February 2, 2007

PROVIDENCE - Palestinian Sulaiman Al Hamri and Israeli Elik Elhanan, former enemies on the field of battle, now march in peace, in an organization they helped found, Combatants for Peace (CFP). Members take an oath of non-violence to achieve reconciliation and resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. By Mary Korr

The men spoke to 141 people at the JCC on Jan. 21, invited by the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace (Brit Tzedek v'Shalom). The two are on a 22-city tour in this country meeting with Jewish groups; their next trip will be with the Muslim American community.

On Elhanan's side, his pursuit for peace is forged from family tragedy. His sister Smadar, 14, was killed by suicide bombers in 1997 as she shopped for school supplies on Ben Yehuda Street in Jerusalem with a friend.

"They died on the spot. When such a thing happens, you think: How do I go on living? How do I deal with the pain?" he said.

Several days before they arrived in Providence, another child was killed, the daughter of Bassam Aramin, one of the movement's leaders. Ten- year-old Abir was killed next to her school in Anata in northeast Jerusalem. She died from a projectile to the head; the case is under investigation according to the Israeli press.

"We can no longer say no, we have to say yes to something. We have to co-exist. It is the children, and the civilians, who pay the price," Elhanan said.

Backgrounds

Elhanan, 29, is a former Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) paratrooper (1995-'98) from Jerusalem. His grandfather was in the Haganah. Elik joined the military at 18. "I saw it as my duty and privilege to protect my family and my country. But I came to realize I was a partner in the conflict. For every person we arrested or killed, another came in his place."

After the death of his sister, he began to search for a means to prevent further violence. He and his parents work together in a bereaved parents group comprised of Israelis and Palestinians.

Al Himri, 42, is from Bethlehem and a member of the Fatah movement.

"My story is like that of many Palestinians," he said. "We have lived there for generations. I used to hear from my grandfather about his work in the Resistance movement in the 1920s and '30s, opposing the British Mandate."

He joined the Fatah "resistance" as a teenager. "We did what the leaders told us to do. We demonstrated against Israelis for confiscating our land, for curfews and for hunger," he said. They gathered the stones and prepared the Molotov cocktails.

During the first Intifada (1987-1993) Al Himri was arrested for organizing stone-throwing demonstrations against Israeli soldiers. He spent over four years in an Israeli "detention center." When he was released, he returned to school. During that period, he alternated between hope, with the Oslo accords in 1993; shock at the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin ("I was shocked that a great Israeli leader could be killed by another Jew") and ultimately despair when the second Intifada erupted in 2000. Ariel Sharon's unilateral stance worsened conditions for the Palestinian people, he said. "It was a gift to Hamas."

"I saw Palestinians working against peace, and suicide bombers. This pushed me in another direction. Not all Palestinians are Hamas, not all want to send suicide bombers," he said.

He began to search for Israelis and Palestinians who had fought for their countries but who now eschewed violence. This ultimately led him to meet with Elhanan and others like him, in secret. Both men said they were terrified to meet their enemies face to face. "My friends told me it was an Israeli intelligence set-up," said Al Himri.

"I told myself I am going to get killed by Hamas, this is the stupidest thing I've ever done," said Elhanan, recounting hiding in an olive grove when he spotted Israeli soldiers on his way to the first meeting.

After a year of sneaking across borders for surreptitious meetings, CFP formed and revealed itself. Now comprised of 150 Israelis and Palestinians, the group calls for the:

• Establishment of an independent Palestinian state based on pre-1968 borders alongside Israel, with its capital in East Jerusalem;
• Withdrawal of the settlements in the West Bank ;
• A just resolution of the Palestinian refugee problem acceptable to both sides.

CPF goes into schools, participates in peaceful demonstrations, and sends speakers around the world. Al Himri has met with Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas many times; "he supported us and pushed us to continue."

Elhanan said the Israeli government has not agreed to speak with the group.

A woman in the audience asked Al Himri if Palestinian school books teach hatred of Jews and he said all textbooks are sent from the European Union and have to be authorized by the Israeli government. Elhanan concurred.

At the event, a petition to President Bush was signed by 55. It calls for the U.S. to promote talks between Israel and any party, including the Palestinians, Lebanon and Syria, that accepts Israel's right to exist.

The visit was also supported by Congregation Agudas Achim and several congregational rabbis. Co-chairs were Judy Kaye and Phil Rosen.