Peace is not the opposite of violence. Peace is the opposite of hate.

 

 

(...)
What then, shall we do, outside the shadow of hate and blame? What shall we do from the full feeling of the loss of Israeli and Palestinian mothers? What shall we do, knowing the keening of a mother, the whimpering of a child cowering in a basement? Those of us whose hands are far from the levers of power may not be able to do much except call for this and that: ceasefires, humanitarian corridors, and so forth. I support such calls, but for the hate cycle to reverse, people from within the warring parties will have to do something brave.

Brave would be for Hamas to release all hostages, unconditionally and unilaterally.

Brave would be for Israel to stop the bombing and restore humanitarian supplies, unconditionally and unilaterally.

You may think, depending on which side you are on, that neither of these is brave; that one is simply humane and should have been done before it even started, and the other is foolhardy given how the other side would just take advantage of it. It is precisely such calculations that make these brave. To advocate peace in a time of war is always brave. As one Israeli peace activist told me a few days ago, “If you say anything, they will slap you.”

What motivates bravery? Let’s call it courage. Courage means, “the capacity of the heart.” It comes when we open our hearts to actually feel. Then, if we don’t channel the grief into despair or the anger into hate, we do whatever it takes to stop the cycle of harm. Another cycle can take its place, with each side responding to the other’s brave gesture with its own, as the whole world watches, affirms, and rewards each step. Yes, I am aware of the fruitlessness of nonviolent protests and peace movements in the past in Israel and Palestine, but now is different. All eyes are on them. Israel / Palestine is now the fulcrum upon which the whole world could swing toward peace.

Charles Eisenstein