by Samah Salaime*

The village Bruno Hussar created 50 years ago for Jews and Palestinians to live together on equal terms reacts to the war between Gaza and Israel that threatens the camp “of peace, of shared society, reason and reasonableness”. Fearing extremists on both sides, the village has taken extra security measures, but residents remain firm in the idea that a shared peace is the only solution.

Tel Aviv (AsiaNews) – In Wāħat as-Salām-Neve Shalom, people have been living together in peace for almost 50 years on equal terms, while around them, two days were enough to push Israel to declare “total war” against Gaza following a massive Hamas military operation.

Wāħat as-Salām-Neve Shalom, “oasis of peace" in Arabic and Hebrew, began in 1972 with Fr Bruno Hussar, a Dominican priest, who sought to set an example of possible coexistence between the two peoples in the Holy Land.

Samah Salaime is the village’s director of communication and development. In a message below, she describes what is going on in her community at a time when war reared its ugly head once again.

A bilingual village, Wāħat as-Salām-Neve Shalom is located in Israel, not far from the Abbey of Latrun. According to the intuition of Father Hussar, a great prophetic voice for reconciliation between Arabs and Jews who died in 1996, half of the residents must be Jews, the other half Arabs.

It is not an isolated place without conflicts, but here both Arabs and Jews try to take charge of life together. The place of pride of this experience is taken by its school, attended by children from nearby villages as well. It follows the same philosophy of peaceful coexistence between the two peoples, starting from sharing land and responsibilities.

Still, there is fear of war in Wāħat as-Salām-Neve Shalom, explains Salaime. “We mourn all the dead on both sides of the border”, she writes, while the fear of extremists has forced residents to "increase security measures in the village".

To all our dear friends around the world,

Yesterday morning we woke up to a very grim day, full of fear, shock and uncertainty. We discovered that we were entering a complicated and tense period, in which our camp – that of peace, of shared society, reason and reasonableness – was under attack from all sides. Despite this, we remain firm in our conviction that the path we have chosen is the only path to sanity and peace.

Hundreds of victims, most of them innocent civilians, have already paid a terrible price and the bloodshed continues. We mourn all the dead on both sides of the border and feel sorry for the families who have lost loved ones. We are concerned for those who have been taken hostage and hope that they will return home safely. We hear the sound of falling rockets shaking our walls and our children.

Social media videos calling for acts of revenge against Arab citizens [of Israel] or inviting Arab citizens to join the battle for Gaza are raising our already high levels of anxiety, and we fear that far-right Jewish activists are already planning lynchings.

To cope with this new, unexpected and 'unhinged' reality, we have decided to increase security measures in the village, in addition to those provided by an external security company. Young people in the village have set up emergency response groups, shelters have all been opened, and emergency personnel are ready hoping that they will not be needed.

School staff have received support from the Ministry of Education (schools are closed for now), and the various educational institutions are getting help from local authorities and association teams to cope with any possible event.

Once again, an unfathomable reality in our region leads us to the same conclusion: there is no real solution without true peace. There are no shortcuts; we cannot live in peace and security without recognising the full rights of every single human being, Palestinian, Israeli, Jewish, Arab, who lives between the river and the sea. We all need to live in security, freedom and full democracy.

Dear friends: especially now, when the storm around us is gathering strength and we are all in a state of emotional alarm, this is the time for us at Wāħat as-Salām-Neve Shalom, its members and educational institutions, the School for Peace, the binational elementary school, the Pluralist Spiritual Centre, and for all those who believe in a shared society, to continue to be a compass, to light our torches in the darkness that surrounds us, and to be a model of peace, equality and justice.

We feel fortunate to know that we have so many friends around the world who support our cause and stand by us, no matter the situation. We will keep you updated.

With hope that we shall come to know peace,

Sincerely yours,

Samah Salaime

* director of communications and development of the village

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