Memorial Day and al Nakba

Dear Friends,

This last week was the 61st commemoration of “al Nakba”, Arabic for “the catastrophe”. It refers to the time in 1948 when the state of Israel was founded. In Palestine, the Nakba is viewed as their holocaust, the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians to make room for Israel and they lament as they commemorate because the displacement and the killing continue. Not surprisingly, some parts of the Israeli government want to ban any commemoration or even mention of the Palestinian Nakba, in the same way, ironically, some people deny that a Jewish holocaust occurred.

It is not easy to look and really see people whose opinions differ from ours. But we must try to see each side’s reality. Denying either perspective will not bring peace. I recently sent out an email to local veteran organizations to see if we could organize a joint event with an Iraq veteran who will be in Missoula in July on an anti-war bicycle tour. The sad responses I am getting indicate the veteran groups would rather not know or acknowledge the existence of anti-war veterans. We cannot hope or wish the opposition opinion away – it is equally real. To be helpful, we must create a safe place for both “sides” to co-exist and then begin the work of building bridges. The tendency for humans to create conflict and war is not over. It exists in every corner of every land around the world – even Missoula.

Please do not let your efforts to create peace go silent or be put on hold as other issues become important. Do not become complacent and believe your voice is not important. And do not ever let the possibility of disagreement from someone else stop you from speaking up. We cannot deny that people around the world are struggling for survival under conditions of dispossession, apartheid, poverty, disease and occupation. Our silence is a denial of sorts, and a bridge to peace will never be possible. We must, as peacemakers, take advantage of every opportunity we have to build a bridge, however small or large.

Next Monday, Memorial Day, we must all remember the real tragedies of war – all of them. But as we remember, let us also act! This is a most critical time in our country for us to be in dialog with our elected officials about funding the future – whether that is diplomacy rather than war or health care rather than bailouts. Let our memories and our dialogs have room for every different perspective and, rather than denying other ways exist, let us reflect on how we can all seek a more peaceful way.

In hope and memory,

Betsy