The effort to find a path to peace for Israel and Palestine sometimes seems hopeless. The
Israeli government is unwilling to negotiate in good faith, or even
to reduce the severity of the military occupation—much less to conform
to the many UN resolutions calling for a withdrawal to the 1967 borders. The asymmetry of the conflict and the complicity of the US government create a situation that gives violent extremists on both sides a veto over the least conciliatory gesture.
One recent result is that Laura Bush was placed in grave danger of attack by protesters on both sides during her trip to Jerusalem. As Juan Cole laments:
I was alarmed at the tenor of the reporting about First Lady Laura Bush's close brush with both Israeli and Palestinian protesters, at the Wailing Wall and the Dome of the Rock respectively.…
I blame her husband George for putting her in this danger. There have been demonstrations and counter-demonstrations at the Jerusalem holy sites for weeks, because of charges by Palestinians that a far rightwing Zionist group planned to demolish the Dome of the Rock. On another level, George W. Bush was the one who said, at his National Security Council meeting on January 30, 2001, that he intended to just "unleash Sharon", to allow all kinds of trouble between Israel and Palestine, and let conflict "clarify" things.
Blame belongs most clearly to those who have power to pacify the situation, especially Bush and Sharon. And yet they seem completely unmoved, prepared to allow violence to play out, prepared to allow many victims to die. For Sharon, he may know no other response. For Bush, he may be so certain that the Last Days are coming that he is willing to encourage Armageddon.
But hopelessness is not an answer. It is still true that a majority of both Israelis and Palestinians would like to see a peaceful, two-state solution, and many people around the world are working to create an atmosphere for peace. One group came up with the charming idea of flying 10,000 kites above the newly-walled border, in an airy protest of beauty and hope. Fittingly, the group is called 10,000 Kites.
Unfortunately, the border itself proved too dangerous a place, but this weekend many children and adults flew their kites in other locations on both sides of the border to send their message of peace:
While the ongoing violence between Israelis and Palestinians has painted a picture of hopelessness and despair, 10,000 Kites has a very different picture to paint: the hopes, dreams, aspirations, and visions of ordinary Israelis and Palestinians who desperately want peace. Imagine 10,000 kites flying for peace. Imagine 10,000 Israelis and Palestinians flying those kites. Imagine those 10,000 kites painted with messages telling the world that tens of thousands of Israelis and Palestinians want peace.
We at 10,000 Kites believe that mutual artistic creations between Israelis and Palestinians provide a tremendous vehicle for breaking down those barriers that have kept these people at a psychological distance, even though they are living in the same part of the world. We have already witnessed a newly found sense of purpose, and marvel at the dynamic connections and bridge building that has taken place between Israeli and Palestinian adults and children, since the idea of 10,000 Kites was launched in fall 2004.
Concerned Americans and Canadians have joined the demonstrations, flying kites in California, Ontario, Texas, Missouri, Maine, Georgia, and North Carolina. If politicians cannot heal the rift, perhaps kite-flyers can. It's a beautiful idea.
Update, 5/23: The hopeful emblem of the kite is not a new one. Here is a poem Yehuda Amichai, the great Israeli poet, wrote about his beloved city:
Jerusalem
On a roof in the Old City
Laundry hanging in the late afternoon sunlight:
The white sheet of a woman who is my enemy,
The towel of a man who is my enemy,
To wipe off the sweat of his brow.
In the sky of the Old City
A kite.
At the other end of the string,
A child
I can't see
Because of the wall.
We have put up many flags,
They have put up many flags.
To make us think that they're happy.
To make them think that we're happy.Published in A Touch of Grace, 2000;
translated by Irena Gordon.
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