by Aaron Shneyer
Hi Friends,
This has been a very hard week. From Jerusalem I can’t hear the rockets or the gunshots but what is happening in Gaza and in the nearby Israeli towns is felt in every corner and seen on every face. For me, the most frustrating part is that many people here are only concerned with the loss of life on their own side. Why does our national identity come so far before our human identity? Over 115 people have lost their lives this week. I sincerely hope we as humans can find compassion for each other and stop this bloodshed.
Some face to face dialogue organizations have decided to postpone their events this week due to the current violence. Some say emotions are too high. Some fear being criticized by their communities for interacting with “the enemy” during a time of war and tragedy. Some even say that we shouldn’t be talking if the politicians aren’t talking. While I have only sympathy for people with these sentiments and deeply respect their need to protect themselves, I firmly believe that this is THE time to be talking. What will we accomplish by sticking to our own sides? If we want the other side to change they will have to feel our pain and understand our suffering with compassion. The whole reason we’re in this mess is because people feel the need to separate, generalize and intellectualize “the other” and have forgotten that the enemy is not an anonymous group of people way over there, but he’s someone a lot like us. The highly emotional times might be the times when we are the most powerful. I am very sad when groups that deeply believe in the need for dialogue get so dragged down by the forces of hatred and violence that they cannot find the strength to justify and insist upon meeting the other and fulfilling their mission.
HeartBeat will be meeting this week.
Here are two photos that brought me some hope in recent days…
Bob on the Bus: This week nearly every bus in Jerusalem has these awesome ads stating that, “Music Has No Boundaries.” Maybe it’s hard to read but the sign says Bob Marley is playing all around the world, and this one particular radio station is playing his music everyday in Ramallah AND in Jerusalem. Maybe one day soon they’ll be playing music by some very talented young people…
No No No You Can’t Kill the Dove: The hope for peace cannot be killed, no matter how hard people sometimes try. This painting is on the side of a building in Bethlehem. I don’t know who the artist is.
Videos of the band will be up tomorrow…I mean it.
Good things are on the way.
Peace
Aaron
Click here to email Aaron with your questions or comments
The views and information presented are the Fulbright grantee’s own and do not represent the Fulbright Program or the U.S. Department of State.
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