[Sundaycommunity] Fwd: Three recent events

[John MacMillan]

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: John MacMillan <met191970 at gmail.com>
Date: Sat, Mar 9, 2024 at 12:36 PM
Subject: Three recent events
To: Helena Burnstein <helena.burnstein at sympatico.ca>


>From an interview with Yuval Harari on CBC
Everyone could easily agree if a rock was only a rock, but Jews and Muslims
have invested such meaning to a certain rock in Jerusalem that there's no
compromise. He calls these meanings "stories". For instance money is just
paper and coins, really not worth anything. But we have all agreed that
money is very meaningful, so we work ourselves into sickness to have enough
of it. Such are the stories we tell.
He notes, South Africa got resolved. Northern Ireland got resolved. Rwanda
after the genocide is on a good path. So, where no path can be found,
history says it can be done.
Yuval has written a book for children which he hopes will give them a
different way of understanding. He says it's not possible to reach adults;
the future is with children.

My mother used to say, when she was in a retirement home, that nobody came
to visit her. At times, I could hear my sister's voice in the background
while she said this. She used to complain about being alone. Another time
there were even more voices, because she was hosting a tea party for a
group of ladies she knew in the home. There were times the phone would be
busy when I called. My mom was very social, so I had to understand what she
was saying not as, what is literally true, but what is emotionally true.
When looked at in that way she was always telling the truth. This made it
much less frustrating to listen to her. My other tactic was to change the
subject. Still now that I'm getting so much older I'll probably start
feeling the same way she did, and will end my life thinking, "Now I
understand!:".

So I think both sides are  speaking about their own understanding, and the
other side is responding in terms of the false statements being made. A
couple of years ago, Rabbi Lerner (founder of Tikkun in the US - you
probably know him) was invited to a conference in Saudi Arabia - one of
only a couple of Jews, to help broaden their understanding I presume.
Anyway, he went through the Jewish experience in Europe, the  fear of
persecution and holocausT and the vulnerability of the Jewish community. He
said the Saudis laughed in amazement. From their point of view, Israel is
the powerhouse in the middle east.

There was a sad event in Montreal recently. A synagogue was hosting the
marketing of three properties in the west bank. A small group from Jewish
Voices for Peace had a protest, and a larger and louder demonstration
supporting Palisitians also demonstrated. JVP is so easily marginalized.
Discouraging.

What I am looking for is not food and medical relief for Gaza. Although
needed to help the innocent this is just part of the continuing war between
Israel and Hamas (and if Hamas s destroyed. by whatever follows Hamas), but
a genuine listening to the suffering on both sides and an effort of create
the grounds for a better future.

John
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