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Salom now!

Draft manifesto

We, the war-weary people of the Middle East, declare our unwavering support for forging a peaceful region through entirely peaceful means. Our region has been divided and at war for too long. We call on all our leaders and any other parties claiming to fight in our names to stop.

We reject any form of political violence, whether perpetrated by the weak or the powerful, by states, movements or individuals. Violence is terror because it strikes fear and distrust into the hearts of its victims and we reject it because it cannot advance the cause of peace, it can only set it back.

The world – and in particular our ancient region – has become too small and dangerous for such tension and hatred and so we reject the narrow dichotomy of ‘enemy’ and ‘ally’ – we, Arabs and Israelis, are all neighbours. Anyone who carries out acts of violence or consuls it will be our enemy. Anyone who wages peace will be our ally.

We refuse to ignore the calls of our conscience and commit ourselves to showing solidarity with all Arab and Israeli victims of political violence. We will protest in every peaceful and non-violent way we can any act of violence committed, especially by our own side. We declare that our protests will be as loud and coordinated as we can make them, so that our fellow citizens, those on the other side and the international community can clearly see that we, Arabs and Israelis alike, will no longer tolerate any death or destruction in our names.

My wounds may run deeper than yours, yours may run deeper than mine, but that should not stop us from crossing the line to heal one another’s pain. In our region, everyone has suffered from conflict in one way or another – some directly and brutally, others by sharing the pain of their brothers and sisters – we want to prevent future suffering.

We wish to break out of the cycle of an ‘eye for an eye’. That does not mean people need turn the other cheek. We recognise that there are very real grievances and disputes in our region. It is our intention to work through these differences through dialogue, which may sometimes be angry, impassioned, even ugly, but nothing is uglier than the death of a human being.

We wish to demonstrate to our leaders that there is a resolution to the apparently insoluble Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and that it is possible for Israel and its other neighbours to settle their disputes, and one day become a fully accepted member of the region. The first and most difficult step towards this is a dialogue based on trust, compassion, empathy, equality and a recognition that we are not only neighbours but we also share a common humanity.

Salam/Shalom