The Land of Living Stones

Palestinians have generally been said to be cynical about the US Presidential Election…skeptical that change could come from either candidate and convinced of America’s eternal and exclusive loyalty to the aims of Israel. The ones I’ve met do seem to favor Obama anyway, and they are hopeful that the end of the Bush era will mean progress of some sort towards resolving the issues of Israel-Palestine. By far the best indication I have seen that Obama has made some impact around here is at the seminar I attended this weekend in Beit Jala. Rhetoric about “Change Agents” “yes, we can!” and “everything is possible” permeated the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians who came together seeking to meet and relate with ‘the other.’ Many participants are active in different peace initiatives on one or both sides of the conflict and all had powerfiul stories to share.

Being from “Obamaland” made me stick out a bit, as almost everyone there was Israeli or Palestinian, but I had a lot to learn and spent most of my time simply listening to the people who had assembled. This initative was sponsored by the Center for Emerging Futures and was called a Global Village Square meeting. There were about 50 people from all over the West Bank and Israel, including Jerusalem, Hebron, Bethlehem, Ramallah, Akko, Tel Aviv, and Sderot. As you might imagine, the difference of perspectives was phenomenal–some were religiously observant, others quite secular, some were older, some young like me, some immigrants, some refugees, and many who have only known the place where they currently live.

There were many sessions devoted to sharing stories and listening to each other. Then we had Open Space workshops on how we can support one another in starting/continuing projects for peace. One great resource that we discovered is http://www.mepeace.org, an online community of regional peacemakers.

For me, it was most profound to sit and talk with the Israelis, who I rarely interact with outside of checkpoints. I felt that my perspective was significantly broadened through meeting many kind, friendly Israelis who came into the oPT for this meeting. Some of them invited me to watch Shabbat (the travel version which was brought along to the hotel) which was a new experience for me. They also have invited me to celebrate Shabbat with them at some point in the future at their home in Jerusalem. Also I was able to chat extensively with another guy who I hope to visit someday too. He lives in Tel Aviv.

These days I have been fortunate to develop many relationships with locals that has given me a more inside look at life around here. I hope these continue as the days go on!