Together we have taken part in many actions. On New Year's Eve 2001, we marched together, arm in arm, through the alleys of the Old City of Jerusalem, at the head of a large group of Muslims, Christians, and Jews. But our main task is to convince our own peoples that peace and reconciliation are possible, that on both sides there is a readiness to pay the price of peace.
These are not abstract aspirations. Gush Shalom, the Israeli peace bloc to which I belong, published a peace agreement in all its details in 2001. Not long ago, Sari Nusseibeh, together with the former Israeli security service chief, Ami Ayalon, articulated the principles of a peaceful solution. Now a new group of Israeli and Palestinian politicians has worked out in Geneva the draft of a peace treaty.
The bloody confrontation that has been raging in our country for three years now is a symptom of hopelessness, frustration, and despair on both sides. Of course, there can be no symmetry between occupiers and occupied, rulers and ruled. The violence of the occupation cannot be compared with the violence of the resistance. But the hopelessness and distrust on both sides is comparable, and our task is to overcome it.
We follow the age-old wisdom: "Don't curse the darkness; light a candle." Together with our partners, the thousands of peace activists of both peoples, we have already lighted a lot of candles.
I am an optimist. I believe that the darkness of despair is slowly giving way to the twilight of hope; that it is getting lighter. In Israel, the conviction is gaining ground that the shedding of blood leads nowhere.
Thirty of our combat pilots refuse to follow immoral orders. The number of conscientious objectors among our soldiers is growing. The chief of staff, until recently an extreme hawk, has talked back to his superiors and declared that there is no military solution. The Geneva peace talks have had an impact; they show that there are indeed partners for peace. Parents of fallen soldiers protest publicly against the senseless sacrificing of their children.
A new wind is blowing. A new hope is emerging. We shall do everything possible to make this hope grow, in order to bring about a historic change.
November 24, 2007
I was awakened from deep sleep by the noise. There was a commotion outside, which was getting louder by the minute. The shouts of excited people. An eruption of joy.