The meaning of peace
Op-ed: We’ve created utopian image of word ‘peace’ that keeps exploding in our faces
While the next round of talks between Israelis and Palestinians shifts forward and backwards in symmetric, measured steps, it would be worthwhile to look into the objective these talks aim for. We usually assume that at the completion of negotiations on the various aspects of the ongoing conflict, what we refer to as a "peace treaty" will be secured. Yet what does "peace" mean?
Can the replacement of military oppression with civilian administration and the replacement of hostile acts against civilian targets with economic trade bring "peace?" All of a sudden, smiles shall replace sharp claws? How will the illusions of a billion "Muslims" regarding Mohammad's prophecies manage to build an imaginary bridge over the bloody river separating them from the illusions of the millions of "Jews" in Israel?
Faith is the basis on which human society is premised. Faith dictates the nature of education, wedding ties, civilian and religious legal systems, and political borders that changed over the years. Faith is not only "glue" that connects people, but also glue that feeds the fires that break out at different times in different areas of the world.
How is peace possible when our whole understanding of that word can be summed up with the word "quiet"? All we want is to hold on to our jobs, homes, spouses, our superstitions regarding our all-powerful God, our State, and our identity. We're not interested in peace, but rather, in quiet and tranquility. All we want is to see no more buses and Qassams exploding, or alternately, no more roadblocks, no more people being pulled out of their beds at midnight, and no more manhunts for wanted suspects.
We've created an image of the word "peace" – a desirable utopia – and just like all other manmade images and utopias, this one too explodes in our faces time and again. From one war to another the price goes up and the results become increasingly destructive.
If a person wants peace, he must grasp its deep meaning, face his fear of society, its criticism, and its aggression; he must understand the essence of life, its origin, and its meaning. A person cannot do this under the pressure of authorities that condition him to accept identity and separation; a person cannot hear this from a rabbi or imam, a judge or a philosopher.
One must understand the mechanism that stimulates faith and how it creates and clings to laws and decrees, demanding ownership of land and people, arbitrarily drafting borders, twisting reality, and leading to division, destruction, and hatred. And so, it wholly distorts the very same term on whose behalf it operates: That very “truth” in whose name people swear, kill, and get killed.
And so, “evacuations,” “withdrawals,” or “concessions” by one “side” or another won’t help here, and agreements endorsing the “two-state solution” or a “bi-national state” won’t last. All of them are premised on faith, on illusion, which must shatter. As long as faith enforces inner division no peace shall prevail – not within the heart of man, and not among people.
