peace

Meadle East Beyond National States?

A new vision for the M.E Beyind National States \ Rabbi Ohad Ezrahi

An article responding to the latest events in the Middle East (Feb 2011)

The Arab world is going through great upheavals these days. Suddenly, as if from nowhere, the cry of the masses demanding a different life is erupting.

To my eyes it seems the problem lies with the fact that the Middle East has no vision or inspiring horizon to move towards. This does not exist in the Arab countries and neither do we in Israel have one. The sense is that indeed we built a state—but now what?

We need a new vision

If I have dreams of a different future, I am not dreaming them just for Israel but for the entire area. The old dream which nourished Hertzel’s imagination, the dream of the nation state, has ended its function and at the moment is at death’s door. The new vision must be one that includes all habitants of a region, in our case it is the Middle East.

The land promised in the biblical stories to Abraham and his descendents, both the Hebrew ones and the Arab ones, extends from Iraq to Lebanon and Israel of today. In this broad area live numerous people who all see themselves as descendents of the common father “Abraham”, and yet they live with hatred, and especially with fear of each other.

A new vision for the Middle East would include the ability of different ethnic groups to live peacefully with each other under the same comprehensive political framework, with no nation state. This political framework would serve the entirety of its citizens, enabling them together to preserve the ecosystems of the environment within which they live.

Can we today allow ourselves to dream of unifying the Middle East, A Middle East without the borders of nation states, similar in some ways to the European Union model? A dream like this naturally scares and threatens many of us in Israel. But we must understand that we are a collective who is still in the throes of post traumatic panic, and we are reacting to reality seen through these wounded eyes.

To enable this model of unity to manifest, Israel must go through a collective process of healing her post traumatic state. And starting a treatment process requires first the patient’s acknowledgement of his or her condition.  We must acknowledge the fact that perhaps we are not seeing reality as is, but are coloring it in colors unconsciously intended to replay our collective trauma of discrimination and eradication attempts.

As the common joke says, indeed “the fact that I am a paranoid does not mean I am not persecuted” but still, we should do our best to heal our collective paranoia because it demands a staggering price of us, which we will be able to estimate only upon awakening from it.

I’m no expert on trauma healing but there are people and institutions in this world that treat traumas, including the collective traumas of groups, tribes, and nations. I think we, as a collective, should reach out for healing.

At the same time, in order for this new vision to be considered seriously, the Arab societies must also undergo a great social transformation and deep cultural revolution which mainly includes developing awareness to the sovereignty of the individual. This awareness will be expressed in the granting of rights and liberties to the individual, the citizen; granting rights to minorities, to women and to homosexuals.

This revolution is mainly a revolution of consciousness. It has already been happening in the west for hundreds of years. It is a revolution– from collective national perception to a deep acknowledgement of the individual’s right to choose his or her own destiny, faith, and life style. There must be a complete reversal of the macho patriarchal patterns that today govern the Arab world. Upon the awakening of this new consciousness more and more individuals start to understand that these patterns do not serve them anymore — then they can become obsolete.

The first signs of this revolution are now murmuring and moving under our wondering eyes. Some time ago, the idea of something like this occurring in the Arab countries, seemed like a faraway dream. But today, with the upheavals in Egypt and the start of unrest in Syria—the possibility the Arab world undergo surprising processes sooner then we think, is higher than usual.

In Israel as well the ruling elite that hold more than 80% of the countries riches will not be able to hang on forever. Yet, here we are required a different mental courage than that which sent the Egyptians out on the streets. Here we are challenged with healing the national myth which many of us still think gives us so much: the myth that says that all the other nations are against us, and for sure wanting us to be gone from the face of Earth. Those myths create and recreate the fear of the other in us, this fear which entrenches us behind the defensive fortress of the post-traumatic “Security” culture we have built here in our “promised land of milk and honey”, and which amply supports the architects of our culture of fear, institutionalized religion and war.

If lovers of life we be—we must answer the great call of history. We must become new “Hertzels”, daring to dream big time, daring to move towards the dream.

And if this we want and thus we act— dreams can become reality.

Translated by Ellaya Ayal Mor

peace

At a Rainbow Gathering in Turkey, Israelis and Iranians bond

Being The Peace

At a Rainbow Gathering in Turkey, Israelis and Iranians bond.

Rabbi Ohad Ezrahi

One Nation

In the high mountains of Turkey, there was a gathering that some would call miraculous and unbelievable, but seemed for everyone that was there so natural, as if it couldn’t have been any other way.

In those mountains we sat around a campfire, Israelis, Turks, and Persians, about one hundred men and women, young and old. We sang, cooked, ate and laughed, played and danced like best friends, as if we were one nation with no state borders, a nation at peace.

How I Got There

My good friend Gabriel suddenly arrived at my weekly Kabbalah class in TLV. Gabriel has a good sense for pointing to the places in which our society can grow. Therefore, I pay close attention to his suggestions. “Are you coming to Turkey?” he asked me right after the class. “It’s one of the most important things going on right now! We’re meeting with people from Iran, with our Persian brothers. Come!” he tells me. And so a few days later my wife and I find ourselves making our way through a small remote village in the mountains west of Anatolia.

Hours of travel bring us to a small Turkish village so rural that the paths beyond it can only be navigated with a tractor. A villager communicates with us using hand gestures, and takes ten Israelis at a time, crowded into a cart with their camping gear by tractor up the mountain. We climb higher and higher. With each new turn we are sure we have arrived, but who ever chose this place opted for a truly remote location.

Rainbow

The Rainbow Tribe began in the 1960′s in the United States. Rainbow gatherings don’t have a defined structure or leadership. Everything is done for free, and out of good will. People hear about gatherings by word of mouth and arrive from every corner of the world. But in every Rainbow Gathering that you come to you will always be greeted with “Welcome home”…

At gatherings, volunteers build a communal kitchen in the outdoors. They also collect money into a magic hat in which every person contributes what he wants and can, and then supplies are purchased at the nearest town. One day there might be a lot of money in the magic hat and the meal will be especially lavish, and another day there might be little money and the entire circle will feel it in their bellies. Food is divided equally, everyone eating what there is, regardless of how much money one had put in.

During a Rainbow you learn how to be in nature, how to be part of a circle, respect the space of others, and how to sing prayers before meals. You also learn that the work that needs to be done can only be accomplished through good will and joy, and that part of the “work” is also about creating a positive atmosphere. Therefore, if for example you are a musician, you are likely to find yourself making music for people peeling potatoes in the kitchen and this may be your contribution to the community effort.

A few years ago there was an International Rainbow Gathering in Turkey where Israeli friends were surprised to meet Rainbow friends from Iran that challenged all their preconceptions about Persians.

There was a definite feeling that this was a gathering that should be repeated. And that is how we found ourselves having many conversations with new Persian friends and discovering some sophisticated and open minded people with a wonderful sense of humor.

Revelations About Iran

One evening we had a conversation with Istahar (fake name). Istahar told us about the place she grew up in. Her parents used to read Osho to her in Persian, and sometimes translated and published Osho’s materials in Iran.  She grew up in a spiritual house and her parents aspire to create an Osho-style ashram in Iran. According to Istahar, books and other materials pertaining to the spiritual world, yoga and meditation classes, avant-garde theater performances – a whole world of open life reminiscent of the Western spiritual world – exists underground in Iran.

Ishatar told us that it is illegal for a woman in Tehran to wear make-up in public. If a woman is caught wearing make-up she will be arrested by the police and thrown into jail, but many women do it anyway. They will not surrender their right to wear makeup; they go to jail and meet other women who were arrested for the same crime, and then are released after a day or two. The Iran prisons, in her words, have revolving doors – people come and go.

“I’ve been living with my boyfriend for two years now, even though it’s technically forbidden. We have learned how to deceive the government and play the game in order to live the way we want and believe,” she adds.

I have met with peace activist Muslims many times before, but meeting these people from Iran was a pleasant surprise. Unlike other occasions, I felt almost no cultural gap. To my surprise I didn’t meet any suppressed women or chauvinistic men that spoke about peace between nations without knowing how to have peace in their own homes.

Rather I met men that allow the women to be themselves, and spoke to us as friends, without victim or inferiority complexes. It seems to me that these people that live under extreme Islamic occupation passionately desire equality.

Peace Begins Within
Rainbow people know peace is not a political slogan, but something that lives within, something that you project outwardly when you truly seek to live in awareness, without letting fear draw the map of your world.

Next year the gathering will be dedicated to deepening our connection. And, maybe we will even be blessed with a few Palestinians, and rainbow sisters and brothers from Kuwait or Qatar will join the Middle East peace celebrations…People that want to come together to live and be peace. Because, as one of the Persian woman said, “We are the Peace.”

———————–
This article was translated and published by: Essence of Life, Public Benefit Company Ltd

www.eolife.org

peace

Being the Peace: An Israeli-Iranian meeting!

Being The Peace

At a Rainbow Gathering in Turkey, Israelis and Iranians bond.

Rabbi Ohad EZRAHI (TRANSLATED FROM HEBREW AND PUBLISHED BY ESSENCE OF LIFE)

One Nation

In the high mountains of Turkey, there was a gathering that some would call miraculous and unbelievable, but seemed for everyone that was there so natural, as if it couldn’t have been any other way.

In those mountains we sat around a campfire, Israelis, Turks, and Persians, about one hundred men and women, young and old. We sang, cooked, ate and laughed, played and danced like best friends, as if we were one nation with no state borders, a nation at peace.

How I Got There

My good friend Gabriel suddenly arrived at my weekly Kabala lesson. Gabriel has a sense for locating places in which our society can grow. Therefore, I pay close attention to his suggestions. “Are you coming to Turkey? It’s one of the most important things going on right now. We’re meeting with people from Iran, with our Persian brothers. Come!” he tells me. And so a few days later my wife and I find ourselves making our way through a small remote village in the mountains west of Anatolia.

Hours of travel bring us to a small Turkish village so rural that the paths beyond it can only be navigated with a tractor. A villager communicates with us using hand gestures, and takes ten Israelis at a time, crowded into a cart with their camping gear by tractor up the mountain. We climb higher and higher. With each new turn we are sure we have arrived, but who ever chose this place opted for a truly remote location.

Rainbow

The Rainbow Tribe began in the 1960′s in the United States. Rainbow gatherings don’t have a defined structure or leadership. Everything is done for free, and out of good will. People hear about gatherings by word of mouth and arrive from every corner of the world. And, in every Rainbow Gathering that you come to you will be greeted with “Welcome home.”

At gatherings, volunteers build a communal kitchen in the outdoors. They also collect money into a magic hat in which every person contributes what he wants and can, and then supplies are purchased at the nearest town. One day there might be a lot of money in the magic hat and the meal will be especially lavish, and another day there might be little money and the entire circle will feel it in his or her belly, but the food is divided equally, everyone eating what there is.

During a Rainbow you learn how to be in nature, how to be part of a circle, respect the space of others, and how to sing prayers before meals. You also learn that the work that needs to be done can only be accomplished through good will and joy, and that part of the “work” is also about creating a positive atmosphere. Therefore, if for example you are a musician, you are likely to find yourself making music for people peeling potatoes in the kitchen and this may be your contribution to the community effort.

A few years ago there was an International Rainbow Gathering in Turkey where Israeli friends were surprised to meet Rainbow friends from Iran that challenged all their preconceptions about Persians.

There was a definite feeling that this was a gathering that should be repeated. And that is how we found ourselves having many conversations with new Persian friends and discovering some sophisticated and open minded people with a wonderful sense of humor.

Revelations About Iran

One evening we had a conversation with Istahar. Istahar told us about the place she grew up in. Her parents used to read Osho to her in Persian, and sometimes translated and published Osho’s materials in Iran.  She grew up in a house of spiritual people who aspires to create an Osho-style ashram in Iran. According to Istahar, books and other materials pertaining to the spiritual world, yoga and meditation classes, avant-garde theater performances – a whole world of open life reminiscent of the Western spiritual world – exists underground in Iran.

Ishatar told us that it is illegal for a woman in Tehran to wear make-up in public. If a woman is caught wearing make-up she will be arrested by the police and thrown into jail, but many women do it anyway. They will not surrender their right to wear makeup; they go to jail and meet other women who were arrested for the same crime, and then are released after a day or two. The Iran prisons, in her words, have revolving doors – people come and go.

“I’ve been living with my boyfriend for two years now, even though it’s technically forbidden. We have learned how to deceive the government and play the game in order to live the way we want and believe,” she adds.

I have met with peace activist Muslims many times before, but meeting these people from Iran was a pleasant surprise. Unlike other occasions, I felt almost no cultural gap. To my surprise I didn’t meet any supressed women or chauvinistic men that spoke about peace between nations without knowing how to have peace in their own homes.

Rather I met men that allow the women to be themselves, and spoke to us as friends, without victim or inferiority complexes. It seems to me that these people that live under extreme Islamic occupation passionately desire equality.

Peace Begins Within

Also these Rainbow people know peace is not a political slogan, but something that lives within, something that you project outwardly when you truly seek to live in awareness, without letting fear draw the map of your world.

Next year, ‘inshAllah’ we will met again in Turkey, the only county that both Israelis and Persians can easily visit without too much fuss.

Next year the gathering will be dedicated to deepening our connection. And, maybe we will even be blessed with a few Palestinians, and rainbow sisters and brothers from Kuwait or Qatar will join the Middle East peace celebrations…People that want to come together to live and be peace. Because, as one of the Persian woman said, “We are the Peace.”