Peace
«Hope
for peace»
Chief Rabbi Cohen of Haifa and Prof. Qleibo of Al-Quds University in Jerusalem. Dialogue is reasonably possible. “The only solution for peace is to see the divine and the human in others so that by accepting God and others we may lay the foundation for a political solution”
di Riccardo Piol
The name “Meeting for Friendship Among Peoples” is in open conflict with the situation of the Holy Land, where Jews and Palestinians seem willing to do any sort of violence rather than talk about friendship or set up a dialogue. And yet, right in Rimini, people spoke about the future of this land, holy to Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike. They did this without canceling out a human, reasonable invitation to hope of seeing the accomplishment of the miracle of victory over enmity. This invitation was already evident in the title of the meeting, “Palestine: a Possible Peace,” without a question mark after it to place in doubt a solution that would put an end to today’s tragedy, and it was accepted and confirmed in the words of Shean-Yashuv Cohen, Chief Rabbi of Haifa, and Ali H. Qleibo, a Muslim and a professor at Al-Quds University in Jerusalem.
Conditions for dialogue
To those who asked if peace in the Holy Land is possible, Rabbi Cohen
gave an answer that he himself called, “clear, univocal, and absolute.
Despite the current situation of massacres, horrifying hatred, and
violence that characterizes our country, peace is possible.” But there
are two basic conditions that must be met:
“The first and most important is that both sides involved in the
current conflict really want peace. The second, perhaps even more
important, is that both sides understand and realize what are the
profound reasons and historical and religious roots of their
counterparts in the Holy Land.
It is necessary to understand the reasons and feelings of the
counterpart in front of us—we have to understand their love for the
Holy Land and admiration for the holy city of Jerusalem.” A dialogue
is necessary, which it is not reasonable to call impossible because
“the fact that Jerusalem is the holy city for all of us and that this
land is the holy land also for Christians and Muslims is not in any
way a reason that justifies a terrible massacre.” History, often
impugned by some Muslim and Jewish leaders to justify the elimination
of their so-called counterparts as the only way out, teaches us that
not only is dialogue possible, but so is coexistence. “After the
Muslim conquest of Jerusalem–this is a proven historical fact,” says
Rabbi Cohen, “a Jewish synagogue stood on the Temple Mount where
Jewish prayers were recited. And at the same time, every effort was
made not to take even an inch away from the territory of the holy
mosque of Al Aqsa. This lasted for 400 years.” Why are there those
today who want to persuade the world that coexistence is not possible?
Humanizing God
“What we all hope is to be able to develop a model starting from the
Catholic-Christian experience.” Prof. Qleibo astounded everyone with
this affirmation, but after throwing the stone he did not hide his
hand, so to speak. He went on, “I’m referring to the Renaissance, when
man was able to humanize God: God, His beauty, an idea borrowed from
the ancient Greeks. Our tradition still
lacks the idea of form. We have a religion that has become a kind of
jurisprudence, a moralizing religion that preaches, a syntax of rites.
Christianity has offered us a form of humanism that applies precisely
to the Christian world.” This form of
humanism can mark out the road to reconciliation, but at the same
time–the professor would like to say–it could force both the Islamic
and the Jewish world to a revolution. Yet,
“The only solution for peace is seeing the
divine and the human in others, so that by accepting God and others we
may lay the foundation for a political solution. Without faith or
trust in others we cannot achieve peace.”
Educating to peace
Rabbi Cohen asked, “Which side will prevail in the end? The intolerant
extremists who believe in a holy war or those who understand that
violence is no solution and maintain that we have to put an end to
massacre, vindication, and terrorist acts that strike innocent
people?” The future of the Holy Land depends on the answer to this
question. But the answer also influences immediately the present of
those who want to put an end to violence, and hold that both sides
have to be educated “so that our children will stop hating each other
and begin to understand and love each other.” Educating to peace is
the first step that must be taken, even while everything all around
shouts violence. It is a frail sign that, in the grief of every day,
can lay the foundation for reconciliation, because “it is important to
understand that peace is attained not among leaders, among politicians,
but between two peoples.” So that this may happen, someone must set an
example, and Rabbi Cohen does not hesitate to indicate a clear and
meaningful one for the most recent history of his people: “There has
been a change in Christianity, sustained mainly by John Paul II, who
has urged Judaism and Christianity to mutual understanding. I await
the appearance of an Islamic religious leader who will invite the
return of a golden age in which theologians of the Jewish and the
Islamic religions will live together in peace, and work for the
benefit and advantage of all mankind.”
Peace is possible, but “change has to come first among those who
educate, and only afterwards will politicians, diplomats, and leaders
be able to begin working on the practical aspects of the conflict.”
