“The Mideast Peace Process”. It’s a phrase that usually induces feelings that are anything but peaceful. Depending on your perspective, the words might induce nausea. Rage. Apathy. Hopelessness. Cynicism. Sorrow. Another painful jab in an abscessed wound that continues to swell and fester after forty, fifty, sixty years.
But not peace.
Yet, all is not entirely lost. If there is a road to REAL peace, it lies within the acts, some small and some great, of solidarity between Muslims and Jews.
This is a blog that focuses specifically on chronicling and discussing acts of solidarity throughout history and into the present between Jews and Muslims, especially Jews and Palestinians.
What’s meant by "acts of solidarity" are those courageous acts which may in some cases involve great risk and sacrifice, taken by individual members of one group in support of the other. It is the purpose of this blog to show that by creating an awareness of the historic and continuing legacy of Muslim-Jewish friendship and solidarity, numerous psychological effects of the conflict can be influenced.
Through knowledge of this suppressed history and current reality:
1) Palestinians could see that there are Jews who care deeply about the injustice being committed against them, and who are willing to go to great lengths to stick up for Palestinian rights, even if the price for taking that stance involves losing their professions, alienating their social circles, being evicted from their homes, being deported, or even spending time in jail. If anything can help to alleviate the deep psychological trauma experienced by the Palestinian victims of a violent situation that's been forced upon them, it is the knowledge that there are Jews, including Israeli Jews, who will look beyond the fear-mongering and propaganda to see the truth, and stand up for the rights of their Palestinian brothers and sisters, no matter what the risks may be.
2) Jews could see that Muslims are not and never have been their enemies, from the times when King Mohammed V of Morocco extended an open invitation to all Jews fleeing Europe during the Holocaust, to incredibly brave Muslims who died defending Jews during that time of their persecution but whose stories were never told due to the 'Zionist narrative' that feeds off of animosity and hostility between the two. Jews who have spent time getting to know Palestinians will also attest to the fact that they have never been welcomed more warmly. These stories have long been silenced, and are an essential part of creating an understanding of the true nature of Muslim-Jewish relations, both prior to the founding of the State of Israel, and even continuing today.
3) Real, true anti-Semites (as opposed to those accused of anti-Semitism because they don't think Israel should have carte blanche to occupy land that doesn't belong to them or commit human rights abuse) could no longer exploit the situation in the Middle East, as they currently are doing, to justify and gain support for their hatred of Jews--or of Arabs, for that matter. (Because, after all, an anti-Semite is someone who hates Semites—and both Jews and Arabs are Semites.)
4) Likewise, Zionists could no longer present their false narrative of Jewish-Muslim relations, in which the Jews are the ultimate, eternal victims of the world, and the Arabs/Muslims are the latest group of persecutors. Knowledge of the true history between Jews and Muslims, and the many examples of Muslims reaching out in support of the Jews, would expose that narrative for the fraud it truly is.
5) Americans could, for the first time, understand the true history between Jews and Muslims. Through decades of U.S. media propaganda, Americans are entirely uneducated about the real history between the two groups. This allows the United States govt. to continue its imperialistic actions in the Arab and Muslim world, including its financial and military support of Israel, without public outcry.
6) And finally, those individuals who want to create bonds between the two communities, but who feel isolated and fear there would be no support for such beliefs amongst their own friends/family/colleagues, might find the inspiration and strength to express their views, through the knowledge that so many others have found the courage to do so.
By suppressing the awareness of solidarity between Muslims and Jews, it is the Zionists, the true anti-Semites/Holocaust deniers, and the imperialists who exploit that knowledge gap for their own gain. Ironically, both those who want to steal Arab land and those who truly hate Jews benefit out of keeping people under the impression that Jews and Muslims are sworn enemies.
It’s time to reclaim the term “peace process” to mean an actual process of people from various racial/ethnic/religious backgrounds, and from all walks of life, coming together to work towards universal human rights and social justice. It’s time for those who take actions of solidarity to be recognized for their bravery and their commitment, which presents the only path to real, true peace.
IT'S TIME TO RECLAIM THE PEACE!!!
A chronicle of acts of solidarity between Jews and Muslims, ranging from the Muslims who risked all to harbor Jews during the Holocaust, to the Jews today who risk careers, reputations, and sometimes even jail to stand up for a free Palestine. A reclaiming of the word "peace" to mean individual people of different backgrounds coming together to stand up for universal human rights and social justice--because without that, there can be no REAL peace! RECLAIM THE PEACE!!!
