Dear friends and colleagues, I want to share with you these impressive information from a friend of mine Eliahu McLean of Jerusalem about a successful Sulha of 2004. That is not about particular methods, but I believe it should be interesting to all of us and we can be proud of it's organizers, facilitators and participants. There were lot's of genuine contacts between believers of different religions, collaboration of former and real enemies, they had sharing of their hopes and pains in the circles, they were dreaming about future and wishing to train their children to develop this holistic approach to Peace in their region. I wish it could happen in the south of Russia. With love and blessings,
Marina Tyasto Novosibirsk. -----Original Message----- From: Eliyahu McLean [mailto:eliy...@actcom.co.il] Sent: Sunday, September 05, 2004 12:31 AM To: Eliyahu McLean Subject: 'The Sulha Way' Gathering of 2004 Hello friends, "The Sulha Way" gathering of 2004 was a huge success. This year's gathering was held over 3 days, from August 17th-19th. This year we reached a new level, bringing together over 4000 Arabs and Jews, including 600 children and many international guests. This year¹s Sulha was held in Park Shuni, just outside of Binyamina near Haifa. It was special that 200 Palestinians from Jenin, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron and Gaza, as well as 20 Jordanians were able to join us. As an official opening event of the Sulha, Shvil Zahav (the Middle Way) organized a silent peace walk with over 200 people from the Binyamina train station to the site of the Sulha. Joining the walk was the Palestinian delegation from Jenin. As participants from all over Israel, religious and secular, Arabs and Jews and the buses from Ramallah, Bethlehem, Jenin and Jordan arrived they were greeted at the Sulha¹s Welcome Center. After Sulha founder Gaby Meyer welcomed everyone, the crowd broke up into listening circles, where people had a chance to speak from the heart. Many Palestinians were moved by the chance to share their stories, eye to eye, with Israeli Jews and others. Many expressed their frustration at having to wait for hours at checkpoints that day on their way to the Sulha. In the center of the main lawn of the park was the main stage for ceremonies and concerts. On each of the loud speakers were big signs reading in Hebrew and Arabic, Two People¹s Want to Live in Peace. Around the main lawn were the Children¹s Space, the tent of the Bereaved Parents Circle, a Peace Organizations space, and a Druze family offering traditional pita and labane. Nearby were the Tent of Hagar and Sarah and further away, the kitchen. Many workshops on Arab and Jewish religion and culture took place at the Sulha. On the first day a workshop on the topic of "Our Jerusalem" was led by Rabbi Menachem Froman of Tekoa and the Imam of the Dome of the Rock, Abdel Karim Zurba. Later the Imam led the Islamic afternoon prayer service, while Rabbi Froman led mincha, the afternoon Jewish prayer services. In the peace organizations space, groups dedicated to peace and human rights shared their work. These included Bustan L¹Shalom, Rabbis for Human Rights, Maagal Haderech, Peace Child-Israel, Mosaic Communities, the Theosophical Society and the Network of Co-existence Organizations in Israel. At the opening ceremony on the first night Rabbi Froman and gave a teaching about the meaning of Allah-hu Akbar translating it as 'Love will Prevail' as the crowd repeated that phrase in Hebrew -Ahava T¹Natzeach!- after him. MC Mahmoud Salame invited Elias Jabbour to speak followed by a Fatah leader from Ramallah. The keynote speakers spoke powerfully about the need for peace between our peoples. Rabbi Michael Melchior said that religion is the heart of peace and that we can¹t wait for the politicians to bring peace. Al Quds Univ. Professor Sari Nusseibeh encouraged the need for peace between our peoples. John Quzholini from South Africa offered blessings followed by Tibetan Geshe Thebten Phelgye, and Greek Catholic Deacon Jiries Mansur. The ceremony closed with a blessing and Sufi Ozikr¹ led by Sufi Sheikh Abu Ali from Majd Al-Krum. During the music offering of the first night, musicians like Shotei Hanevua, George Yusuf Samaan and Gaia had everyone, Arabs and Jews, dancing together. During the second day the talking circles gave everyone the opportunity to get to know each other on a deeper level. Over a thousand people took part in 45 talking circles over 3 days. In the Bereaved Parents tent, Israelis and Palestinians who have lost family members in the conflict shared their stories of transformation. In the Tent of Hagar and Sarah, women shared their pain in an intimate space. One Israeli woman whose son was killed in a suicide bus bombing shared, followed by a Palestinian woman whose son was killed by the Israeli army. One woman said "my picture of the Jews changed, before the Sulha I was filled with hate and now I see the Jews also have pain". Some women said we want our nations to cry and to dance together. In the Children¹s Space, many workshops on art and games were offered. The children painted a large peace mural in Hebrew, Arabic and English around their space. There were workshops on eco-building with mud, juggling and walking on stilts. Many Palestinian children from Jenin and elsewhere bonded beautifully with the Israeli children. The outdoor kitchen fed over a thousand people twice a day. In the kitchen Israeli and Palestinian volunteers worked with the devoted kitchen staff to offer meals. Many people of different cultures had a chance to connect sitting and sharing a meal together. The kitchen was also kosher and vegetarian in order for as wide an audience as possible to feel welcome. In the afternoon there was a panel with our foreign guests and religious leaders about solutions to ethnic conflicts. Zulu tribal leader John Quzholini from South Africa spoke, followed by Senegalese Sufi sheikh Fara Gaye, Fatima Shwartz, a Muslim woman reconciliation activist from South Africa and Geshe Thebten Phelgye, a representative of the Dalai Lama and member of the Tibetan Parliament in exile. Sheikh Ibrahim Sarsur, head of the southern branch of the Islamic Movement spoke about Islam and peace. The evening ceremony was led by the women, honoring the new Hebrew month- Rosh Hodesh Elul and the Islamic month of Rajab, one of the holy months leading up to Ramadan. In this ritual led by Rabbi Ruth Kagan and Ibtisam Mahamid, the women called out the names of their foremothers. Maighread Kennedy from Northern Ireland spoke about her Corrymeela Community in Belfast, which promotes reconciliation between Catholics and Protestants. The women finished with a song chanting "Elohim Echad, Allah Hu Allah" that that got everyone up and dancing. The evening ceremony was followed with a blessing by video for the Sulha gathering offered by Reb Zalman Schachter Shalomi. Late in the evening a spontaneous music and jam session formed in a circle<with dancing and call and response with Gil Ron from Sheva and traditional Palestinian singers. A large group of Palestinian youth broke out in debka, the traditional Arab dance. Arabs and Jews sang and danced together into the night. This was all broadcast live on the internet. The most moving highlight of the gathering was the farewell ceremony, held early on the 3rd day, for the Palestinian and Jordanian delegations. Firas Yaghi, coordinator for the Palestinian Legislative Council and head of the Palestinian delegation spoke, followed by Muhammad Shawahin from Jordan and Gaby Meyer and Yael Meyora from the Sulha staff. A wave of emotion began to wash over the crowd, our departing friends formed a long line and we lined up to give each one a gift and a farewell blessing. Many of the Palestinians burst into tears and everyone hugged each other and some danced together. Azriel Cohen took a fig branch with three branches. One fig branch had three branches broken off to be planted, one in Palestine, one in Jordan, and one in Israel, and the main branch to be planted in Jerusalem. A circle of Israelis and Palestinian joined hands together forming a big circle around the field. On the last afternoon there was a workshop on Our Father Abraham with Rabbi Yehoshua Engleman and Sufi Sheikh Hilmi from Nazareth and other scholars. Sheikh Hilmi and Palestinian Sheikh Abu¹l Qasim, also known as the Green Sheikh led a Sufi zikr ceremony. At sunset the children led a procession around the park. A Jewish Yemenite Hazan (traditional singer) and Hilmi led Jewish and Muslim chants on the stage as Arab and Jewish children sang the words of the prophet Isaiah- my house will be a house of prayer for all peoples- in Hebrew in Arabic. That evening more Arab and Jewish musicians played into the night. First the first time ever, Al-Jazeera Television, the most widely-watched network in the Arab world covered live and devoted a positive ten-minute report of a peace event in Israel. Other coverage included the major Israeli TV networks< channels 2, 3 and 10, all 3 Arabic newspapers in Israel, local Arabic cable TV, Israeli newspapers Maariv and Yediot, the Jerusalem Post, Haaretz English, and HaTsofe, the ultra-Orthodox newspaper. International coverage included French and Canadian TV, Radio Colombia, NPR radio, Radio Sawa and reporters from Spain and Germany. After this event a delegation of Jews and Muslims from the Sulha made a pilgrimage to Hebron. On the way we were received by the mayor of Halhul and visited the people of Beit Omar and Hebron. We offered a shared prayer at the entrance to the Tomb of Abraham where Palestinian women and children and an Israeli soldier were so moved that they joined us. On the Way to Sulha is planning a mini Sulha training gathering for 70 Palestinian and Israeli teenagers in January 2005. We are already scouting for the site of annual 2005 "To The Sulha" gathering. We are in need of financial and other support to continue this project. Please offer of a tax-deductible donation, information on our website: www.sulha.org Email: amensu...@yahoo.com Shalom, Salaam, Eliyahu McLean, Rodef Shalom- Pursuer of Peace, from the Sulha Staff * * ========================================================== osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu ------------------------------ To subscribe, unsubscribe, change your options, view the archives of osl...@listserv.boisestate.edu: http://listserv.boisestate.edu/archives/oslist.html To learn about OpenSpaceEmailLists and OSLIST FAQs: http://www.openspaceworld.org/oslist