Walking the Friendly path
Tim Crump shares his thoughts on the situation is Israel/Palestine, and the path to peace
‘We are moving like snails, and they are moving like rabbits with jet engines,’ says Israeli Erella Dunyavesky speaking graphically of the differences between the speed of working for peace versus the immense power building the Separation Wall and driving the settler violence in the occupied West Bank. Erella and Palestinian UN aid worker Hamed came to Hexham to talk of their project bringing green power, transport and education to the villagers in the cave communities of the South Hebron Hills.
Their talk was illustrated by maps of ‘security’ measures fragmenting a land, of aggressive gestures and bloodied faces. Yet hope shines out from these two remarkable people, whose smiles of real friendship emanate from a sharing of deep love and joy. They know the terrible price of fear and have transformed it.
Not by running away nor by hiding behind walls but by treading the path of peace into the heart of conflict.
The faces of the young people of the Friends School in Ramallah also shine with this courage. They are a real example of Quaker values, working for social justice despite being ‘under siege’ themselves.
Sixteen-year-old Razzan Quran shares this with us, ‘I am particularly proud of my school for holding a clothes drive for children and families in Gaza. Many Friends School students helped by going from house to house to gather donations. It was a very tiring job. I myself got home exhausted (we walked most of the way).’
Erella talks of walking towards the settlers’ ranch, ‘Why am I so scared? Am I a rat? Am I a thief that I have to be scared where I go?’ The Friends School students walked to alleviate suffering.
We live in difficult and dangerous times but by walking with our friends we are a multitude. If I am a snail I am with Erella, Hamed, Razzan and her friends. I believe that by treading the path of peace together we shall overcome the rabbits with their jet engines.
