Quote from Healing Israel/Palestine

Healing Israel/Palestine: A Path to Peace and Reconciliation 

by Rabbi Michael Lerner

Tikkun Books and North Atlantic Books, Berkeley, California, 2003            273 pages

Jews did not return to their ancient homeland to oppress the Palestinian people, and the Palestinians did not resist the creation of the Jewish state out of hatred of Jews. In the long history of propaganda battles between Zionists and Palestinians, each side has at times told the story to make it seem as if the other side was constantly doing bad things for bad reasons. In fact, both sides have made and continue to make terrible mistakes. Yet it is also true that both sides can make a reasonable case for their choices, given the perceptions they had of their own situation and of those who oppose them. As long as each side clings to its own story, and is unable to acknowledge what is plausible in the story of the other side, peace will remain a distant hope. . . 

The first step in the process of healing is to tell the story of how we got where we are in a way that avoids demonization. We need to learn how two groups of human beings, each containing the usual range of people - from loving to hateful, rational to demented, idealistic to self-centered - could end up feeling so angry at each other. (p. xi)

-- quote submitted by Oriana H. K.

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