The Healing Of Israel-Palestine

I was asked recently about what a PROUTist solution for Israel-Palestine might look like (for those not familiar with PROUT it is a theory of how to create ideal societies based on communitarian, and spiritual principles). Now I thought about this and realised I didn’t know the answer, so I did some study and some thinking and came up with some key points that I think would at least point us in the right direction to healing the conflict in Israel-Palestine.

Enlightened Leadership

In Prout these are called Sadvipras – we need great leaders who can unite the country in a visionary positive way, not in a aggressive conflicting way. Great leaders like this are hard to come by, and always come out of a deep inner journey – people who find their inner connection with the great, and are able to bring that connection to life in the world.

1. For those wishing to really make a difference the first step is to become a sadvipra yourself, to develop the leadership qualities necessary to truly bring others towards a more positive existence. To expand your consciousness through the layers of the mind – beyond love and devotion to unity and connection – to be part of that divine ocean of love and joy. This can be achieved in many ways. Some manage to achieve it through Ananda Marga Yoga which has some links to Prout theory, but some achieve it through other pathways as well. If you want to be part of the solution then this is the first step.

2. Teach others to become sadvipras – it is unlikely that one enlightened person alone is enough to transform the society. We need leaders of many kinds in many areas, and we need the many to follow and to join in that spirit of connection. So it will be necessary to teach deep spirituality to others. There remains a question of in what form should this be done that I will address later on.

3. We may need sadvipras in politics in places of political power to bring the control away from selfish, and aggressive people to people who can lead us in the right direction. This may also require a new political party that is based on connection and a positive vision

Analyse the Social Cycle

In Prout society is seen as having four phases – based on the power structures. We have the community power, the warrior power, the intellectual power and the financial power, and we cycle through these power structures. In israel-palestine there is a lot of influence of financial power the same as the whole world over under capitalism, but there is also a very strong element of warrior power, and warrior power includes not just wars and battles, but also strong dictatorial leaders, and controlling governments. On the positive it often also includes strong visionary and charismatic leaders. On the israeli side many people live their ordinary lives focused on the financial and not the military, but still you can see the movement away from free enterprise to control. On the palestinian side it is clear that many are turning to military, combative answers to their problems, and there is a strong tendency towards a sense for the need of courage and standing up for one’s rights. I think the nation is in the early stages of warrior power.

1. In the early stages of warrior power there is a need for warrior answers – it is not yet the time to move the cycle on to something new, but the time to unite people under a common banner to march together towards a greater vision.

Spiritual Education

1. As we discussed above there is a need for spiritual education – this is not just for the great individual leaders that we need, but also to open the hearts of the people so they are ready to receive peaceful, connection solutions, and to heal the wounds that have developed over so many years. Thus it is not only necessary to show deep spiritual answers, but also to package them in such a way that people are ready to receive them, and that they speak to the people’s current religious and ideological positions.
2. In Palestine there may be room for a military-like community service movement – for those who wish to stand up and do something for the problem – let them have an alternative to joining the violent struggle, and let them join the non-violent struggle. Something like what in Ananda Marga is called VSS – Volunteer Social Security One will have to be careful that there is no sense that it is challenging islam, or asking people to change their religion I think that will only create more conflict. So it should reference islam, or at least be compatible with it.
3. Among the jewish israelis there is a lot of room for a softer approach there is an interest in alternative approaches to spirituality such as meditation and yoga, and there are many non religious people who would prefer a new approach. It would be good to still make the approach compatible with Jewish teachings so that it can attract support across the society and not just with those who have turned away from the traditional practices.

Community Development

In order for people to live happily together their basic needs must be met, and so it is essential to do community development (and sometimes relief work) to look after people and develop communities where people can live happily. Happy people are peaceful people, when people’s basic needs are met they will not easily join a fight or start a war, they will prefer to simply live their lives and find their own ways to contribute to the community around them.

1. Obviously in Palestinian communities there is a lot of need for developing the true wealth of the community, and much of the standard community development approaches used in the third world can be applied.
2. In the Jewish communities we generally see a lot more wealth, but still people live in stress and their is a lack of true community so community development is still necessary.
3. In this article I am not talking very much about the other communities in israel – the Druze, the Christians etc. These are less important to the issue because they are not very involved in the conflict, but they are very important to a united society – and community development should be applied with them, and their help should also be used to support others in the peace process.

A Uniting Vision

A uniting vision for a future society that we can move towards must be developed. Some people have made some beginning steps in this direction, but in conflict resolution it is known that a true uniting vision requires enthusiastic agreement – not just “that would be good enough” but “that would be wonderful”, and so a deeper exploration of this topic needs to be done, and a greater vision needs to be created.

1. Interview people from different sides of the issue and understand their needs. Understand not just what they think should happen, but what are the key practical and emotional needs they have in being able to support a direction. This must include religious and non-religious from all the main religions and communities. Do they need a name that they can believe in? Do they need freedom and autonomy? Safety? Respect? What is it that underlies the conflict – we must ask what people need and often we must ask “why?” as this is what makes the underlying needs visible.
2. Develop a vision of how we could meet ALL those needs – I do mean ALL of them – and it is possible. Just be creative, and dig deep to understand and we will be able to find a solution. We must then take this solution back to the people and check that they like it. When we have a vision that people like then we can move on to create a movement – I do not know the details of what our vision would be, but I can see that it would contain some key elements – indepent regions that are also cooperating for the wellbeing of all, possibly a new name and identity that is more uniting, probably a recognition of all the religions, and a guarantee of religious freedom,
3. Create a social movement based on that uniting vision. This may become a political party, or a movement that is less directly involved in political elections, but still engages in the future of the country. This may have slightly different forms among the different communities, but at heart it is one vision.

Building Connection

In any community work the first step is always to build connection, and that can be done in various ways

1. relief work can help us to make connection with the people in need
2. cultural celebrations can build connection among the people and it can be a very good thing to celebrate the traditional cultures, and to develop cross cultural celebrations – are there ways that we can dance the traditional dances of the different cultures together?
3. Other artistic creations that touch people can open up people’s hearts and spirits and create interest and openness for more movement in this direction.
4. There are already some good actions being taken in this field and one can collaborate and support the existing good work.

How would I put all of these elements together into a practical project that would heal and transform Israel-Palestine? Here are my thoughts

Peace Warriors Club

A movement of people who would stand up for peace and fight for a better tomorrow. I would base it on teaching Aikido and the other inner martial arts that promote peace and spiritual awakening, and incorporate meditation techniques. This should be an approach that is not in any way in conflict with the existing religious traditions, and therefore can be supported by all sides, and can attract the warrior energy that is now going towards conflict and violence into non-violent society building actions.

Engage this club not just in learning peaceful martial arts, but in applying them in practice to make a difference – engage in such actions as

1. Relief work
2. Interviews to create a common vision
3. Creating Cultural Celebrations
4. Doing performances and demonstrations that inspire people on the new path of peace
5. Engage in appropriate community development activities depending on the location.

Starting a movement like this takes something more than just talking about it, it requires touching people and inspiring people. I am in favour of doing this through art. What I could imagine doing is a movement theatre production that shows in a stylised form the conflicts that the nation has gone through, and is going through and how we could imagine it being resolved. I would highlight aikido non-violent techniques, and related dance forms such as contact improv, and show the concept of how we could step beyond our current mess into something more beautiful, and hopefully touch people enough to be able to start something.

In Conclusion

I have a plan for a transformation of Israel-Palestine – what do you think? does it make sense to you? What do you think I am missing?