[Sdpg] Giving Peace a Chance ...the Creation of an Israel/Palestine Peace Villag

[Wesley Roe and Marjorie Lakin Erickson]

Giving Peace a Chance ...
the Creation of an Israel/Palestine Peace Village 
www.lacaravana.org/condor/index_eng.html


Ecovillage activists have both the joys and the burdens of living between 
and helping to bridge two worlds. Trends of the dominant culture, though 
evolving, are still driven primarily by consumerism, ecological 
degradation, competition, power and resource struggles, social inequities, 
spiritual clashes, and the perpetuation of all of these. Ecovillagers hold 
a vision of a world characterized by ecological stewardship, cooperation, 
justice, equity, peace and unity through diversity. This world is coming 
into being one person, one family, one neighborhood, one community at a 
time - created by those dedicated to practicing and cherishing sustainable 
environmental, social and spiritual values.

Most of you reading this probably appreciate the general benefits - actual 
and potential - that ecovillage living can offer. These are expressed in 
different ways in various settings, and perhaps the potential may be 
greatest where there are the greatest needs and challenges. People and 
places deeply affected by the direst and most violent outcomes of the 
predominant culture, and who strive to create a different reality provide a 
dramatic and moving model, and an inspiration to strive for what is possible.

Spreading the stories, learnings, trials and tribulations, efforts and 
aspirations of very diverse ecovillage projects, to strengthen them and 
give momentum to the ecovillage movement worldwide, is what the Ecovillage 
Networks are about. In that spirit and service, this article comes to you 
by way of an ecovillage in Portugal - Tamera, which champions the 
cultivation of Peace as a core mission and goal. Tamera, keeps the 
Ecovillage Network of the Americas (ENA) posted on their activities, events 
and projects. This story is about one project for which Tamera has been 
instrumental, that of an Israel/Palestine Peace Village. Israelis, 
Palestinians and a host of international supporters, calling themselves the 
Motivation Circle, are planning the creation of a sustainable peace village 
in the Middle East. Their endeavors in the face of age old traditions of 
conflict and war are uplifting and worthy of our awareness, prayer and support.

First, What is Tamera?

Tamera is a project dedicated to "creating a future worth living". Situated 
on 331 acres, 30 km inland from the western coast of southern Portugal, 
this project sees itself as a base for global peace work. The Institute for 
Global Peacework was founded in Tamera as a coordinating body for peace 
related issues, and for researching new ways of healing humans and nature. 
Tamera aims to develop a cultural model of a non-violent lifestyle for a 
couple of hundred people and the implementation of a "healing biotope". 
They define the healing biotope as an intentional community of people, 
animals and plants, where they live together, enhancing each others life 
energy, unhampered by fear or violence. They aim for significant 
self-sufficiency in the areas of nutrition, water, energy and medicine. But 
their core work is in theoretical and social development toward the 
implementation of a non-violent culture on this planet.

Tamera hosted an International Peacecamp: "Peace for Israel and Palestine" 
from August 19th to September 6th, 2002. It was a promising convergence in 
many ways, including progress on the initiative for a Peacevillage in 
Israel/Palestine. Tamera, in its commitment to strengthen and support this 
initiative, subsequently co-organized a follow-up gathering and Benefit 
Peace Concert in Neve Shalom / Wahat Al-Salam, in December, 2002.

Tamera will continue its support of the Israel/Palestine Peace Village, and 
is planning another Peacecamp in Portugal in the Summer of 2003.
For more about Tamera, its efforts and events, contact:

Tamera,
Monte do Cerro,
P-7630 Colos, Portugal

00351-283-6353-06 (Tel.)
00351-283-6353-74 (Fax)
eMail: tamera at mail.telepac.pt
Web: http://www.tamera.org/english/

With Tamera's help and nurturance at the Peace Village Camp, the core group 
of the Israel/Palestine Peace Village, coalesced a steering committee, for 
village planning. A broader group of members and supporters process the 
issues and obstacles associated with implementing their vision. This group, 
called the Motivation Circle, founded by Moshe Berger, is planning and 
building their community from the inside out.

The Motivation Circle - What is it All About?

What follows is excepted from materials of The Motivation Circle. It is 
information that they deem as essential for understanding their project and 
endeavors.

"We don't want to convince anyone"

"For designing the multi cultural cooperative village, for financing it and 
for actually founding it, we need the support and the involvement of many 
people. But still, we have no intention of trying to convince anyone to 
join us.

We assume that there are already many Palestinians and Israelis that would 
like to support and be involved in a project like ours. It is encouraging 
to know that these people exist, but of course, they will not join us if 
they don't hear about our project. Therefore, one of our main goals is to 
find these people, and the only way to do it is to expose as many people as 
possible to the fact that our project exists.

Indifference

The human being is a rather indifferent creature. There are old people who 
don't care about single parent mothers. There are single parent mothers who 
don't care about refugees. There are refugees who don't care about old people.

Many people are indifferent to the fate of many other people and creatures. 
But this is not all. There are people who don't care about their partners 
and about their own kids. There are people that are even indifferent to 
themselves - daily, consciously and intentionally, they harm their own 
physical and mental health.

It's a vicious circle. The indifference of society creates the indifference 
of the individual and the indifference of the individuals creates the 
indifference of society.

Indifference is not an unavoidable derivative of human nature, but we are 
in a trap. We created a social reality in which we can't survive without 
being indifferent. We can't preserve our sanity without being indifferent. 
The world is full of tragedies and horrors. And we all share, in many 
different ways, the responsibility for the existence of these tragedies and 
horrors."

"Fans and sympathizers"

"In each project there are policy makers, active players and financial 
supporters. But each project also needs fans. Try to imagine a professional 
football team without fans - it would not exist. What reporter would want 
to cover their games? What businessman would want to finance them? What 
player would want to play for them?

It is obvious that the fans are important, but what exactly is their 
contribution? Of course, they have a financial function, but this is not 
their main function. Their main function is to encourage and this is what 
makes the fans so important. And whom exactly do they encourage? - they 
encourage everyone. They encourage the businessmen to finance, the 
reporters to cover, the players to play and they even encourage themselves 
to encourage.

Encouragement is a psychological need that arises in our early childhood 
and it accompanies us to our last day. Encouragement affects our behavior - 
it causes us to try harder and even to do things that we wouldn't have done 
otherwise. We need encouragement. You need it. Everybody needs it.

It must be stressed that a quiet and passive fan (or sympathizer) is no fan 
at all. The overall contribution of 1,000 quiet and passive fans to the 
team they like and identify with would equal nothing at all.

The two levels of effect

We affect the world on two levels:
1. The material level - we affect the world directly with our own deeds.
2. The motivational level - we affect the world indirectly, via our 
influence on the motivation of other people. Whatever we say or refrain 
from saying, whatever we do or refrain from doing influences the behavior 
of other people.

People are aware of their effect on the world at the material level. But 
their awareness of their indirect effect via the motivational level is very 
low. ... An additional difference between the material and the motivational 
levels concerns the aspect of alternatives. At the material level you have 
THREE alternatives: you can contribute, damage or be neutral. But at the 
motivational level, you have only TWO alternatives: you either contribute 
(encourage) or damage (be indifferent) - you just can't be neutral. Being 
indifferent is not being neutral! "

"The two tragic gaps"

"One gap is between what people believe in or would like to do and what 
they actually do. The other gap is between what people identify with and 
what they actually support. In these two gaps lies much of the tragedy of 
human existence. Much of the evil that prevailed in the history of the 
mankind prevailed due to these two gaps. Much of the goodness that did not 
manifest itself in history was suppressed by these two gaps.

So, finding the people we are looking for is not enough. We also have to 
encourage them. We have to help them to overcome the two tragic gaps. 
Without our encouragement they will not have enough motivation. This is why 
we named our organization 'The Motivation Circle'. This is what the whole 
motivation circle is about: ENCOURAGEMENT!

It must be stressed that encouraging does not equal convincing. We do not 
intend to change the opinions and attitudes of anyone. We only want to 
motivate people to follow their dreams, to do what they believe should be 
done, to support those initiatives they identify with - these are the 
things for which people need encouragement."

"Can we fail? - No we can't!

Most people believe that the foundation of a village like we have in mind 
is an unrealistic goal. 'We will not find the people. We will not find the 
money. We will not find land. We will not overcome all the obstacles that 
we will face. And if against all odds we found the village then we will 
fail afterwards. We will not overcome the cultural differences. We will not 
be able to reach consensus. Evil and lazy people will join the village just 
for the fun of destroying it. The alternative we suggest is not compatible 
with human nature - there is no way it can succeed.'

Well, the question is not: 'Will our village succeed?'. The question is: 
'Can we fail?' and the answer is: 'No we can't!'
... This is because our success lies within the fact that we try. The mere 
attempt is our success.

We have an ideological project in which Palestinians, Israelis, Germans and 
people from many other nations participate. We work together for a 
beautiful dream. Doing something like this, in our era, is very unusual. 
... The mere attempt to found a multicultural cooperative village will have 
a positive effect. And the more members and sympathizers we have, the 
stronger will be our positive effect.

Our initiative will reinforce, spread, create, combine, coordinate and 
realize peaceful motivation. Our initiative will encourage people to dream 
and to follow their dreams."

Moshe Berger, Jerusalem
06.10.2002

Go to this web site for more information and to join or support the
Motivation Circle and Israel/Palestine Peace Village.

eMail: <bergermo at pob.huji.ac.il>

This article was compiled by Linda Joseph, Coordinator of the Ecovillage 
Network of the Americas,
and a member of the Global Ecovillage Network Information Services Team.