestinians who want to work for statehood through nonviolent means but get drowned out by increasing radicalization on both sides. It hasn’t gathered a lot of momentum; he has difficulty obtaining grants for his work, and he has been maligned by more religious Muslims who chafe at his ideas of moderation.

But his faith that the conflict will be solved remains strong and is perhaps best symbolized by the chess sets at the center of his Wasatia office and his classroom. He provides them, he says, to cultivate a skill he considers crucial to resolving the conflict: rationality.

“That’s why I feel that this problem will be solved … that rationality will prevail in the end,” he says. “It is stupidity to kill each other.”