I had the privilege of working with Reuven Firestone, Professor of Judaism and Islam at Hebrew Union College this spring in Pakistan with Intersections International. How many Jewish Rabbi’s do you know who hang out in Pakistan working to build peace and understanding? Rabbi Firestone is a mensch.

Rabbi Firestone published this article on Intersections website today, regarding the Israel/Palestine conflict in Gaza. It’s a good word. Perfect Storm

We are experiencing the perfect storm for violence between Jews and Muslims in Israel/Palestine. It’s the convergence of certain factors in religion, which when combined with the particular political impasse there cause many religious Muslims and Jews to see the conflict as religious, existential and life-threatening. This encourages a high tolerance for brutality in the name of religion, which then heightens the perception of impending destruction – which in turn encourages increased brutality.

Religions function like complex organisms. The cells of their bodies are the believers, tied together through the arteries of communities and sinews of shared ritual. Their muscles are movements of common cause, their brain a complex neural mix of theologies and counter-theologies, and their heart the center of moral vision. Like all organisms, religions seek homeostasis. Left to themselves, they pursue positive relations with their environments; they seek a state of peace.

Religions contain within them different vectors of religious thought and action. When undisturbed, the dominant vectors strive for meaning and balance with nature by providing for the physical needs of the body and the spiritual needs of the soul. With these needs met, believers care for the full environment in which they live. They act out the religious imperative by feeding the hungry and serving the needy both within and outside of the community of believers. This in turn radiates the expectation that humanity and nature can live together in harmony. In other words, religions are equipped and are eager to expend great spiritual, physical and material effort to bring real peace to all humankind.

But religions can also feel threatened. When the threat is perceived as serious, they react by promoting a different set of vectors that also convey authentic religious thought and action. These vectors support defensive actions, such as lashing out against perceived enemies through invective and verbal attack. When the threat is considered life-threatening, religions can unleash all their resources against it. History has shown how religious communities that feel threatened can engage in unthinkable brutality.

But feelings are not always an accurate assessment of reality. Sometimes an organism misperceives a threat and then endangers itself by reacting foolishly. Sometimes, in fact, an organism can err by aggravating a real but non-lethal hazard into a fatal deathtrap.

This is what we see happening these past weeks in Israel/Palestine. The essential conflict there is one over competing expressions of nationalism, neither of which accepts the legitimacy of the other. Nationalism exists in the world of politics where all things are negotiable. But the conflict has morphed over the years into one that is increasingly defined as religious, existential and absolute. This unfortunate development has infiltrated the political discourse on both sides even among those who are not religious. It leaves virtually no room for negotiation.

For the sake of their own survival, both sides must reconsider how they define their grievances. Classifying the conflict as existential makes it absolute, provoking and threatening horrible destruction. Re-evaluating the meaning of the conflict can move it toward something that is resolvable.

The political, social, cultural and counter-cultural leaders on both sides need to reconsider the narratives that they have created. They need to bring their communities back to a less threatening discourse. That requires re-summoning the traditional vectors of religious thought common to both Judaism and Islam which seek homeostasis and value dynamic relations with the Other. Such a move can bring the discussion around to enable positive problem-solving.

The confluence of events in this perfect storm will eventually pass. It will then be up to those on the ground to make the necessary repairs in order to stay afloat. That will require giving up certain dogmatic absolutes and accepting the reality that life requires negotiation.

Reuven Firestone is Professor of Judaism and Islam at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles and Senior Fellow at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture at USC. His books include Jihad: The Origin of Holy War in Islam, and Holy War in Judaism: The Fall and Rise of a Controversial Idea.

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With the natural beauty of the peoples and culture of Pakistan as the backdrop, UPIC delegates share their thoughts about the need to dispel the fears and misconceptions Americans have of Pakistan and to continue efforts to build relations between our two countries. Reflecting on the importance of this vital goal are; Rev. Dr. Dick Hamm, Former General Minister and President, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); Rabbi Dr. Reuven Firestone, Professor of Medieval Judaism and Islam at Hebrew Union College in Los Angeles, CA; Kelly McGrath, a George Mason University, PhD Student, Rabbi Amy Joy Small, Director of Deborah’s Palm Center for Jewish Learning and Experiences in Morristown, NJ; Riaz Siddiqi, Founder and Managing Partner of Denham Capital and Board Chairman of the American Pakistan Foundation and Fred Johnson, Director of Strategic Initiatives, Intersections International.

Facilitated by Intersections International — in collaboration with the International Islamic University in Islamabad (IIU), the US-Pakistan Interreligious Consortium (UPIC) spent March 11-14, 2014 in Pakistan. UPIC is an initiative undertaken by Intersections that seeks to bring together religious leaders from the US and Pakistan to build relationships, shatter stereotypes, and create an action agenda that will help build bridges of mutual respect and understanding between our two countries.

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Facilitated by Intersections International, and in collaboration with the International Islamic University in Islamabad (IIU) and the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), UPIC addressed these issues by creating an interreligious consortium consisting of key leaders of Pakistani and American religious organizations.

The Objectives of UPIC are to

1. Create personal and institutional relationships between delegates’ communities and organizations.

2. Develop delegates’ capacity to substantively advance peace in their communities.

3. Facilitate collaboration on initiatives addressing issues of mutual concern—these issues will be decided by the delegates and likely involve intercultural understanding, peace and security, education, youth, women’s rights, US-Pakistan relations or other areas.

4. Influence policymakers on both sides to improve US-Pakistan relations and advance delegates’ collaborative initiatives and goals at the national and state levels.

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ABC, WLS-TV, Channel 7 Chicago broadcast a program I produced during the May NATO Summit on Sunday, June 18, 2012. Sanctuary, a production of the Greater Chicago Broadcast Ministries is an in-depth documentary program on issues and ideas at the intersection of life and faith that airs every Sunday morning at 11:30 a.m. This edition, titled: Ethics Summit on the G-8 and NATO, is a panel discussion with:

– Philip Blackwell, Senior Pastor of First United Methodist Church at the Chicago Temple.
– William George, Professor of Theology and Director of the core curriculum at Dominican University, River Forest, Illinois.
– Robin W. Lovin, Professor of Ethics at Southern Methodist University.
– Bruce Rittenhouse, Professor of Ethics at Aurora University and McCormick Theological Seminary.
– William Schweiker, Professor of Theological Ethics at the University of Chicago and also the Director of the Martin Marty Center for the Advanced Study of Religion.
– Cristina Traina, Professor of Religious Studies at Northwestern University in
Evanston, Illinois.

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Since 1975, People’s Resource Center has been bringing neighbors together to respond to hunger and poverty in DuPage, County, Illinois. PRC offers a variety of services and empowerment programs including an innovative Art program that helps adults and children develop self-esteem and creativity.

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This is a spiritual journey I produced for 30 Good Minutes, WTTW Channel 11, PBS, Chicago. Singer and songwriter, Carrie Newcomer, drawn to the social justice and peace focus of the Quakers, writes songs about the sacred in the ordinary things of life.

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The greatest fear for many Iraqi refugees is receiving news that a loved one has been kidnapped back home in Iraq. Iraqi Voices Amplification Project

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Peace Not Walls outlines the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America‘s strategy for peace in the Middle East and accompaniment with Palestinian Christians.

Producer/director Tim Frakes Productions won a DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Award of Excellence from the Religion Communicators council for “Peace Not Walls: Making a Difference in the Holy Land.

The video was produced for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America “Peace Not Walls” Campaign. Carol LaHurd, the ELCA’s Peace Not Walls coordinator produced this video with help from Ben McDonald Coltvet, Barbara Berry Bailey and others.

The video was recorded on location in Jerusalem, and the West Bank.

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It was a wonderful opportunity to make new friends, visit with old friends and experience life for average people during a time of war. While never in any personal danger, we did experience the war in Gaza through the eyes of many Palestinian families.

The following video is a compilation of footage and interviews I recorded during our time in the Holy Land. For more on the trip visit a web site I built:
3 Faiths, 2 Countries, 1 Peace

www.frakesproductions.com

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