Quest for Peace in Israel-Palestine: It's a long Way from Jerusalem to Wisconsin

Well it's been 5 days since I arrived back in the U.S. and I'm still reeling a bit.   The memories of this trip will stay with us all for the rest of our lives for sure.  I've been relaxing, calling in sick to work, camping, anything to just get away from everything and decompress.   I want to wrap things up, give some perspective and urge you all to support some of the groups we met with and thier vitally important work.

So what have I learned?   After all this travel and listening, what has changed about my opinions regarding this conflict?  I was fairly knowledgable about this issue beforehand, being the news junkie that I am, so I didn't really learn a lot hadn't already read.  What it did do, however, was deepen that knowledge and put substance to it.  You can read a million books about a place or a people, but it's all just stories until you're actually there.      I read Ha'aretz and the Jerusalem Post daily, but seeing and breathing it in is what makes it real.   

I just watched that episode of the West Wing (end of season 5, beginning of season 6) where the Bartlett Administration is struggling for peace in Israel-Palestine.   It's great television, no doubt, to see people wrestling with the issues of Jerusalem, the Right of Return, Settlements, Israeli security, Palestinian terrorism, etc.  I just had to laugh at how simple they made it all look though.   The other major realization that I had on this trip is that this conflict is not black and white, nor even shades of gray, but encompuses a whole spectrum of colors and perspectives.  A fanatic on any side is someone who suppresses at least part of the truth.  There are many fanatic people involved in this conflict.  A minority on each side for sure, but they are able to shout out the moderate majorities of both sides.  

Is there any hope then?  I sensed the feeling from both Israelis and Palestinians that we are entering some sort of end game.  The Israelis are preparing to set final borders unilaterally, create a sense of momentum towards something, even if no one knows quite what yet.  If the Palestinians can form a unified front and the Israelis can be persuaded to negotiate with them, then there is a chance of creating a long term settlement to this decades old conflict.  

What can we do from here?   Give the moderate majorities on both sides a chance to exert themselves.  We can help embolden and strengthen the organizations that work for peace in the region.   Below is a list of some of the groups that we met with on our trip.   They all are committed to non-violence, and a peaceful resolution to the conflict in one way or another.  They need and deserve our support.

Ibillin

 Mar Elias Educational Institutes
 Archbishop Elias Chacour

Bethlehem

 Holy Land Trust
 Hope Flowers School
 Wi'am
 Lajee Center in Aida Refugee Camp  
 International Center of Bethlehem

Jerusalem

 Yesh Gvul (IDF Refusniks)
 Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions
 Sulha Peace Project  
 Rabbis for Human Rights
 Peace Now Israel
 Americans for Peace Now
 Holocaust Remembrance Museum

Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam/Oasis of Peace

 Oasis of Peace/Wahat al-Salam/Neve Shalom

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to discussing these issues in a constructive way on these diaries.  For you newcomers to this series, here are my previous entries about this trip.

Monday I Leave for Israel-Palestine

Galilee and the West Bank

Settlement Whiplash

Violence and Hope in Ramallah

Our Role

3 Moments I'll Never Forget

And our own blog on our website www.questip.org

Shalom/Salam/Peace!