February 5, 2007
By Ellen Rifkin

From Iraq to Lebanon to the Israeli Occupied Territories, conflicts in the Middle East increasingly indicate the futility of armed struggle. But when repeated destruction only exacerbates grief and hatred, how can enemies find their way out of the cycle?

Right here in Eugene, we have an opportunity to learn how some in the Middle East are doing just that. On Wednesday at 7 p.m., two members of a new organization called Combatants for Peace will speak at Temple Beth Israel. CFP is an organization of former Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants, now dedicated to ending the occupation of the West Bank and Gaza through education, nonviolent struggle and pressuring both governments to resume constructive dialogue.

The two speakers are unlikely partners. Sulaiman Al Hamri, the Palestinian coordinator of the organization, spent four years in Israeli prisons for his involvement in anti-occupation demonstrations before pursuing a nonviolent approach. Shimon Katz served for four years as an officer in an elite unit of the Israeli Defense Forces. After studying meditation in the Far East, he became interested in nonviolent ways of living.

Katz and Al Hamri experienced turning points in their lives that transformed their understanding of their people's strategic needs - as did their CFP comrades. For example, a Palestinian fighter serving time in an Israeli jail discovered that his guard had no idea why or what he was fighting for. An Israeli pilot witnessed the death of 14 Palestinian civilians, including babies, during the targeted assassination of a Hamas leader, just weeks after transporting wounded Jewish children to a hospital, their blood covering the floor of his helicopter.

Combatants for Peace (combatantsforpeace .org) was founded in 2005, and its meetings remained secret for a year. The group now holds lectures, discussions and nonviolent demonstrations throughout Israel and the Occupied Territories. In a time when realism both discourages and requires hope, CFP members inspire us, modeling a foundation for trust and effective diplomacy through their unsentimental dialogue.

Eugene-Springfield is no stranger to using dialogue and the power of personal relationships to break down stereotypes while building bridges between communities. The Eugene Middle East Peace Group (mideastpeace.net) has been building bridges since the year 2000.
Dialogue, however, can be sorely strained when suicide bombings, targeted assassinations and acts of war repeatedly result in civilian deaths. Many Israeli-Palestinian groups working to end the occupation have gone dormant in recent years as the violence has escalated.

Even within Jewish families and communities, with the destruction of Jewish civilization in Europe only a generation removed, disagreement about Israeli government policy and Israel's security needs can be bitter, giving rise to feelings of betrayal.

The need to open new possibilities for pro-peace discourse within the American Jewish community led to the creation of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace (btvshalom.org). Brit Tzedek is a grassroots movement 35,000 strong that educates and mobilizes American Jews in support of a negotiated two-state resolution to the conflict. Brit Tzedek is sponsoring the Combatants for Peace tour to Jewish audiences in 22 U.S. cities.

Brit Tzedek aims to further compassionate and respectful dialogue within the Jewish community. Its members also advocate on Capitol Hill, changing Congress' perception that American Jews unfailingly support Israeli government policies. Brit Tzedek urges legislators to tune in to a growing Jewish constituency that realizes a viable Palestinian state is the only route to Israeli security. U.S. Rep. Peter DeFazio's staff has welcomed Eugene Brit Tzedek members.

Brit Tzedek's current "Let's Talk" campaign - advocating U.S. diplomacy to convene multilateral negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, Lebanon and Syria - is a fitting response to CFP's call for talks as the only way out of the violence. It's a message of particular resonance in the Middle East, but with meaningful applications far beyond - and everyone is invited to hear it.

Ellen Rifkin is a member of the newly forming Eugene chapter of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom.