A Tale Of The Middle East

April 21, 2004 Rev

To all who work for a just peace and peace of mind for both peoples: A tale of the Middle East. This is a fictional piece by Jack Donner

Letter From A Child

"To the world,

I am a kid. My papa is Israeli and my mama is Palestinian. My name is Tamir Bibn Baum. Bibn comes from Ibn and Ben, which means "Son of." They call me Bibee a lot. They love each other a lot. But not so much now. They fight all the time now. I was very happy until, I don’t know, a year ago. It seems forever. That’s when mama and papa began to fight. I felt bad. Maybe it was my fault. Anyway, maybe it was then that I heard all the time "death to the Jews," and "death to the Arabs, to the Palestinians."

There was so much hate. Soon I began to hate the two sides of me. I began to think I was bad. "Death to the Jews, kill the Palestinians, They are murderers" all the time, all the time. I knew they meant me. This morning I found my papa’s gun in a drawer. I picked it up and I was looking at it. Something told me to pull the trigger. I’m sorry mama, I’m sorry papa, I..................................................................."

This is but a tale. More than this, it is an allegory of the bleak despair the future holds for the region, for the flower of youth of both peoples, unless both people and their leaders realize they are too good, too human to keep killing each other.

They are too smart to let the blind fear and hatred by the few, and now their own fear, continue to control their actions and destroy their chances. It is fear of not surviving on the one hand, and the humiliation of being kept in domination as third class people that drives such blindness.

Questions for leaders and all:

Main question: What can you tell yourself that will remind you that you are inherently and fully human?

1. 1. How, and from whom, did you learn to distrust?
2. 2. How, and from whom, did you learn that somehow others are inferior, less deserving, and should be ruled?
3. 3. How, and from whom, did you learn to hate?
4. 4. How, and from whom, did you learn that God, who loves all things, favors one over the other?
5. 5. How did it feel when you were a child being taught these things?
6. 6. How did it feel to be forced to give up friends who were different from you? What can you tell yourself to make you realize that such lessons, though meant well, keep you, your loved ones and all, unhappy and hurting, even killing one another?
7. 7. What can you tell yourself to help you realize that you are too good a human being, too smart to be ruled by these lessons any longer? That the God of mercy, compassion and sharing cannot want you to fulfill His promise by hating, dominating or killing?
8. 8. What can you tell yourself to help you realize that the benefits you get from the hostilities, from the temporal power such hostilities bestow on you do not heal, and is not worth the misery you feel inside and the misery of the people you champion?
9. 9. What can you tell yourself to help you realize the joy, reward and lasting gratification you would have by championing the respect, peace and posterity for all? The love you would get from all, and the whole world?

Everyone can decide to subdue the fear, the humiliation and hate. Everyone can decide to work together to stop the terrorism and to ignore the clamor of the frightened voices, the voices of very old ideas and old, old fears.

Some practical steps

Be brave enough to think, seriously, about the above questions.

Simultaneous actions by Israelis and Palestinians : (I am very moved by finding the following steps are the same or similar to the proposals by at least several groups striving for peace and rational solutions)

Again, strongly state an unconditional renunciation of the oath to "drive the Jews into the sea," and an unconditional recognition of the right of Israel to exist, and the right of Palestinians to have statehood,

Withdraw forces completely from the Territories, back to 1967 boundaries,

Israel, Palestine together with the Quartet, the International Task Force, Jordan, Egypt, perhaps Saudi Arabia, effect a "Marshall Plan" rebuilding the lives, hopes and infrastructure in both the Territories and where needed in Israel,

Engage, immediately after these two steps, in an unconditional peace process with the goal of two independent states, Israel and Palestine, living harmoniously side by side,

To ensure this, Jordan, Egypt, Palestine and Israel with the international help, form a joint protective force to root out and stop dedicated terrorists, and end the threat to peace.

Offer the "settlers" choices of returning to Israel proper (within the ’67 borders), remaining in what will become Palestine as citizens (just as a million Arabs are citizens of Israel), being branded as obstacles to the hopes and safety of both Jews and Palestinians, just as the terrorists most certainly are. It is naïve at best, and a cruel ploy at worst, for either side to demand conditions before either side takes action. Terrorists, militarists and many politicians are too addicted to their beliefs and agendas to change unilateral strategies without massive pressure from the people or from international sources. Peace hungry people and their leaders must rise in unity to stop the soul killing misery.

We are all too good, to smart and too human not to do this.