Despite the gloomy forecast for Mideast peace, it’s heartening to see Jewish-Palestinian dialogue blooming in the Bay Area and other parts of the country.
The dialogues, held in private homes, allow Jews and Palestinians to see each other as individuals. The dialogues, as described in our Page One story this week, get both sides talking and not aiming weapons at each other, as many Jews and Arabs do in the Mideast. Often, friendships are born.
Both Jews and Palestinians who participate in the dialogues have a common goal: peace in the Mideast. They are living peacefully, side by side in the United States. “Why can’t they do the same in the Mideast?” members of the groups wonder.
Unfortunately, many groups that were having similar meetings in Israel and the territories have now disbanded. Both sides fear such meetings will scar them as traitors. Plus the threat of violence is quite real for those who try to move between hostile camps.
So what can the local dialogue groups accomplish?
“These groups just seem to be a model of hope,” says Len Traubman, who with his wife, Libby, originated the dialogues 10 years ago in their San Mateo home. Traubman says he gets calls and e-mails from throughout the world from people who want to use his model and begin dialogues in their own communities.
Traubman says it’s easier for Jews and Palestinians to meet and form friendships when governments aren’t involved. Both sides share their own stories of sufferings at the hands of the other. Here, on the other side of the world, both sides realize their tales are not very different.
The local groups don’t expect to have a direct impact on the events in the Mideast. Yet at the very least, they help Jews and Palestinians understand each other better.
The movement to bring peace to the Mideast has to start somewhere. These groups offer hope — and that’s about all we have to live on right now.