All Jewish ‘Voices’ For Peace Will Discover the New Jerusalem

It is interesting I’ve not noticed this organisation before on my Tweet, but probably connected due to the peace theme.  I feel that this election in Israel is critical.  I haven’t had time to look into right-wing politics but my inner feeling is that out of love for the Israeli government outsiders should assist them in de-escalating the violence.  Moreover, an International Criminal Court or International Mediator should be appointed by the United Nations to decide on Israel and Palestine, otherwise it remains a crime scene in my view.  When an entire people are the enemy no child is safe.  They grow up seeing an enemy and no-one learns and actually solves the problem. Some readings I’ve done explain that on the extreme right they will never give up.  It is clearly an intractable conflict over land, rights, legitimacy, human rights, power and influence.   I’ve had inspiration around Israel before and I saw the image of Adam and God touching fingers as a sign post of peace (not a road map).  On the other side I saw Israel (government).  I felt them deeply not at peace.  I saw the orthodoxy rocking at the Wailing Wall, this is the intense pain that has never healed and will not heal until they are prepared to face their pain and not project onto others.  The Arabs have to find guidance to bring them back to peace.

I heard a story of a Canadian woman Amanda Lindout who was kidnapped by Somali gangs.  She went through intense brutality at the hands of these men seeking to extort money from her mother, I think it was around $1 million.  This woman was a beautiful young woman who was tortured daily, raped, brutalised and faced death consistently.  She was interviewed on Denton here in Australia visit https://7plus.com.au/andrew-denton-interview?episode-id=IVEW01-017

It is important that the Israeli Leadership watch this.  Can they deeply listen?  We want no more holocausts in a range of forms.  The mirror can be hard to look into but we must look.

Other important experiences she spoke of that kept her going was repeating a mantra of peace, freedom and forgiveness. Amanda repeated it over and over and in the worst moments of intense pain and suffering where it was unbearable. She would ruminate on her mother’s voice over and over to connect to life and sanity.  Another powerful story was she said her and the other man had managed to escape there prison.  They had heard the call to prayers and ran to the mosque.  Amanda said in Arabic ‘help’ and that she was Muslim (he as well).  The people came around them.  Then apparently the gun men came.  This woman in full cover (chaldari) pushed through the crowd passed these armed men. She hugged her.  She spoke to the men, clearly trying to save this young girl.  She knew she was not safe.  Then the man grabbed the young woman and dragged her by the ankle back to her prison and this woman leapt onto her body to protect her.  Amanda said as she was dragged she looked back and the woman’s chaldari had come off, she was her mother’s age and tears streaming down her face.  As she was dragged further she heard a gun shot.  I’d say the woman was killed for challenging the authority of the men and allowing her Chaldari to come off.  Yet in Islam the teachers speak of mercy, that word comes to me as the very freedom they seek.

She said she found the torture to much and decided to use an old razor blade to end her life.  This blade was there as her captors wanted her to shave all body hair.  Unbelievable.  Anyway, she said she went through her entire life, in a sense, making peace with her life, revisiting all those who had impacted her, her beautiful memories, her dear family, her struggles, experiences, highs and lows.  She said she spent the night reflecting and felt at peace to kill herself.  She said there was a crack through the door, light streamed in and a little bird was there hopping.  She said she knew it was a sign.  She said she was infilled with a feeling which made her feel she would not end her life.  The bird was a sign for her of freedom, not immediately but it was coming.  I completely agree with her, she was indeed sent a sign in the darkness, just before the dawn. This is the new dawn, this is light subtle but clear.  She still went through more torture and then was moved out of this incarceration (she sat on a small mat, no movement).

She was put in a vehicle and 40 men surrounded the vehicle. She saw the other captive a man.  She thought she was being sold to another gang.  She struggled.  A man handed her the phone and she heard her mother’s voice saying she was free.  She said in the dark she felt there was no good in this world, she had seen the worst of humanity.  Then to her amazement all these strangers got together and raised the money to pay this gang.  She realised with great darkness there was great goodness.

When I watched her eyes I saw the light go on when she spoke of the human spirit.  She clearly forgave those who had tormented her and taken her to death many times.  It seems her mission was to travel the world and speak of this experience with the intent to reveal the power of the human spirit.  This is not an anti-Islam rhetoric it is the power of humanity.  What she realised with the men is that they were in great pain and they took out their anger on her.  They could call her a infidel to justify rape and brutality but they are human as she is and at some point they have to face their own crimes.  The brutality of an innocent woman for money will not bring them closer to Allah unless they choose to face their pain. They were the outcome of violence and war that other men have engaged in which destroyed the lives of boys.  The boys had to kill from a young age and lose their sense of love for other humans.  They too would have been brutalised.  They too would not believe there was any good in the world.  They would have hated themselves as every human knows when they are unjust and cruel, you see it in the eyes of the one you are hurting. Beliefs, religion and justifications fall away in the face of self realisation and if they are deeply reflective they will see god in the eyes of the other they are harming.  When they hurt another it returns.

The same applies to the many stories of Palestinian brutality at the hands of the Israeli authorities who justify there actions, who have indeed violated human rights and have not resolved the problem of land sharing.  Who are the chosen people.  I will go still for a moment and feel it. Immediately I get ‘they are the ones who self select’.  What does this mean?  They choose to surrender their will to a higher will and do what they are here for, to live their purpose.  They are deeply listening for truth.  They are on both sides.  They are the peace makers who are arising, who are overcoming the fear of death and persecution to be seen to be in truth.  In reality every person has a purpose but many do not go there as they made their lives busy, they chose not to look, they distracted themselves, they ignored the inner promptings that would push them out of the comfort zone.  For when they do step out they will indeed be challenged, but when we leave old paradigms that no longer serve us, we will disturb those who want things to stay the same.  There are wise words that reflect ‘betrayal of self is the highest betrayal’, to ‘thine own self be true’ this indeed is the clarion call of our time.  Are you self selecting who you are to become.

Below are tweets from Jewishvoicesforpeace.  They talk about the situation as reflecting apartheid, I think of Jane Elliott’s work here.  I will post a link.  Refer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nqv9k3jbtYU

They feel the elections are critical.  They speak of boycotting Eurovision, specifically speaking to Madonna as it is being held in Tel Aviv.  These are the Jewish voices who are seeking peace for the Palestinians.  I recall years ago meeting with Women in Black and other peace group from Haifa University in Israel.  I interviewed them in my bedroom as I didn’t have another space.  They shared with me how they peacefully held vigils in Israel to raise awareness about the reality for Palestinians, these were women, very brave.  They were countering the government line.  They were academics in actual face and one apparently was a very good mediator.  When she was verbally attacked she calmly confronted the person and she would talk with the person, not as an enemy but as a fellow citizen.  I have a great respect for those who have the courage to stand up and speak up for humanity.  I say this without seeing Israeli or Paliestinian, or American, or Syrian, Or Saudi, or Iranian, or Australian, or Chinese, or Russian and the many other nationalities, I say this as I see through the culture, the clothing, the language, the beliefs, the aesthetics and see into the soul of that other who sees another’s suffering as their own, I feel this very strongly as I write this.  I feel a deep calm within myself writing, very grounded.  For when you see into humanity of others, you see into yourself.  This is the real world that arises with the new dawn.

I felt to send love to Netanyahu.  I felt for Jerusalem.  This is not a place it is a state of being.  No one can claim this.  I just felt to look it up, the meaning.  The meaning of the name Jerusalem is Heritage Of Peace.  Thus my inner feeling is correct, it is not a place it is being held out to Jews and Arabs to find in their heritage, peace.  That is my feeling.  Real courage resides in this. This is the temple mount. Thisis the refuge of peace that is a beacon for all. All doors are open, it is high so that it has a higher perspective to see further than self interest.  Peace is in freedom and forgiveness, the messenger here was the Canadian hostage Amanda Lindout.  She is the new Jerusalem.