March 22, 2007
by Marcia Freedman and Diane Cantor

A decade ago, Elik Elhanan and Sulaiman Al Hamri were instruments in one of the longest raging conflicts in the world. Elhanan was a young Israeli soldier, fighting for the security of his country. Al Hamri was a Palestinian protester, battling for a country that no longer existed.

The cycle of violence, protest and negotiations in the conflict between Israel and Palestine is nothing new. In fact, many Americans cannot remember a time when turmoil in the Middle East wasn't daily news.

Now, 40 years after Israel began its occupation of territory seized in the Six Day War, the movement for a "two-state solution" and ultimately, peace, has a strong advocate in the United States called Brit Tzedek v'Shalom, or the Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace.

On Saturday, the group's local chapter is sponsoring two talks in Troy and Bethlehem by two Combatants for Peace -- a former Israeli soldier and a Palestinian who had been imprisoned for protesting. The would-be enemies are now united for non-violence and the common cause of urging the Israeli and American governments to negotiate for creation of a Palestinian state.

Elhanan and Al Hamri will appear together twice on Saturday to discuss their experiences, their fears and their hopes for the future.

"I saw that what we were doing as soldiers was not designed to secure the safety of Israel but to maintain the cycle of war," said Elhanan, 29, who served in the Israeli army from 1995 to 1998. During that time, his sister was killed by a suicide bomber.

"The only solution my country proposed was more violence and more violence," said Elhanan. "It wasn't leading anywhere."

In 2005, he joined forces with other former Israeli soldiers, as well as former Palestinian fighters, to form Combatants for Peace. In addition to speaking throughout this country, members of the organization also try to enlist others from both sides of the conflict, encouraging them to sit down and talk with each other and spread the word of peace.

Elhanan and Al Hamri will appear at 4 p.m. at Bethlehem Town Hall and 8 p.m. at Temple Berith Sholom in Troy as part of their 22-stop tour across the United States.

Al Hamri spent 4 /2 years in jail after organizing what he says were nonviolent demonstrations against the Israeli occupation.

"In those days, to write fliers or deliver fliers was considered violent in the eyes of the Israelis," said Al Hamri, 42. "I was in jail from the '80s until 1993."

After his release, Al Hamri, who lives in the city of Bethlehem in Israeli-occupied territory, continued to oppose Israeli policy. He eventually realized he had more of a chance if he worked directly with the people he had thought of as his enemies.

In Palestine, "it is a very hard life," said Al Hamri. "There are shortages of everything, lots of damage and violence all around us."

The "two-state solution" has been considered for years in various incarnations, but it has encountered repeated roadblocks.

"There were an awful lot of people calling for this years ago," said Victor Asal, a University at Albany professor who specializes in political violence. "But by the year 2000, a lot of people got sick of it and even the most left-wing and dovish decided there was no cooperating with the other side."

Between 2000 and 2003, violence continued to escalate. And although some political leaders continued to negotiate, many feared there was no end in sight.

"It's caused an upswing of people saying we need to find a way to solve this," said Asal. Last summer, when Israel launched an offensive in Lebanon, "there was the phenomenon of Arab and Jewish bloggers reaching out to each other."

The co-chairman of the Albany chapter of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom feels that creating two states is the best way to ensure the safety of Israelis. "Anything else is going to maintain this terrible conflict," said Jack Alexander.

He commended Elhanan and Al Hamri for dedicating their lives to ending the conflict.

"These guys were brave enough in the first place to fight for their people and I think they are even braver to put down their guns and work for peace," he said.

Mohammad Handan of Albany, a Palestinian who lived most of his life as a refugee in Jordan until he became an American citizen seven years ago, believes creating separate countries for Israel and Palestine is the only way to get the sides to stop fighting.

"Before 1948, there weren't problems between Muslims and Jews," said Handan, 33. "You waste your energy, your effort and your children, just because someone made a political decision. Now generation after generation is paying for it."