News from the Region
Olive Harvest Delegation
Report #3:
“Hope Resists”
November 9, 2006
Opportunities for Peace
By
Al Espenschied
After a cold and windy stay at the Tent of Nations olive groves with Daoud and family at Daher’s Vineyard, our hearts were warmed with their infectious optimism but our bodies were chilled by the evening air. So after a robust and healthy breakfast we wound down the hillside and through the checkpoints back to St. George’s in Jerusalem to freshen up and relax...for 15 minutes. We hadn't time to tarry for we were in for a busy day. We had appointments to keep and miles to go before sleep, so we were off to meet with Combatants for Peace, a surprising coalition of former Israeli and Palestinian fighters. No longer matched in mere mortal conflict, they are allied in greater conflict, one for peaceful lives for the coming generations. We learned that this group of former enemies has seen the real enemy, senseless war, and had joined forces to sound the clarion call for an end of hostilities in Palestine. Although this group was founded just this year, they've already been accepted in the peace advocacy community for their sincerity and diligence.
Then it was on to Peace Now, the largest peace advocacy group in Israel. It was born in 1978 during the Israeli-Egyptian peace talks. At that time, 348 Israeli reserve officers and soldiers published a letter calling upon the Israeli government not to miss this opportunity for peace and an end to hostilities. This letter helped push the leaders to the bargaining table and proved once again that conflict is always settled by negotiations, so maybe sometimes we can skip the killing and destruction and go straight to the negotiations. Peace Now is for peace between Israel and its neighbors through mutual agreement, a cool idea. They also have a U.S. affiliate, Americans for Peace Now.
Finally, we were off to the American Friends Service Committee, an organization dedicated to the cessation of violence through nonviolent means. A Quaker project, we learned the AFSC accomplishes their mission through a surprisingly diverse range of projects and activities all centered on nonviolence. A worthy organization with quality educational resources, the AFSC in Jerusalem is appropriately located on the grounds of the Augusta Victoria Hospital. Maybe the injured peace process can be taken there for nourishment and healing. Let's hope so.
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