Ayala and SiriOm Singh

[Guest guest]

Dear friends

Just as we are getting ready to leave on the peace tour, we received

this message from our friend Eliyahu McLean, a major player in the

game of making peace in the middle east and in the world.

This story is so inspiring, and we wanted to share it with you as a

farewell offering.

We are so fortunate to be working with people like Eliyahu and other

spiritual peace activists. We encourage you to check out some of

their web sites. Links are available on our Meet Our Friends page on

our web site www.bhaktihouse.org

Peace to all, love to all

Ayala and SiriOm

 

 

------- Sulhita Israeli-

Palestinian youth gathering a success

Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:34:35 +0300

Eliyahu McLean <eliyahu

McLean Eliyahu <eliyahu

McLean Eliyahu <eliyahu

 

 

 

Hello friends,

 

 

 

Recently over ninety Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Druze teenagers

gathered for three days of dialogue, prayer, workshops and

celebration at the Shaharut desert retreat near Eilat. The youth,

ages 14-16, came from Jewish and Arab towns all over Israel. We were

joined by 15 Palestinian teenagers and adults from the Gaza Strip,

for most of whom this was the first time in their lives to interact

with Israelis.

 

 

The Sulha Peace Project hosted the youth retreat, Feb. 27 - March 2,

marking the third successful " Sulhita " in as many years. At the

Sulhita gathering, we helped form a solid group of young adults

striving for peace in our shared homeland.

 

 

Every morning we held a prayer circle, each led by a leader in one of

the Abrahamic traditions. Sister Svieta from the Beatitutes

community led the Christian prayer, Ihab Barha, the Muslim co-

director of the Sulha Project led the Muslim prayer, and Eliyahu led

the Jewish prayer, at which many of the youth came in costume to

honor the Jewish holiday of Purim. We later held a Purim celebration.

 

 

After prayer each morning, we broke into smaller listening circles,

co-led by adult staff and Sulhita vatikim (graduates), to give room

for the youth to speak from their hearts about their hopes as well as

the issues that they struggle with. We offered afternoon workshop

options, one was a ecological labyrinth building activity led by

environmental activists from Shomrei HaGan, which gave the youth the

opportunity to develop team-buildings skills and learn about the

desert ecosystem.

 

 

NBA trainer JD Walsh led a basketball workshop illustrating how

sports can be a tool for youth in work towards conflict resolution.

JD has led basketball workshops for youth in conflict zones around

the world, see: www.jdbasketball.com

 

 

We broke also into separate gender listening circles during which the

youth found common ground as young men or women.

 

 

The circle led by the Bereaved Parents Forum was a transformative

part of the Sulhita gathering for many of the youth. Israeli and

Palestinian parents shared their journeys, from the deep pain of

losing their loved ones to how they came to work together for

reconciliation. For many of the youth, this was their first time

hearing first hand the story of loss from a person on the 'other

side'.

 

 

One of the highlights was the sharing by the Palestinian delegation,

when each one shared a story from their daily life in Gaza. Essam

Shawa broke down in tears when he shared how his young daughter Rula,

who despite being injured in her arm by shrapnel from an Israeli

missile, overcame her resistance and decided to come to the Sulhita

gathering. In a moving moment, Hod, an off duty Israeli soldier,

came over and greeted or embraced every member of the group from

Gaza.

 

 

At the closing evening each of the listening groups offered skits and

songs for peace, one youth from Lod performed hip hop in Arabic. The

celebration allowed us to release after some intense moments that

took place over those 3 days. Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and

international university students from the nearby Arava Institute for

Environmental Studies at Kibbutz Ketura came to meet and celebrate

with us.

 

 

We separated from the Gazans at the Erez checkpoint, serenading them

with songs of hope and friendship and as they departed. We continued

to sing and wave as our sisters and brothers walked into Gaza, struck

by the juxtaposition of the songs we sang with the stark reality of

the barbed wire border fence separating us.

 

 

The feedback from parents after the retreat was enthusiastic. Many

of them expressed how the experience at the Sulhita gathering changed

their children's lives and had a positive affect on the whole

family. The parents asked how they too can take steps towards peace

and reconciliation.

 

 

A youth peace leadership program is being developed with twenty four

participants to be trained as the next leaders of the Sulhita youth

project. Special thanks to Elad Vazana and Hetam Mrisat, the Jewish

and Arab coordinators of the 2007 Sulhita youth gathering.

 

 

Please view this link to see great pictures from this year's Sulhita

gathering:

 

 

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/jerusalem_peacemakers/sets/72157600078487

042/

 

 

Please consider to join us for the next annual On the Way to Sulha

gathering this summer, planned for August 14-16 at the Latrun

monastery.

 

 

Shalom, Salaam,

Eliyahu McLean

 

 

Sulha Peace Project, inter-religious advisor

(also Jerusalem Peacemakers, director)