COMBATANTS FOR PEACE:
A Powerful Message of HEART and HOPE
In early September, two members of the group Combatants for Peace (C4P) will be in Philadelphia. This is a group composed of Israelis and Palestinians "who had taken an active part in the cycle of violence in Israel and Palestine." (from www.combatantsforpeace.org ). These former enemies, now numbering about 200, met for a year in secret before going public last April.
Their message is non-partisan, deeply human, and compelling:
• We refuse to be enemies.
• We call for the end to occupation and to all violence.
• We support the establishment of two states living side by side.
They seek to tell their stories publicly – of their past violence, of the transformation in their understanding of the conflict and of the “enemy”, of their current commitment to finding mutually acceptable solutions to their peoples’ aspirations through nonviolent means.
They see themselves as uniquely positioned to capture attention and to persuade, as patriot-fighters turned patriot-peacemakers.
We, an ad-hoc group of Philadelphia area individuals, are so moved by what we know of this group and so heartened by their model for transforming deeply conflicted relationships into harmonious ones, that we seek to bring them to the attention of our neighborhood and faith communities, our educational institutions including inner city public schools, our politicians and political parties, and our media.
We promote them to help publicize a hopeful alternative to the harsh and brutal actions and reactions, severely increased during this summer, that have characterized this conflict.
We also promote them hoping for some indirect benefit to our own personal, civic, and political relationships, for example:
- willingness to engage in respectful dialogue with those of different beliefs
- more respectful discourse between politicians of different parties
- reduced violence in the streets, in our schools, and in our homes
We seek to lift up among our fellow citizens a vision of Philadelphia that better reflects its true meaning, “City of Brotherly Love.”
Lynn Mather, Mt. Airy resident, met Palestinian member Souliman Khatib while on a tour of Israel and the West Bank last November with the Compassionate Listening Project.
We welcome your help in arranging public and private events and your donations to cover expenses as well as to support C4P’s continuing work.
To make a tax-deductible donation, make checks out to:
Veterans for Peace, Chapter 31.
On the Memo line put “Combatants for Peace”.
Mail to:
C4P c/o Lynn Mather
7425 Boyer St.
Philadelphia, PA 19119