Jesus wept over Jerusalem, declaring, "If only you had known...what would make for peace." When it comes to the Holy Land, odds are he still weeps in spite of the endless "peace" talks.
South African playwright Athol Fugard asserted in the '80s that "the central transaction of the universe is one person caring for and loving another." This is applicable in the Middle East, though with a tragic difference: It's largely absent between Israelis and Palestinians. While surveying the Gaza Palestinian refugee camps recently, Israeli Minister of Justice Yossi Beilin remarked that "the central transaction in Israel is one person not caring for another, not loving another."
The "way of love" Jesus offered is not limited to Christians. For example, the way personified by the courageous Israeli Committee Against Home Demolitions is a model for all. These humanitarians illustrate the laying down of lives for friends as they stand in front of the guns and bulldozers and cry out daily for justice as innocent people have their homes (and life savings) destroyed.
The things that make for peace include those Israelis who work for a future that gives Palestinians the right to live without fear, and those Palestinians who work for a reduction of the fear that grips Israelis. This requires a new paradigm of compassion and forgiveness where peace-seekers no longer see themselves as victims and perpetrators.
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