I just show you this letter that arrived a few day ago, bringing hope and joy in my heart


Hello friends,

Many grassroots initiatives are happening in the Land of the Prophets that
can give us hope for peace. One such event was the recent Sulha gathering.

From June 30th to July 1st we held the third annual Sulha gathering in
the olive groves near the Druze village of M'ghar. Joining us were over 1500
Arabs and Jews, including 200 children. International guests included John
Qhuzulini Sithole - Zulu traditional activist, peacemaker, and artist from
South Africa; Farah Gaye - a Sufi sheikh from Senegal; and Geshe Thubten
Phelgye - a member of the Tibetan Parliament in Exile. Ongoing events
included a welcome center, women¹s tent, children¹s space, art tent, a
kitchen and a stage with live music.

In the opening circle in "Abraham¹s Tent," Mahadi Sarhan, our young Druze
host from Maghar, welcomed us. The site was an open field surrounded by
olive orchards as far as the eye could see, with the rolling hills of the
lower Galilee in the distance. Elias Jabbour, traditional "Sulha" expert,
opened the gathering saying that the Œhudna¹ (ceasefire) needs to be
followed by a process of ŒSulha¹ forgiveness and our coming together plants
the seeds for that.

Sulha director Gabriel Meyer shared blessings for this gathering which
were sent by such public figures as Muhammad Bakri, Israeli Arab actor;
Reuven Gal, a colonel in the Israeli army, and Sari Nusseibeh, prominent
Palestinian academic and peace promoter.

Joining the Sulha gathering on the first day was the "Halicha," a silent
peace walk that began the day before in the nearby Arab village of Elabun.
As the Sulha commenced at 12 noon, the silent line of over 50 Arab and
Jewish walkers, walking in a single file line, joined the gathering.

As Abraham¹s Tent began to fill up the whole crowd burst out into singing
and dancing, the excitement could barely be contained. Religious leaders
from many traditions, including Sister Regine from the Sisters of Zion, were
present. Thanks were given to Daud and Zohar for creating such a beautiful
site out of an empty field.

Then we broke up into eighteen different talking circles, in order to
facilitate a deeper process of sharing and listening from the heart. Led by
Eran Harpaz and Ibtisam Mahamid, we formed intimate groups and sat under
specially chosen olive trees. Each tree has a sign with a different theme
hanging from it: "trust", "faith", etc. In my circle, skillfully led by Gil
Ron of the Sheva ensemble, were several teenage Muslim boys from Rahat in
the Negev. It was moving to see so many groups under the olive trees.

After the talking circles, on both days, Yuval organized an afternoon of
workshops by various Arab and Jewish religious and community leaders. Sheikh
Abdul Salaam Manasra led a workshop on Sufism, Rabbi Menachem Froman led a
class on the teachings of Rebbe Nachman. There were also workshops on
Palestinian culture and traditional Druze dance.

A full kitchen was organized by Oded prepared food for 1500 people. Next
to the kitchen for two days was a space of spontaneous music and constant
celebration. One musician was a Druze policeman from Maghar playing his
flute.

When the time came for Mincha, the traditonal afternoon Jewish prayers,
Orthodox Rabbi Menachem Froman led us in a minyan near the main stage. Just
then, Sufi sheikh Abu Salih from the West Bank village of Deir Qaddis near
Ramallah arrived, suprising many in the crowd. This is the first public
gathering in three years of the intifada that he has been able to attend.

At that moment Sheikh Fara Gaye from Senegal, led the Muslim call to
prayer. It was quite a sight to see the line of the Muslim religious leaders
in the prayer line together in the middle of the festival. These included
Sheikh Abu Ali from Majd il-Krum, Sheikh Abu Salih, Sheikh Musa Brick from
Abu Snan, and Sheikh Abed from Kfar Yasif.

At the evening meal, over 1000 people formed a circle as Sheikh Musa Brick
gave a resounding blessing in Arabic. When everyone was fed, Rabbi Marcelo
Bronstein from Congregation Bnei Jeshurun in New York offered the closing
blessing.

To open the evening ceremony, Geshe-la chanted a mantra of blessing in
Tibetan, followed by blessings from the rabbis and sheikhs. The evening
music program and stage was led by Udi Ben Canaan and Gil Ron from the Sheva
ensemble. They were joined by local Arab and Jewish musicians.

To second day of the Sulha was opened with an egalitarian minyan singing
together the ŒHallel¹ prayer of Rosh Hodesh. During the two days of the
Sulha there was a presence of rabbis from all across the spectrum- Orthodox
to Reform. These included Rabbi Froman, Jewish Renewal Rabbi David
Seidenberg, Conservative rabbis from Bnai Jeshurun- Marcelo Bronstein and
Roly Matalon, and Rabbi Levi Weiman-Kelman from Reform Congregation Kol
Haneshama in Jerusalem.

In addition to the talking circles, many other special activities were
happening. In the women¹s tent, led by Sitara, Jewish and Arab women shared
from the heart. On the second day a whole bus of religious Muslim women
from Sheikh Danun village joined the tent.

In the children¹s tent, Har El and Salim led activities like juggling and
learning circus acts. The children also had a talking circle. In the art
tent, Arabs and Jews wove a tapestry together, painted a car with peace
murals and prepared cloth panels with peace prayers for the prayer flag to
be dedicated at the closing ceremony.

In "Abraham¹s Tent", Gaby Meyer led a discussion with the dignitaries who
shared wisdom from their own people¹s experiences with lessons for us in the
Middle East. Lama Geshe Thubten Phelgye shared about his peoples¹ struggle
with China: "We came to a resolution that it¹s better to build a negotiation
table with China than just demand freedom. You have to sacrifice. If you
compromise, you will reach a meeting point and live together. If you just
think about yourselves, you will not reach that point." Then, Geshe-la
emphasized the need for compassion. "The best weapon to fight conflict is
compassion. Compassion is the ability to forgive."

As a Zulu leader, John Quzhilini led the struggle against apartheid in
South Africa and now works for multi-racial harmony there. He exhorted us
all to work for peace: "Go to your homes and pass on the message. Remember
you are all one, the children of Abraham. Put the guns aside so that the
world will respect you. Be a part of the solution. This is what we did in
our country. Exercise tolerance and humanity, and push aside the anger. Show
the way of love. Share your food and clothing and knowledge with your
neighbors. There is no other way to peace."

Sheikh Muhamed Kiwan added: "that's part of the sadnessŠwe all know we'll
need another Sulha next year. I pray that every year we get more and more
people to come, until the spirit of Sulha envelops this land."

Later Melila Helner led a Rosh Hodesh women¹s ceremony. At the closing
ceremony, Devorah Brous of Bustan L¹Shalom organized a tree planting
ceremony where olive trees were planted. Mahmoud Salame dedicated the trees
followed by blessings from Ibrahim Abuelhawa and Geshe-la. Then Hagit Raanan
came to dedicate and plant a peace pole that had been decorated by the
children.

To close the gathering, the children ascended the stage and sung a moving
peace song that they wrote as they freed doves into the air. Then Mosh from
Sheva and friends sang traditional Yemenite songs. As Mahadi played a song
he wrote in India, he made a healing with members of his town. He had been
an outsider and this Sulha gathering brought many village elders to
appreciate the honor he had done for the village. John Quzholini ascended
the stage with a group of women offering African dance and the whole crowd
danced into ecstasy.

The Sulha gathering received a lot of media coverage in the Israeli press,
covered by the Jerusalem Post, Haaretz and Yediot Acharonot. The event was
also covered in the Arab and international media. The Sulha event left many
people inspired and rededicated to work for peace and understanding between
all of us who live together in the Holy Land.

Please join us in the Holy Land for the Sulha 2004 gathering from August
17th to 19th. Preceding this will be a three day caravan from Sulha 2003
site in the Galilee to the 2004 site in the Carmel. It will be a nomadic
ŒSulha¹, traveling by horses, camels, donkeys and bicycles, arriving one day
before the Sulha starts.

If you can¹t make it to the next Sulha, consider organizing a ŒSulha¹ event
in your community next summer at the same as the Galilee event. Events are
already being planned in Australia, the Bay Area and London.


To see a picture from Sulha, of the religious leaders blessing an olive
tree, visit:
http://www.interfaith.israel.net/sulha.html


For more details about the ongoing Sulha project, visit www.metasulha.org or
contact Gabriel Meyer at: gabym@attglobal.net

Shalom, Salaam,
Eliyahu McLean,
From the Sulha staff

Dear Lilie, thank you for sharing this report. The concreteness of these words flows like music into my mind and heart and increases my own belief in the possibility of Peace.
These people, as I see on the beautiful picture you share, DO BELIEVE WITHOUT DOUBT. Their souls shine bright and the power of love and light is VISIBLE fully.
God bless these people, their meetings and their purpose!
May I be a messenger of peace in my own endeavours and activate myself whenever possible in peace manifestations.
Loving you, Margherita


_____________________

I’m open to love
my heart invites you to dance
come share my delight


senryu by Margherita

Dear Lilie,
Thank you for sharing this information.
It certainly brings hope.

May all beings live together in harmony
and peace.

Love, Inda

One/Love.... love, Carolyn

Thank you for sharing this wonderful account
of the meeting of souls with the desire for
peace expressed so eloquently. May this
message of peace spread like the wind and
settle in the hearts of all the enligntened
and the confused.
Hope, peace, joy,love, harmony forever...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~~~Barbara

Beyond Words lies Love

I thank you for the warm and hopeful report. The middle east is too often considered a mere caldron of violence. I would like to mention an example of the positive vibe in the middle east (in Egypt) as described in 1881 by a traveler from Mexico, Luis Malanco.
He found Cairo a fascinating market place of world exchange. The racial tolerance impressed him and proved the old Arab saying about Cairo that "the Egyptian capital was the mother of nations and of the whole world." Malanco found Cairo a crossroads of the globe, with merchants from Germany to India, from Morocco to the Congo, from Persia to England. Malanco was especially impressed by "the beautiful" Syrian woman who was wife of the Embassador from Spain.
It must be said that Malanco came to Egypt with an agenda. He was Mexican Embassador to Italy. His radical anthopologist friend in Mexico, Altamirano had told Malanco to go to Egypt and write a travellog, a new kind of travellog. Altamirano was tired to the pompus US and English visitors who came to Mexico and wrote demeaning travellogs about "quaint peasants" . So,
Malanco's description of his arrival in Alexandria harbor was not exactly objective, but I think it has a ring of friendship and love which to me seems both worthwhile and timeless. He wrote
"A meditation overcame me, enthused, my head swirled reverently, and I shouted out "Alexandira: Place of rescue,sublime city, queen of the ancient world, muse of lett3ers, goddess of scxiencesw!A son of Mexico comes on pilgramage to visit you; a son of Mexico calls at your ports with love and respect... Open your doors, city of the sultans, loved by the wise, by the heroes, by the kings: I bring you a gift of powr, Azt4ec flowers that are rare for their beauty and for their aroma; I bring you the heart and soul of Mexico, that is a divine narcotic... Oh, if only I could express in verses of poetry the admiration in muy country that your greatness inspires."
Perhaps it is noteworthy that Malanco, coming from the other great nation with pyramids, devoted far less space in his report to Egypts pyramids than to its people.
Ted Vincent
(I pulled the above quotes from their use in my book "The Legacy of Vicente Guerrero: Mexico's First Black Indian President" Malanco's book is "Viaje a Oriente" 1882 Mexico.

This is wonderful news Lilie! Thanks!!!



The critical mass of people for peace is here! Amen!

Nice to c u 2 Ted 3rd!!! XOXOXO Nice story about the Mexican in Egypt! Well, they both share pyramids eh? he he..

It is so true that we are more similar than different.

When we appreciate our diversity we have abundance instantly!

Love life and light, Teo

You can't force peace, only show it.