Israeli and Palestinian mothers can create peace

I offer a unique idea for bringing about peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

The idea is based on an incident in World War II. It was told to me by a German priest, Bernard Haring.

He was serving in the medical corps in the German army when the German troops began to retreat from Russia.

He was assigned to care for three severely wounded German soldiers.

To add to his problems, the temperature was way below zero.

He came to a Russian farmhouse and decided to seek shelter.

He knocked at the door and the owner appeared and saw the Germans in uniform, who reminded him that they were invaders of his country.

Haring asked if he could leave the wounded soldiers in the house overnight.

The man hesitated because if it became known that he had assisted the Germans, he and his wife would be executed by the Russians.

Moved with a spirit of compassion he gave permission to Haring to bring in the soldiers. Haring told him they were very feverish and he would appreciate it if they were given some water during the night. The wife agreed to help. Next morning, when Haring went to collect the soldiers, he discovered that the couple had stayed up all night with the men and made soup for them. Haring was very surprised and stated he did not expect this favor. The wife spoke up and said, “We have a son in the Russian army who is now fighting on the German front. If he was wounded as these soldiers, I believe a German mother would care for him.”

This is why I believe that mothers who grieve together for their children killed by war and violence will take steps to prevent war and violence. I have further proof of mothers’ love for children. I was blessed with the help of Rabbi Levine to operate a camp for promoting peace and harmony. For three successive years we hosted pre-teens from Israel and Palestine at Camp Brotherhood. Their parents sent their children 10,000 miles away to share life at camp with children of another religion and culture. Their intention was to help the children develop a friendship and grow up not as enemies but as friends.

Each year they were accompanied by the daughter of the Chief Rabbi of Israel. She was very active in promoting this program. Prior to her father’s appointment as Chief Rabbi of Israel, he was Chief Rabbi in Ireland. Thus I discovered his daughter and I were both born in Ireland. She was committed to the pursuit of peace from her home in Jerusalem.

What can we do now? We can continue to dialog. Abraham gives us a vision on how to pursue peace in Genesis: Quarrels started between his nephew Lot and Abraham over water rights. Abraham called his nephew, whom he could have dismissed, and said to him, “Let there be no strife between you and me, or between your herdsmen and mine, for we are kinsmen. Is not the whole land at your disposal? Please separate from me. If you prefer the left, I will go to the right; if you prefer the right, I will go to the left.”

The pursuit of peace is the greatest challenge now and always for the human race.