Peace Activism

Someone asked me recently to explain my interest in joining a Jewish/Muslim dialogue group. I am a Persian (Iranian) Jew who grew up in the halcyonic days of "Free to Be You and Me" diversity. As a child, my melting pot group of friends and I shared our cultures and traditions with each other without any judgment. As an adult, things got more complicated. In college, I befriended a black Muslim man who, for some reason, felt a sense of solidarity with me as a Middle Eastern person. When I mentioned I was Jewish, he suddenly turned cold and the budding friendship ended abruptly at that point. As a Persian with a name that does not give a clue as to my religious background, I have been exposed to anti-Semitic remarks by Muslim Persians who assumed that all present would agree with them. As a first generation American with a completely different experience of being a religious and ethnic minority than my family had in Iran, I have argued with certain members of my family in support of my liberal positions on many issues.

Sometimes, it gets tiring. There was a time that I could not let an offensive remark go by without a debate. I studied the history of the modern Middle East. I bought books on Islam. I studied Jewish ethics. I shared knowledge, argued, changed a few minds, and many times, felt dejected by how attached people can be to their prejudices. Then I got to a point where I had to give myself a break. I believe in Tikkun Olam (the Jewish concept that each of us has an individual role in "healing" the world) and at that time, there were some things going on in my life that I had to focus my energies on for a while. I excused myself from the table of debate for a while (that's not to say I didn't get into lively discussions at times) and dealt with some personal things.

Now those personal matters have been dealt with, and after this past summer, I have realized again, how for me, the Middle East conflict *is* personal. I am ready to focus more on it again and expand my knowledge. But I want this to happen in a positive way, in a setting where mutual respect and tolerance set the tone for greater understanding.

Many years ago, I met with a Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue group and found it challenging, as well as both inspiring and disappointing. The area where I live is beautiful and predominantly liberal, so there is a strong pro-peace movement here as well as a lot of anti-Zionist sentiment. I experienced this blend of political orientation in the dialogue group, as well, both from the Jews and Palestinians. I don't believe that peace and Zionism (which is simply the idea that Jews, like all other peoples, need to have a homeland) are mutually exclusive, and in fact believe that peace is the only way for both the Israelis and the Palestinians to have any quality of life. I continued participating in the dialogue group until I moved from the area, because I felt that I was learning a lot and the more I felt challenged by opposing viewpoints, the more opportunity that gave me to examine my own point of view and assumptions.

This past summer I experienced more anti-Semitism in a few months due to the war in Lebanon than I have in a lifetime. My friends and I have talked about how alienated we felt as Jews at a recent pro-peace festival, where a speaker cracked a joke comparing Israel to the Nazis. Honestly, I find that some people who call themselves peace activists are actually activists for one side, not necessarily for peace. I have a certification in mediation and I feel very strongly that whatever our personal backgrounds, if we really want peace, we have to understand and respect the humanity and pain of both sides of this conflict.