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MAH NISHTANAH?
Why is this Statement About Peace and Justice Different?
by David J. Cooper

Kehilla’s Brit Shalom document deals with one of the world’s most profound political issues, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That said, the document is essentially not a political document as much as it is spiritual. It makes no policy demands, it sets no borders, it does not take a position on the Geneva Accords or any accords. That is not to say that this document does not have political implications. Were its approach followed, political realities would indeed change. And we should note that the proponents of this document have taken various political positions as has Kehilla Community Synagogue which continues (as it has for over 15 years) to advocate for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine.

That said, this document is not about persuading anyone to adopt the political policies of Kehilla or the drafters of Brit Shalom. It is for the purpose of opening the spiritual doors toward a path of a non-violent process leading to a solution.
We believe that one of the greatest obstacles to doing this involves a failure by parties on both sides of the conflict to fully see the other and to take responsibility for ameliorating the suffering of the other.

One of the great spiritual obstacles in this process is the false belief that were we to acknowledge the validity of the other’s needs and fears, and were we to acknowledge that “our side” has the power to ameliorate the suffering of the other, that this would somehow constitute a negation of the validity of our own suffering and our own fears and would delegitimize our own claims for justice.

For example we have seen people operating from the following kind of assumption:
“If I were to acknowledge that Israel’s existence has caused oppression to the Palestinians then I would be saying that Israel has no right to exist, and since I cannot do that, then I must treat Palestinian claims of oppression to be illegitimate.” But acknowledgement of the reality of the other does not invalidate one’s own right to exist with justice. And we have seen similar concerns about acknowledging Jewish suffering as if it were to invalidate the rights of Palestinians. Both sides have the right to have justice. When this is acknowledged, the question becomes one of working together to maximize these rights for both.

There are many other ways that we allow various spiritual obstacles to keep us from truly seeing the other and from allowing ourselves to see them or to admit that we see them. We wonder whether any political solution is possible without such a spiritual reprogramming of ourselves, and should a political solution be arrived on paper without such steps, then we feel that for peace and justice to become a fixed reality, such a revolution of consciousness and connection will be necessary sooner or later.

This document represents a small step in that process.