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Here in Israel/Palestine 


Dear RC allies, 


As you know, the situation here in Israel/Palestine is hard (what an understatement!). Many of my contacts, both Jews and Palestinians (Israeli citizens and those who live in the occupied territories and Gaza), are very restimulated. There are many expressions of despair, hopelessness, and helplessness. 


Of course, I, too, am restimulated. When there are sirens, I do not feel fear; I mostly feel anger and sadness. To keep sane, hopeful, and able to function despite what’s happening, I do a lot of Zoom Co-Counseling sessions, with both Israeli and overseas RCers. 


Yesterday evening, the leader of our monthly wide world changing (tikun olam) class led a special meeting in which he asked us to tell what we are doing these days, the contradictions [to distress] we are finding, and what makes us hopeful. 


I am contacting people and listening. I have several Palestinian friends, both Israelis and Gazans. The day before yesterday, I made a video call to a Gazan friend, a social worker. We had a long conversation. He told me about his family, his fears, his political views, and the nearby destruction. I also had a conversation with a Gazan who now lives in Dallas, Texas, USA. He sent me pictures of the destruction in the neighborhood where he grew up. 


This morning I had a long video conversation with a young Gazan who recently graduated from a nursing school. He lives in a small town in the southern part of Gaza Strip. There was an air raid in the middle of our conversation, and he had nowhere to go; they don’t have shelters. He continued to speak with me and didn’t stop smiling. This felt heartbreaking. Several of his neighbors got killed, including one complete family—parents and their children. 


I am planning a listening circle for a group of activists. For nineteen years, we have organized an annual gather-in or workshop at which Jews and Arabs listen to each other. We call the event Nakba-Atzma’ut. Sometimes two hundred people attend. We, the organizers, are a small group of ten to fifteen people, Jews and Arabs. For our meeting, I’ve planned two rounds of listening circles. The first will be about our fears, other restimulations, and so on—hopefully with some discharge. The second will be dedicated to our hopes and to proposals for actions. We also want to do listening circles with other groups. We will invite people we know—possibly some with different political views, which is especially difficult these days. 


Rami Ben Moshe


Kfar Saba, Israel


Reprinted from the RC e-mail discussion list for leaders of wide world change

(Present Time 204, July 2021)


Last modified: 2022-12-25 10:17:04+00