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Recent activities
June 2005
Peace Delegation at the Boombamela Festival, April 26th
Every year 30,000 young Israelis come during Passover to the Boombamela Festival that takes place at Nitzanim beach near Ashkelon. For the first time we brought a delegation of 45 people, young Israeli Arab youth as well Christian and Muslim leaders from the Galilee and north to be part of this event. Hassan Amer brought the youth from from Kafr Qassem.
As we arrived at the festival to the central cabaret stage, two Muslims from our group were invited up to speak in front of hundreds. When they spoke about how their being here shows that we can indeed live together there was a huge applause. Around the main fire at sunset it was inspiring to see religious Jewish Israelis, Muslim women, Native Americans and Hindu Babas from India dancing together in an ecstatic circle, while the youth sang in Arabic.
Peace Walk in the Old City with Middle Way, April 29-30
The Middle Way organizes regular silent Arab-Jewish peace walks. After walking through the Old City on Friday we set up camp in an olive group at the foot of the Mount of Olives. At our camp, on Friday night I led the Shabbat prayers and the blessing over grape juice in Hebrew and translated the prayers to Arabic for the Palestinian teenagers who joined us.
On Saturday, the seventh day of Passover, I led the Middle Way group on a silent peace walk from the Mount of Olives into the Old City through Lions Gate. We arrived at the Ecce Homo Sisters of Zion monastery on the Via Dolorosa where Sister Trudy welcomed us and shared a Christian vision of peace. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari also came and shared the Muslim view. From Ecce Homo we then walked to the Jewish quarter where we were welcomed by Rabbi Yaakov Fogelman at his home. Most of the group of liberal Israeli Jews and Arabs were amazed as they had never been in a home of an Orthodox rabbi in the Old City.
Peace Gathering in Jericho, Sunday May 8th
A peace group from Holland hosted us at a peace gathering in Jericho. We brought a delegation to Jericho of over 60 Israelis Jews and Arabs, including many youth from Kfar Qassem for a day of dialogue, music and prayer. The Deputy Mayor of Jericho visited us and said, "I regard this as a step forward to building a relationship with all of humanity". We closed the day with a prayer circle for peace, holding hands around a huge stone Islamic star at the Hisham Palace Ummayad period archeological site.
Gathering at my Jerusalem Home, May 25th
Israelis, including some settlers and Palestinians from the West Bank gathered in my home for an evening of music and dialogue. Joining us were a peace pilgrimage group from Texas, Sister Martha Ann Kirk, and Christopher and Covita Moroney who shared stories of ancient Jewish, Christian, and Muslim women. Many who came expressed the importance of these people to people meetings.
Festival of Sacred Music in Fes, Morocco, May 5-11
Sufi Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari and I were invited to take part the "Fes Encounters" that were a part of the World Festival of Sacred Music. At the festival we were treated to music such as Ravi Shankar, a joint concert of Qawwali and Flamenco singers, music from Egypt and Central Asia. Each night from 11 PM was the "Sufi night" at Dar Tazi in the Old City of Fes. Throughout Fes the people embraced me as a Jew after they saw how I openly danced with the Sufis. The most interesting Sufi night was when the women Sufi singers performed.
At the Fes Colloquium over 300 policy makers, activists and academics from all over the world gathered to discuss the theme of "Giving Soul to Globalization". Fouzi Skali introduced Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari and I on the last of the five days of meetings that took place at the scenic Batha Museum. On our panel was Rajmohan Gandhi, grandson of Gandhi, and Leila Shahid, PLO representative to France.
When we held hands as a Jew and Muslim from Jerusalem the response was tremendous. Sheikh Aziz and I closed the event by getting everyone to stand up and form a circle as we led a chant of "Shalom, Salaam, Hu, Hu". BBC, Radio France and Moroccan television interviewed us. I then spent the Shavuot Jewish holiday with the Jewish community at the Chabad House of Casablaca.
To see some great pictures from the Fes meetings, visit this website:
www.fesfestival.com/eng2005/photosdetail.php
Jerusalem Gathering of Light, June 17-18
Back in Jerusalem we held the annual Jerusalem Gathering of Light in the Jerusalem forest. After leading the Friday night Shabbat prayers, I introduced a group of eight Palestinians from Jenin, Ramallah and Jericho who were brought there by Souliman Khatib from the Abu Sukkar L'Salaam Palestinian peace center. On Saturday afternoon, the women from Jenin and a couple from Jericho spoke about the need for an end to all the violence and hope for a shared future with the Israelis. Everyone there was touched by their sincerity and expressions of hope for peace.
December 2004
In the West Bank with Arun Gandhi
During the last week of August 2004 I had the opportunity to get to know the grandson of the Mahatma, Arun Gandhi, who runs a center in the US to spread the teachings of his grandfather. I attended a rally with 5000 Palestinians to welcome him in central Ramallah, where he emphasized the need for the Palestinian people to adopt a strategy of non-violence.
In Bethlehem, I marched arm in arm with Arun Gandhi in a parade through the streets of Bethlehem to a huge rally at Manger Square. We were welcomed by many Palestinian dignitaries and an entourage of Palestinian scouts playing bagpipes. I sat directly behind Arun on the stage before he spoke to thousands. Rabbi Levi Kelman from Jerusalem also addressed the crowd, calling for the need for forgiveness between our peoples.
At the Santa Cruz Sulha Peace Gathering
On September 6th I was invited to the Sulha gathering in Santa Cruz, California. Over 500 people came to a very special day in the spirit of our Sulha gatherings in Israel. I was invited by organizer Nissim Malul to give a keynote speech along with Palestinian Sufi Yacoub Hussein and Congressman Sam Farr. I reported about the success of this year's Sulha gathering to enthusiastic applause.
Jews, Arabs and others who live in Northern California sat in listening circles. Many workshops of Jewish and Arab culture were offered, such as Jewish meditation, Debke dancing and Muslim prayer. Yacoub and I led Hebrew and Arabic prayers on the stage. The day closed with Arab and Jewish musicians offering a musical celebration that had everyone on their feet.
In the Bay Area, California
During September I spoke to groups around the Bay Area. I was invited by Len and Libby Traubman to speak to a gathering of Bay Area Palestinian-Jewish dialogue groups at Mercy High School in San Francisco. Rector Michael McGarry of the Mercy HS invited me later to address a class in this Catholic girls' school.
In Berkeley, Avram Davis invited me to speak to the Monday night meditation class at Chochmat Halev Center for Jewish spirituality. I spoke also at the Berkeley Buddhist Monastery. I had lunch in SF with the staff of the URI – United Religions Initiative. In Marin, Sufi teacher Shabda Khan invited me to give a talk and share in the Dances of Universal Peace.
On Yom Kippur I prayed with Rabbi Michael Lerner at Beyt Tikkun in San Francisco. Reb Michael invited me to address the community about my work, and then I spoke on a panel with Starhawk and another Israeli. On the East Coast I spoke to students and staff at Goucher college in Baltimore, Maryland.
With the Compassionate Listening Tour (CLT) in Hebron
On October 10th I took Leah Green and the CLT to meet Sheikh Talal Sider at his home in Hebron. The sheikh shared the story of his remarkable transformation from being one of the founders of Hamas to becoming a leading Palestinian Muslim religious peacemaker. He said "It's not enough to like peace, we must be PASSIONATE for peace".
On October 17th I made the Aliyah L'Kever, going up to the grave of a friend Eish Kodesh Gilmor from Moshav Modiim on the fourth anniversary of his death. Eish Kodesh was 25 when he was killed by Palestinian militants at the beginning of the intifada.
Envisioning 'Jerusalem, International City for Learning World Peace'
At Ecce Homo, the home of the Sisters of Zion on the Via Dolorosa in the Old City on October 22-23, we had a gathering of Jews, Christians and Muslims. Pia Gyger and Niklaus from the Lasalle Institut in Switzerland led us for two days in envisioning how Jerusalem can become a world center for peace. We closed the Shabbat with Rabbi Ohad Ezrahi and members of the Hamakom community leading us in Havdalah and a musical celebration on the balcony, with a stunning view of the Dome of the Rock / Temple Mount.
Healing the Family of Abraham Tour of UK
I traveled for 16 days throughout the UK speaking to Jewish and Christian groups from October 24th to November 8th. In Salisbury I spoke at Sarum College. In St Albans I was invited by Jonathan Gorsky of the Council of Christians and Jews to address a group. In Glasgow, Scotland, I attended a gathering of the Scottish Clan Maclean – I was the only Jewish McLean they'd ever met. When I spoke on Shabbat at the Orthodox Giffnock Synagogue in Glasgow I received an ovation after sharing about my journey to Baghdad.
The main Sikh gurudwara of Birmingham and their teacher Bhai Sahib-Jihosted me for two days. We are planning a visit by the Sikhs to support peace in the Holy Land. Near Oxford, at St. Ethelwold's Retreat Centre I led a Jewish meditation. On November 3rd an Iranian imam and I led a torchlight interfaith vigil through the streets of Oxford, organized by the International Interfaith Centre. Then I led a discussion in a nearby church.
In London I spoke at St. Ethelburga's Reconciliation Centre. Then, the organizer of my tour, Jane Ozanne, welcomed me at the Peace Tea for the Holy Land event in Sevenoaks. I finished my tour with a special day at the Dominican Worth Abbey, where I was welcomed by Fr. Paul and spoke to a packed multi-faith audience.
With James Twyman and the 'Beloved Group'
In mid-November, I helped host peace troubadour James Twyman and some 55 folks from all over the world on a spiritual peacemaking tour. I took the group to meet with Ibrahim Issa at the Hope Flowers School in Al-Khader near Bethlehem. On Saturday evening, Jeff Goldstein organized a peace concert at Neve Shalom with some 200 Israelis and a few Palestinians. James Twyman blessed Ibrahim Abu el Hawa and myself as examples of Jews and Muslims working for peace together.
At the Tools for Peace conference in Sweden
From November 21st-24th I attended and led a workshop at the Tools for Peace conference in Söderköping, Sweden. I brought with me Mordechai Zeller, son of Rabbi David Zeller, and Ibtisam Mahamid to a gathering with 120 religious peacemakers and scholars from around the world. Among us were peacemakers from Sudan, the Philippines, Jordan, Bosnia and USA. Buddhist peacemaker Sulak Sivaraksa from Thailand (he refers to it as 'Siam') spoke about the need for inner and outer disarmament to go together.
The most remarkable people I met there were Imam Mohammed Ashafa and Pastor James Wuye from Nigeria. In Nigeria there is a civil war between Muslims and Christians with many killed. Pastor James was a leader of radical evangelicals and used to incite hatred of Muslims, losing his right arm in the violence. Imam Mohammed was a radical Muslim leader, until he met Pastor James. Now they work together running the MuslimChristian Dialogue Forum and the Interfaith Mediation Centre in Nigeria.
Pastor James told me, "When Israel sneezes, Nigeria catches a cold. Many Christians in Nigeria are ardent Zionists and go on a rampage against Muslims when a Jew is killed in Israel. And likewise the Muslims commit violence against Christians when a Palestinian is killed. So we need to show in our country examples of Jews, Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land working together for peace, to calm down our situation." He hopes to show the new On the Way to Sulha video to groups throughout Nigeria.
More bridge building in the Holy Land
I joined a group of religious Jewish environmental activists for an 'Eco-Shabbat' gathering on December 2nd-3rd in Efrat. On Friday December 10th I gave a workshop on Judaism and Human Rights at the new Daila Center, run by ICAHD in downtown Jerusalem. On Sunday 12th I met with a friend Firas Yaagi in Ramallah. Firas is in charge of the Palestinian municipal elections throughout the West Bank. He spoke about the new Fatah committee formed to support grassroots activities with Israelis.
On the eighth night of Hannukah I hosted an interfaith celebration at my home in Jerusalem. Over 50 people filled my living room, including many Carlebach Hasidim, an Egyptian, Ibrahim Abu el Hawa, some Catholic brothers from the Order of the Beatitudes and locals from my neighborhood in Nachla'ot. Yankele Shemesh sang Shlomo Carlebach songs and I had friends from all religions share in the lighting of the Hannukah candles. Sheikh Abdul Aziz Bukhari led Sufi chanting and alternated to lead chanting of Arabic and Hebrew sacred phrases. Everyone walked out of my place with a huge smile on their faces.
I drove up to Nazareth with Sheikh Bukhari on Sunday December 19th to attend the opening of Anwar il Salaam, a new Sufi center in Nazareth under the guidance of Sheikh Abdel Salaam Manasra. The place is Sufi Central, with Muslim mystics coming from all over the country. They held a powerful zikr in their center, that is dedicated to spreading the message of a tolerant Islam. Sheikh Manasra proclaimed that this center, situated directly across from the Church of Ascension, is not just for Muslims, but for people of all faiths.
In order to continue this work I need your support. Please support my work for peace by making a contribution here.
Please visit the Sulha Peace Project website to see seven pages of amazing pictures from the August 2004 Sulha gathering.
Shalom, Salaam,
Eliyahu McLean
Radash Rodef Shalom, Pursuer of Peace
