18 November | 2000 | Subject Middle East & North Africa (MENA)
“He becomes endowed with that kind of wise insight which allows him to see all beings as on the way to slaughter. Great compassion thereby takes hold of him … and he radiates great friendliness and compassion over all those beings, and gives attention to them.”
In the wisdom literature of Mahayana Buddhism, this short excerpt is often quoted to define the person who has made peacemaking a vocation in the face of the manifold threats challenging our global village today. Indeed, this passionate sense of solidarity with the whole human family - with those who suffer everywhere as much as with those who do not yet know what suffering may await them - is not simply a matter of ethics or politics. In its essence, it is the ultimate intersection where the vertical dimension of our highest spirituality must cross the horizontal dimension of our broadest humanity. It is the place in our lives where love becomes the beginning and the end of our being.
I have been thinking a lot about peacemaking these days. And when I have not thought - or written - about it, others have awakened in me through their statements, analyses or articles a miasma of beliefs - and prejudices - that colour my own position. It suffices that a person start talking about the role of religion in situations of conflict, or to excoriate - whether intelligently or unintelligently, knowingly or unknowingly - the attitude of religious communities toward those who have been impacted by this conflict, that my mind simply shifts gear and goes into overdrive!
So this article will attempt to address - albeit briefly - three compartments of thought. The first part will relate to the role and viability of religions in peacemaking. The second part will provide a personal analysis of the situation today - both in political and human terms. The final part will suggest the bare bones of a tentative scenario for peace in the Holy Land.
“It is one of the major tragedies of the world that the great religions instead of unifying mankind in mutual understanding and goodwill divide mankind by their dogmatic claims and prejudices. They affirm that religious truth is attained in this or that special region, by this or that chosen race, condemning others either to borrow from it or else suffer spiritual destitution.”
This is what the great Hindu thinker Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan once wrote, and one can almost imagine an audible sigh as he concluded this sentence! Yet, despite the fact that religion has often been misdirected or misused, it is also true that many religions - whether Christianity, the two other monotheistic religions or some of the polytheistic ones - believe firmly that their own spiritual heritage can be a bridge for reconciliation and a force for non-violence. So what are those spiritual themes and resources which project our visions of peace and thereby shape a theology of peace? By and large, religions:
“A universal compassion is needed, to be extended to all living beings … All sentient beings are involved in suffering; all are struggling in a dark ignorance that blinds them to the truth of their own nature and the laws that govern their existence … If each of us were to realise that whatsoever he does to another he does in effect to himself, through the law of reciprocal compassion, this world would become a happy and peaceful place.”
None other than U Thant, a former secretary-general of the United Nations, uttered those words in a discourse he gave in New York in 1967. To come to terms with such words, it is important to examine conscientiously and truthfully the existential realities that beset both peoples of this land today - well into the seventh week of the Intifada of Al-Aqsa - and to highlight those areas that are ostensibly impacting the fragile relationships betwixt Palestinians and Israelis here and now.
“The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it … Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hatred cannot drive out hatred: only love can do that.”
These are strong and uncompromising words coming from Revd Martin Luther King. Not only do they initiate a debate on the nature and forms of violence or apply directly to the confrontations between Palestinians and Israelis in the Holy Land today. They also provide a window of hope for the future. As a priest friend of mine from Jerusalem told me last week, “one must look, evaluate, and then act.” Having looked at the religious and scriptural standpoints, and having then evaluated the situation, let me now act by sketching my broad personal map for the future. I am confident that a battery of experts, lawyers and technocrats can flesh out any such agreement with the necessary political logic and language.
However, let me also add that I am not engaged here in producing a political paper or initiating a nationalist discourse. My concern focuses on the human dimension. The Christian faith I struggle to uphold is predicated upon the belief that we are all born equal in the image and likeness of God. How can this belief be transposed onto a political reality?
"Is there anyone among you who is wise and understanding? He is to prove it by his good life, by his good deeds performed with humility and wisdom. But if in your heart you are jealous, bitter and selfish, do not sin against the truth by boasting of your wisdom. Such wisdom does not come down from heaven; it belongs to the world. But the wisdom from above is pure first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deeds; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. And goodness is the harvest that is produced from the seeds that peacemakers plant in peace.” - Jas 3: vv13-18
Throughout my article, I have constantly used the words ‘peace’ and ‘compassion’. I have argued that it is possible to reach a peaceful and just settlement between Palestinians and Israelis if both sides are willing to be peace-driven and compassion-bound. They should be willing to rely on a wisdom that is peaceful, gentle, friendly and full of compassion. They should free themselves of prejudice and hypocrisy, planting instead the seeds of peace in their societies. As St Paul writes in his Letter, “don’t do anything from selfish ambition or from a cheap desire to boast, but be humble toward one another, always considering others better than yourselves. And look out for one another’s interests, not just for your own” Phil 2: vv 3-4.
Making peace is hard! After all, the expression goes that one sues for peace! And making peace on the basis of Christian values becomes even harder since the goalposts are so much higher! But peacemakers should persevere in their irenic task since establishing peace in this land also means planting at long last the first saplings of justice too. I remain convinced that both peoples are not only meant to live together - as politicians constantly remind us - but actually can live together. Bereft of stultifying ideologies or stunted stances, and annealed in a vision that is inclusive, it is possible for both Palestinians and Israelis to rise above their mutually negating differences and to aim for a neighbourliness that remains healthy and rewarding for both peoples. But so long as vested interests play their part, the challenge becomes even more defiant.
In an article in the Tablet on 11 November 2000, Rabbi Lionel Blue from England writes, The present problem is not ownership but the fear and hatred which have become endemic in a small area about the size of Wales, with two nations claiming the same capital, and three religions each of which has its own memories and hurts … Two states must be accepted in that small country and must share Jerusalem equally and fairly. Israel-Palestine is home to all in it and all who regard it as home, whether Palestinian refugees or persecuted Jews. The heroic intelligence and determination which created the State of Israel can accomplish that too if it enables expensive ‘swords’ to be turned into ‘ploughshares’ of technology. The cost of the settlements which have held Israel to ransom is too high.”
Is any of this feasible? I do not know! Would either party respond to it? Who knows! Is it likely that people would smirk and then dismiss it as being far too impractical or partisan to one side or other? Probably! But should it be done? Definitely!
The longer the problem is left unresolved or patched up shabbily, the higher the price of peace will be for both sides. My heart grieves for each and every Israeli or Palestinian - every boy or man, every girl or woman - who dies in these
confrontations. Every news-flash that announces another bereavement - irrespective of its source, ethnicity, family or origin - is a cause for mourning by all peacemakers. Surely, Israelis and Palestinians deserve happiness and fulfilment - peace, justice and security - in their lives?
Having already developed a theology of land for their rights, is it not time to stretch that theology a bit further and develop a theology of peace that by its very definition is also tantamount to a leap of faith in the land of prophets?
© Dr Harry Hagopian | 2000 | 18 November