BLOG from the Holy Land #2 – Sept 9th, 2016

Yesterday we spent the whole day in the northern part of Palestine meeting with two of the coordinators of the Abrahamic Reunion. The feeling in Palestine is both very different than Israel but also very similar. As we drove through I was reminded once again of the beauty of both of these powerful lands and the depth of history, ancient and modern to be felt in the Holy Land. My mind says of course there is this history but feeling it in my cells and heart is a very different experience.

I was thinking this Palestine is the land of Goliath and the Palestinians, (the Philistines), have been getting bad press ever since David hit his mark. Over and over, every Palestinian I spoke to urged me quite strongly to tell the world, “we are not terrorists, we are not murderers. Don’t judge six million people based on the actions of a few”. I was surprised at the consistency of one other message from so many.”our land is under occupation and it is amazing there is not more frustration”. From the Israeli point of view any act of violence is not acceptable and certainly I understand and agree with this point of view also. So the separation continues. How can there be peace when the model is separation. Jewish Israelis are not allowed to go into Palestine. Palestinians have great difficulty entering Israel. Its not just the physical wall that separates it’s the psychological one that is even more powerful.

I am living in a house in Israel now with a family that has been stabbed, shot at, their dwelling destroyed and still live in fear that this could be repeated at any moment and the reality is that it could happen. As I write this I can imagine the reader asking who did the violence so we can understand or even subconsciously blame. That thinking creates more confusion and hurt. The whole situation is to blame. There must be a real process begun not a political charade on all sides. With all due respect I’m not sure the politicians want peace. The peacemakers must make peace in themselves and then one person at a time. The peacemaker is confronting deep and confused energy and she or he must learn the art of inner peace as well as the conceptual outer so the process can begin. Finding the chink in the armor of confrontation and separateness. This is our work.

With love and blessings from the Holy Land,
David Less