There are so many examples of Israelis and Palestinians building bridges and uniting through what they have in common, not what they differ on. In these environments, away from politicians and strategists with their own agendas, people can simply look into each other’s eyes, hear their stories and see humanity.
It’s also easy to forget that 1.7 million Palestinians live in Israel. A population of that size alone proves the two can and do peacefully coexist; it really challenges the argument that a peaceful coexistence is some kind of fanciful utopia that could never exist in a practical sense.
Christian leader and activist Shane Claiborne once said, “Peacemaking doesn’t mean passivity. It is the act of interrupting injustice, the act of destroying evil without destroying the evildoer, the act of finding a third way that is neither flight nor fight, but the careful arduous pursuit of reconciliation and justice. It is about a revolution of love that is big enough to set both the oppressed and the oppressor free.”
What is desperately needed for the two-state solution to work is long-term policy that is backed by both sides, and supported by respective allied nations. That may not sound particularly impressive, but policy is so fundamentally important because it is the basis from which those small and everyday social changes grow, and these are the building blocks of long-term and lasting peace.
In this respect, leaders from both sides have failed. There’s been a long and concentrated effort from those in power to create a picture of “the enemy”. But when you step back from the top and look at things on a day-to-day level, we see that is not true and that peace is achievable.
At the height of apartheid in South Africa, many – myself included – believed it could only end in bloodshed; there was so much hatred. And yet, Nelson Mandela was able to show the world what the right leadership at the right time could do for the long walk to peace.
From this war, there will be a generation of Israelis and Palestinians who are deeply traumatised and shaped by what they have seen and experienced. And while projects and initiatives that support peace can act as a template to these people, it will only work with the right leadership.
It is sad to think that the one thing Hamas and the Israeli extreme right seem to agree on is undermining the two-state solution. A one-state constitution where Israelis, Arabs and Palestinians are not equal would never be accepted, and it would be seen as an apartheid state.
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I have seen Palestinians and Israelis rise above tribalism and become peacemakers. Now, those in charge must do the same.
Indeed, as Jesus said, “Blessed are the peacemakers”.
Tim Costello is a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Public Christianity.
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