# Jerusalem Peacemakers



## merpk

Have been bumping a thread involving the work of a friend of ours for at least a year, maybe two, but I think it's outlived its usefulness. Too yappy, anyway.









So here's a better link introducing you to some of our friend's friends. This is not pushing the agenda of one side or the other; this is working for reconciliation and coexistence and peace.

I hope you'll delve deeper into the site and get to know them, and then send them all sorts of supportive e-mails and, well, donations.










May it be a peaceful and safe new year for all of us and all the world.










Please.










(And just to be thorough, here's the old thread that I'm not going to bump anymore.)


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## merpk

Bumping to break the fast.


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## nancyw

"The Hope Flowers School tackles the root source of violence and terrorism: the emotional damage to children which, when they grow up, becomes resentment, fatalism, despair and violence. Not one graduate of the school has entered into violence or suicide bombing."
-an exerpt from the newsletter on this site.

I clicked on your thread, merpk, because the sound of "Jerusalem Peacemakers" was so 'light' and hopeful,and so unique a term to hear....which as it turns out, it really _is_ light and hopeful, and has raised the 'energy vibrations' in my mind, and heart, tonight. what a wonderful organization. what a monumental need there is for the work these people are doing.

With the holidays coming relatively soon, just thought Id throw out the idea that maybe people can consider donating to the organization as a 'gift' to a loved one, since most of us don't need more 'stuff.'







I did that last year with a different organization,...and Ill keep Jerusalem Peacemakers in mind for this year.

thanks for the thread!


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## merpk

Bumping for the holidays.

And a link to an interesting article about Israeli/Palestinian "dialogue" and why it often doesn't go anywhere ...

Here.


"Dialog is not eating couscous and pita together and declaring that there should be peace, but getting to understand each others' point of view. Dialog means a conversation, and confrontation, between people with different points of view. There is no dialog when Nonie Darwish speaks with Zionists, and there is no dialog when Jews for Justice for Palestinians or Jewish Voice for Peace or Jeff Halper sit together with Palestinians ... Peace doesn't mean full justice for one side, as that inevitably comes at the expense of the rights of the other side; it means a painful compromise, in which both sides have to give up things that they perceive as their eternal and inalienable rights."


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## merpk

Bumping.


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## merpk

And bumping again in honor of the shared yarzheit week of Rakhel Imeinu and Yitzkhak Rabin.


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## merpk

Bump.


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## merpk

Bumping to keep it on page 1.


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## BelovedBird

Thanks for your efforts at getting the message out.


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## merpk

Bumping.


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## BelovedBird

This is an important endevor.


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## merpk




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## merpk

Time for another bump.


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## JewishMamaof2

Well I am a big believer in when terrorism is stopped there will be peace in the middle east, until that happens completely( which terrorism is widespead and will never go away) then I don't beleive peace will be achieved in the middle East. Anything that promotes peace is a good thing but a handful of such programs doesn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of making a dent in palistinian public opinion when you see the hatred and indoctrenation spewing out of the mouths of Palistinian politicicians,teachers, children, people from all walks of life.


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## SaraFR

Merpk, an interesting site.


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## merpk

JewishM'2, if you dig around the site, you'll see that it's about people, not organizations. These are people who have people with them and connect to other people ... *not* organizations who have governments with them connecting to organizations.

Grassroots on both (all!) sides.

And they'll tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so on and so on and so on ...

It's got to start somewhere.

But I hear you, totally. And I repeat: It's got to start somewhere.


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## beansricerevolt

Still







: for all.


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## merpk

Bumping.


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## merpk

:


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## merpk

:


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## SaraFR

That is a powerful video linked to in your signature.


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## merpk

Quote:


Originally Posted by *SaraFR* 
That is a powerful video linked to in your signature.


b'H yes, it is.

_
Editing because I've since changed the video in my sig, and while I love Jerry & the Boys the most the most, the video in my old sig that SaraFR was referring to is this one._


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## merpk




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## merpk

Bump.


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## JewishMamaof2

Quote:


Originally Posted by *merpk* 
JewishM'2, if you dig around the site, you'll see that it's about people, not organizations. These are people who have people with them and connect to other people ... *not* organizations who have governments with them connecting to organizations.

Grassroots on both (all!) sides.

And they'll tell two friends, and they'll tell two friends, and so on and so on and so on ...

It's got to start somewhere.

But I hear you, totally. And I repeat: It's got to start somewhere.

Fair enough.


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## merpk

bump.


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## merpk

Yet again.


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## merpk

Bumping for goodcents.


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## merpk

Bumping for the mo'ed (festival/holiday).


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## merpk

Bumping for the new week.


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## merpk

Bumping for Yom haZikaron







and Yom haAtzma'ut.


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## SamuraiMom

Thank you for bumping this thread... can't open it with DH around, our opinions are very much different, happy to see there is hope! Time to diffuse the anger....


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## merpk

Bumping for Annabell the Sheep.


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## merpk

Bumping to keep it off page 2.


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## merpk

Bumping just because.


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## merpk

Bumping to feel better.







:


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## merpk

Bumping because I don't feel better yet.







:


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## merpk

Bumping for this year's Sulha, which is coordinated by the folks in the OP link, and which begins this week at Latrun (just in case any of y'all are in the neighborhood ... but no, I'm not going either).

Two of the founders of the Sulha Peace Project meet the Dalai Lama.


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## mamalara

Thank-you for supporting this peacemaking endeavor. This issue is very real for our family as my husband has much family in the Gaza Strip, and is an exile himself. He is involved in Jewish Voice for Peace and a few other groups for dialogue and resolution here as well. We haven't heard about the Jerusalem Peacemakers- I will be sure to pass this information on to him!


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## merpk

Thanks for someone else posting on the thread.


















It's very real to me, too.


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## merpk

Bumping for goodcents again, and also pointing out to her the links in the OP, particularly the one to the previous thread on the subject. Pointing out that that thread is two years old already, predates my Israeli citizenship, and this is all about friends and friends of friends who predate my coming to MDC in the first place (and I'm on MDC since 2001).

And they didn't just start this stuff either.

So that's where I'm at and where I've been, goodcents. Since you posted that you think this is a new aspect of my life perhaps due to my currently living a half-hour's drive from Gaza, it seemed appropriate to point out that it's not.


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## merpk

Bumping for the new year.

May it be a safe & healthy & productive & peaceful one.


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## merpk

Bumping 'cuz I saw Eliyahu the other day and told him I'd bump it.


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## merpk

Bumping 'cuz page 2 is annoying.


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## merpk

Quote:


Originally Posted by *merpk* 
And bumping again in honor of the shared yarzheit week of Rakhel Imeinu and Yitzkhak Rabin.


Once again. Another year, another bump.


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## merpk

Bumping because I've been thinking about mighty-mama and need to cheer up.


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## merpk

Bumping for the run-up to Annapolis.


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## krzy_cndy

I'm glad you bumped this thread, or else I wouldn't have seen this (because I'm not on MDC very often). Looks good!


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## merpk

Bumping so that maybe it'll rain today ...







:


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## jul511riv

Quote:


Originally Posted by *JewishMamaof2* 
Well I am a big believer in when terrorism is stopped there will be peace in the middle east, until that happens completely( which terrorism is widespead and will never go away) then I don't beleive peace will be achieved in the middle East. Anything that promotes peace is a good thing but a handful of such programs doesn't stand a snowballs chance in hell of making a dent in palistinian public opinion when you see the hatred and indoctrenation spewing out of the mouths of Palistinian politicicians,teachers, children, people from all walks of life.


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## merpk

Sister jul'riv, I'll repeat what I said to that post upthread:

This really isn't an "organization" per se. It's people on the ground talking to other people. And b'emet (in truth) they truly are meeting with those who are also talking to other people. And until there's someone to talk to at the official level to stop the hate, it's the people on the ground who will do it.

I'll never get DH to go to the Sulha, and he'd get bent out of shape if I took the kids, but many of our friends ... from the far right and the far left (we have khevre at both ends) ... have been and go regularly (do a google for sulha photos ... there are a whole lot of 'em on Flicker) and you'll see many. They're real people talking to real people.

It's got to start somewhere.


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## jul511riv

my sister Merpk (and I mean that sincerely and with a warm smile), I'm not sure what the discussion is.

They Arab muslims have got 99% of the region.

We Jews are not allowed to live freely in their countries and have been refugees from their countries for quite some time now.

They live here in our country, the ONLY JEWISH COUNTRY in the world (how many xian countries are there? muslim?) and are in our govt, going to our universities, participate equally in society, protected by affermative action and by and large are full fledged citizens.

This group of "palestinian refugees" is a small group, much like the Jewish refugees from their countries. THe only difference is that Israel accepts Jewish refugees (and others) from around the world and integrates them into our culture and society so that they are safe, and these muslim countries do NOT accept their own refugees to their own countries, likely only for political reasons (if there are no refugees then you can't fight to "drive all the Jews into the Sea, as they have been quoted saying on numerous occasions).

I'm truly perplexed.

Israel supplies the Gaza region with internet service, electricity, water, you name it. We aren't even THERE anymore. We pulled out. There was supposed to be peace. Instead, they burned whatever we had built there and continue to attack us on a daily basis, while still taking our humanitarian aid in the form of electricity, water, money, food, hospital service, internet service, etc...

It's hard to build a country (should they even HAVE a country? Aren't they really Jordanians?) when so much money is being funnled into funding terrorist actions and making rockets/dirty bombs to send over to the country that will likely be your neighbor.

I think that is the problem. I have yet to enter into a discussion with one of the people on the "other side" who is able to just come out and say "we believe that Israel has a right to exist and we want to be good neighbors."

Every last person I have spoken with on the issue has ultimately (usually after only a few minutes) admitted that Israel shouldn't be here at all and all the land that is Israel is REALLY theirs and belongs to them and they will kill as many Jews as they can until they are all driven into the sea or into other countries. FAR AWAY countries. Not THEIR countries, cause we don't belong there either.

But I am commenting because I want to both state my views but also to bump this thread in friendship because I know this means a lot to you and you really believe that this might do something and help.


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## merpk

Smiling back.










Seriously & sincerely.










The important thing to me about Jerusalem Peacemakers is that they're working on coexistence, on people learning to live together. To meet each other and work on *not* wanting to drive anyone out of anywhere.

One of the things that strikes me most about the Sulha gatherings that Elyiahu McLean is heavily involved with is that so many of the Jewish attendees are "settlers" and people normally associated with the far-right. That blows a lot of the PeaceNowNiks away, too ... they buy into the propoganda about the "settlers" and so are floored to see the truth of it.

But the point is that we're going to have to live together somehow, because no one is going anywhere. And that just means learning to talk together. And learning to do things for the benefit of the Land and *all* its inhabitants. And reconciliation is a key part of ending all of this. And that's what Jerusalem Peacemakers do. They don't say one side is wrong, one side is right. They don't say we have to love each other. They each just say that we have to live together. So let's figure out how.

War sucks. Am kinda' hopin' for peace to show up before my oldest turns 18 ...


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## jul511riv

like I said, I stand where I stand...no more diologue, but I respect your desire. So I'll keep playing bump the thread w/ you so these people can get some love and funding.

Better the money go there...


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## merpk

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jul511riv* 
Better the money go there...


I hear that. Amen.


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## jul511riv

there are some other amazing programs going on here in Israel as well, programs that work at the "root" of the problem, which is the education of our children. Of course, it's not so simple there either but I've been learning about a Waldorf school in the North that is integrating arab and jewish children to learn together. The program is bilingual, one day hebrew the next day arabic and both sets of holidays are incorperated.

Not sure how this is panning out, but it is neat to see people with these Waldorf leanings coming together on both sides.

Now THAT is a discussion point!


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## merpk

Bump.


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## jul511riv

swat, ball in your court, merpk.


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## merpk

Quote:


Originally Posted by *jul511riv* 
swat, ball in your court, merpk.
















:


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## merpk

Bumping for the heck of it.


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## jul511riv

bumping the ball to your court again, merpk


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## merpk

Still not gettin' it.


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## milagras

I admit there is so much I don't know about this issue. So thank you for the links.

I do believe this though - Peace must start somewhere. Even if in my lowly heart. Peace must start within and then spread outward.


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## jul511riv

bumping...like a game...just helping to keep the thread bumped.

Can you PM me your address? I'll send you back your book *sniff sniff* I think I've almost got it memorized!
















thank YOU!!!


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## merpk

:


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## merpk

Bumping 'cuz page 2 annoys me.

And because things are getting ... weird.


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## merpk

Bumping. Because it's necessary.


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## merpk

Bumping since I finally finished my marathon of finally reading all the HarryPotter books and can return to the real world ... and in my absence, this thread slipped to page 2 ...

... _Accio thread_ ...


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## merpk

It's been a while. Saw Eliyahu across a crowd at the Dead Sea on Tuesday, so that reminded me to bump.

So here it is.

Bump.


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## merpk

Hamas rejected the truce, but Syria is willing to talk.

Maybe some movement somewhere.

Anyway, it all calls for a bump.


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## ema-adama

I'm was really interested to read the OP and look into this possibility.... I believe that the future for all people in this region lies in grassroots initiatives where people can "by-pass" their leaders and have honest communication

Jul511riv, have you heard any more about what is happening with the Waldorf school in the north? Is it working practically?


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## jul511riv

nope havent heard a thing....i think its still plugging along tho. might be more info in hebrew


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## merpk

Bumping for the Gazan Fulbright candidates.


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## merpk

Bumping for Gilad Shalit (Gilad ben Aviva).


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## merpk

Bumping despite the rockets fired from Gaza this past week _when there's supposed to be a truce going on_. Guess they missed the memo.


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## merpk

Bumping in memory of Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.









Still waiting for peace.

With the hero's welcome that Samir Kuntar received in Lebanon, the man for whose return Hezbullah kidnapped Ehud and Eldad and started a war with Israel, it's hard to imagine peace ever coming between Israel and Lebanon, anyway. Kuntar's claim to fame was breaking into the home of an Israeli family and murdering half of them 30 years ago ... killing a 4yo girl by smashing her head into a rock with his rifle ... he was sentenced to several consecutive life terms in Israeli prison for that. He gets a pardon for the return of Ehud and Eldad's corpses. Susan Atkins doesn't get one, but he does. Sigh.

But then again, Kuntar was allowed to marry (and also divorced!) while in his Israeli jail. And he was also allowed to receive a bachelors degree from the Open Univeristy of Israel while in that Israeli jail. So maybe he learned something and maybe, just maybe, won't want to murder little girls anymore.

And that's one step towards peace. A small one, but I'll take anything I can get at this point.


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## merpk

Bumping to keep it on page one ... and also because yet another kassam rocket hit Israel today.

Yes, during the cease fire.

Israel ceased. And Hamas is still firing.









Enough of this already.


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## merpk

Bumping in honor of this year's Sulha. It was a week ago, so I'm a bit late, but we moved to a new apartment last week _and_ we have a lot of guests visiting from khu'l (out of the country) ... a lot happening all at once. So forgot the bump. So sue me.


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## merpk

Bumping for the UN GA. And for Mr. Ahmadinejad's edification. Not like he reads my posts.


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## jul511riv

yeah, on MOTHERING!


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## merpk

Bumping now that the holidays are over ...


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## moonyoungi

I read on a paper that they found a military underground tunnel in Gaza strips and there was firing from both sides.
I read that 6 Palestinians died from the air strikes.
I hope this does not mean the end of the truce.
I'm not totally familiar with the whole history of Israel and Palestine conflict. I know it is rooted back to ancient history, right?
The whole history seems really complicated, messy and frustrating.

It's really sad for all the people involved and suffering.


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## merpk

No, it's not rooted in ancient history. It's only about 100-ish years old.

The firing that both the Israeli government and the Hamas government insist will not stop the truce (







: ) has been going on for a few days. The tunnel you're talking about is one of MANY. The tunnels are so numerous on the Egypt/Gaza border (which is also shut tight) that the Hamas government actually has workers collecting taxes on the 'imports' coming through them.

And there have been numerous rockets fired from Gaza into Israel before this incident over the last two days (the IDF went in to an area of Gaza near the border, and they've since finished their mission and left). And, of course, more rockets were fired into Israel yesterday (and I think today, but it's not clear).

Peace still has to come. Hamas is a racist organization (imagine if the KKK won an election in the US) and they weren't supposed to be allowed to run in the election according to the previous accords, but Bush (some friend he turned out to be) pushed the issue, and they ran. So now they're there. What to do about them?

I dunno. Which is why nobody's gonna vote for me in the upcoming elections, will they. Sigh.


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