While Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, Jews observe the festival
of Hanukkah--for eight days, this year from December 19 to 27. The event
commemorates a victory of Jewish fighters led by Judas Maccabeus over
Syrian invaders, the regaining of control over the Temple, and its reconsecration
in 165 B.C.
Ironically, not all Jews agree on the interpretation of this memorable
event. For most, Hanukkah salutes the courage of freedom fighters against
foreign domination. Others see the Maccabees as violent religious zealots.
Today, 2,168 years later, when Israelis are the occupiers of foreign
territory, they also hold opposing views of the Palestinian resistance.
Prime Minister Sharon and his supporters see no justification for Palestinians
to fight back against indiscriminate Israeli air attacks on their living
quarters, the targeted assassinations of resistance organizers, and
the bulldozing of homes and orchards.
Other patriotic Israelis, including many rabbis and civic leaders view
Sharon's deliberate humiliation of the Palestinians people as a gross
violation of Jewish ethics. The Torah reverberates with condemnations
of Israel's oppressors and with pleas for deliverance from foreign rule.
It is the distress over the intolerable contradictions between the Jewish
ethical heritage and the oppression of the Palestinians since 1967 that
has been inspiring Israel's growing peace movement from the outset.
Already in 1978, 348 reserve officers of the Israeli Defense Forces
(IDF) banded together in a volunteer organization they called Shalom
Akhshav (Peace Now). These men had laid their lives on the line for
the independence and security of the State of Israel in the wars of
1948-49, 1956, and 1967 and since then in the occupation of the West
Bank and Gaza. They wanted an end to the bloodshed and destruction that
Israel's and America's leaders either could not or would not bring about.
When Shalom Akhshav alone proved to be too weak to change the government's
hard-line policies, like-minded civilians, led by former Knesset member
Uri Avnery, founded Gush Shalom (Peace Bloc) in 1993. Spearheaded by
some 100 volunteer activists, Gush Shalom has been keeping the drive
for peace with the Palestinians alive in dozens of publications and
hundreds of demonstrations.
In 1994 an Israeli women's group, Bat Shalom (Daughter of Peace), joined
with the Palestinian Jerusalem Center for Women in establishing the
Jerusalem Link in a coalition of activists who managed to address the
United Nations Security Council and organized a letter campaign to the
US Congress.
When in December 2000 the second intefada brought even more death and
destruction upon the occupied territories, Israeli and Palestinian volunteers
banded together in an "association of direct action" with
the Arabic name Ta'ayush (Living Together). They organized convoys of
food and medicine to besieged Palestinian villages, past military checkpoints
and harassment by soldiers and settlers.
As may be expected at a time when the liberation of Iraq became more
important to the Bush administration than ending 35 years of hostility
in the Holy Land, the demonstrations of ten of thousands of Israelis
against the status quo could easily be ignored by the Sharon regime.
You can read about them in European papers, but most of the American
media all too often ignore the grass roots peace movements among Israelis
and Palestinians.
A week ago, as Hanukkah approached, Shalom Akhshav announced another
demonstration for Sunday, December 21: "Join us to celebrate Gaza's
last Hanukkah and tell everyone the time has come to get out of Gaza
and bring the soldiers home. For Israel's sake!" Another group
of peace advocates among IDF veterans, the Refusers' Solidarity Network,
wants all Jews to celebrate "Peace Hanukkah 2003," as they
light the eight candles of their menorahs, one each day.
At Hanukkah, so an old saying goes, a little light pushes away a lot
of darkness. Likewise nowadays, a few agitators for peace seem to be
gaining a lot of supporters.