On the way to Sulha

By Rachel Spitz

HappyNews Citizen Journalist

Peace in the Middle East: experts discuss it, cynics scoff at it and optimists simply listen—not just to each other but also to themselves, knowing that external peace starts from within. Such soulful listening was evident at the Sulha Peace Project's fifth annual "On the Way to Sulha," a three-day event in Israel that focused on rebuilding trust and co-existence between Arabs and Jews.

Sulha, an Arabic word meaning reconciliation, is a grassroots movement that aims and, more importantly, succeeds in forming connections between Jews, Muslims and Christians. The Sulha gathering, which took place in July, brought together participants who may have had nothing else in common but their enthusiasm to strengthen understanding between themselves.

"The Sulha Project is important because it holds the vision of peace for all walks of life," said Israeli peace advocate, Dorit Bat Shalom. She was a returning visitor to "On the Way to Sulha" and has watched it grow from 50 people to hundreds.

"All of us here have become friends on so many different levels," she said. "During the year we take turns praying together at synagogues and mosques."

In addition to inspiring external connections between participants that extend beyond the event, "On the Way to Sulha" also focuses on internal connections with self.

"Internal and external peace are part of each other; we can't achieve one without the other, and Sulha brings this process out," said Adina Rosen, another returning participant and peace advocate.

The park that was home to this year's peace gathering was filled with Eucalyptus trees whose soft shade offered a subtle backdrop for the rainbow of colors that were the international participants. The sound of drums and the smell of incense beckoned my friend and I deeper into the forest.

A children's area was surrounded by hand-painted signs with caterpillars, hearts and stars that reminded us to "put away misconceptions" and to "tear down (all) walls." Other hand-painted signs hung crookedly on trees and pointed in all directions to the makeshift tents and blanketed seating areas. The carefree and lighthearted atmosphere reminded me of summer camp, but a closer look showed that something deeper was going on here. There was a women's tent, an interfaith prayer tent and a grieving tent. They stood empty, but throughout the three days, they served as safe places for people to share and learn from each other's experiences, traditions and pain through listening circles, multi-cultural workshops and interfaith rituals.

We continued toward the meal tent where the participants mingled freely in yet another arena where different cultures came together and bonded on their own terms. Everywhere we turned, there were contrasts of colors and identities creating a collage of harmony: Yarmulkes, kuffiyehs and dread locks blended together with head scarves, pony tails and nun habits. Beards were just as long and flowing as the many skirts. Muslims, Jews and Christians sat or stood side by side and communicated in a mixture of Hebrew, English and Arabic.

I conversed with a Brazilian seminary student named Martin who had been studying in Jerusalem all year.

"There is such a positive dialogue here. People are listening to each other," he said. "It's unfortunate that the media only speak about division, because here at Sulha, I see only unity."

The food line offered yet another opportunity to socialize and connect with people. Snippets of conversations were interspersed with singing and whistling. A man with a guitar weaved his way through the line strumming melodies and singing. Both his smile and his music were infectious.

Behind me, an Israeli ecologist named Gur pointed at the eucalyptus trees. "These trees are 20 meters high yet their seeds are no larger than one millimeter," he said. "The seeds are tiny, like us. We are all tiny seeds contributing to a larger picture."

Gur explained that his contribution to peace and the environment is a special type of seed he engineers that grows quickly and produces edible harvest. He planned on giving his seeds to the African and Jordanian participants to plant in their soil so that seeds of peace will spread even farther.

As we ate, we noticed the guitar music stopped. However, the enthusiasm it had inspired was still palpable. Fittingly, the man behind the guitar was also the man behind the Sulha Peace Project. Gabriel Meyer, an Argentinean Jew founded the Sulha Movement with Elias Jabbour, a Christian Arab Israeli. Their grassroots movement aims to remove the political barriers to peace by personalizing the healing process and bringing it to the individuals involved.

"It's all about loving thy neighbor as thyself," Meyer said. "But, I can't love thy neighbor until I love myself, and I can't love myself until I love my neighbor." Thus, the magic of "On the Way to Sulha": In such a spiritually open atmosphere, participants can't help but look deeper into themselves while looking deeper at their external relationships. "I believe that external peace and internal peace are one and the same. They are simultaneous."

Meyer is confident that peace is the only solution to the Middle East conflict and that it is obtainable. "The Hebrew word for peace is shalom, which shares the same root as the word shalem, or wholeness," he explained. "Wholeness of peace is harmony among the pieces. There won't be a full picture of peace until we accept all the pieces of the puzzle."

From the look of it, Meyer and Jabbour have succeeded in creating a unique and much needed setting where so many different pieces of the same larger picture can come together.

My friend and I leisurely made our way to the afternoon workshops. On the way, I paused to chat with a friendly group of Palestinian teenagers sitting around a picnic table. Their Hebrew and English were poor, and my Arabic was even poorer, but we managed to communicate through smiles. Anan, Ejalel, Ahmad and Kosay were all 17 years old and from Jericho. Their families and friends back home were happy and proud that they came to Israel to participate in such an event. Ejalel, the designated spokesman of the group, said they enjoyed meeting with Israelis and seeing up close that Israelis and Palestinians actually shared many similarities.

"I can't wait to go home and tell my friends," Ejalel said.

We parted ways after a few more smiles, and my friend and I continued toward the workshops. We caught up to an African participant whose appearance invited curiosity. His height, black skin and colorful checkered robe made him stand out even among this alternative crowd. Sheikh Farah Gaye from Senegal was no stranger to "On the Way to Sulha." He first learned about it while meeting with several Arab and Israeli peace advocates and spiritual leaders at various international conventions. Gaye said that he returned to the Sulha gathering because he loved showing his support for dialogue and spiritual development.

"The problem between Israelis and Palestinians is just one aspect of the larger reconciliation that is needed in the world," he said. "The idea of healing starts within each of us and then continues between family members, friends and strangers. This reconciliation we do here at Sulha is the start of a larger one between all humans."

The sheikh was asked to join the nearby workshop, which was a forum about Islam being led by a Muslim, Arab-Israeli woman. The sheikh wasn't the only African presence in the audience; the head rabbi from Ethiopia was also among the group. They joined a priest, nun and the rest of us secular and religious Israelis and Arabs. The group's facilitator talked about the similarities between Islam and Judaism. Her explanations touched on elements of humanism in addition to religion.

"If I can resolve inner conflicts, external conflicts will resolve themselves," she said.

There was a positive exchange of questions and answers that were alternately translated into Arabic, Hebrew and English. It took a group effort to make sure that no one was left out of the conversation. This collective gesture to reach and maintain mutual understanding was highly symbolic of the Sulha Project as a whole

On our way out of the park, my friend and I walked back through the greeting tent where we initially began our Sulha journey. We passed a table where, only a few hours earlier, we were asked to pick two tarot-like cards out of a deck to get into the spirit of the gathering. At the time, the chosen cards, which contained the words "observation" and "gratitude," hadn't meant much. But now, having spent the afternoon observing the inspiration, tolerance, hope and optimism behind "On the Way to Sulha," I felt gratitude for the existence of such an event and for having had the opportunity to experience it myself.

For more information about upcoming Sulha events, click here.

Rachel Spitz moved to Israel from the United States in 1999 to obtain a master's degree in Middle East History. She now works as a freelance writer and finds that the atmosphere in Israel— politically, culturally and socially—is very exhilarating.

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