San Diego, CA (special) -- Peace-making in the Middle East was one of the top topics under discussion at a conference held Oct. 4-7 in conjunction with groundbreaking ceremonies for the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego.

Although panelists and speakers who spoke on a global range of topics had to make do with the Shiley Theatre and Manchester Auditorium -- rather than with the modern facilities that in 2001 will comprise the 90,000 square foot institute funded by a $25 million gift from Joan Kroc -- one could sense that peace will have a bright future at the Catholic university nestled in the hills above Mission Valley.

The opening session of the conference was held in the same Shiley Theatre that three years before had served as a venue for a U.S. presidential debate between President Bill Clinton and his Republican party challenger, U.S. Sen. Bob Dole. Although he made no reference to the Clinton-Dole debate, the Rt. Rev. Samir Hanna Kafity, the retired 12th Anglican bishop of Jerusalem and the Middle East, urged that peace talks in the Middle East be transformed from debates into dialogues. Kafity, who has made a retirement home in San Diego County, said that whereas "dialogue is collaborative" in which "the sides

DIALOGUE--Jewish community members Jamie Zimron and Dr. Irving Taylor, at left, question Salam al-Marayati, cofounder of  the Muslim Public Affairs Council, following panel session at  USD. Behind Marayati is Stanley Sheinbaum, who moderated the panel.

work together", debate, in contrast, "is a type of fight" in which "two sides oppose each other to prove each other wrong."

He then offered this litany:

"Dialogue builds a learning relationship between people. Debate builds a competitive relationship between people.

"Dialogue encourages the participants to identify questions and goals they could share. Debate encourages each side to articulate its own questions and goals.

"In a dialogue, the goals are finding common ideas and new ideas. In a debate, the goal is winning with your own ideas.

"In a dialogue, everyone contributes to solving the problem -- everyone, powerful and powerless. In a debate, one person or viewpoint wins -- usually the powerful. The others are dismissed.

"In a dialogue, you believe that many solutions might exist and that different people have parts of the best solutions. In a debate, you believe that there is one solution; that you have it, and other solutions are not considered.

"In a dialogue, you are sensitive to each other's feelings, words and ideas. In a debate, you do not care about the feelings, hopes and ideas of others.

"In a dialogue, you contribute your best ideas to be improved upon. In a debate, you contribute your ideas and defend them against challenges."

The president of the University of San Diego, Alice Hayes, opened the conference with a prayer attributed to St. Francis of Assisi as guidance for peacemakers the world over:

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.
"Where there is hatred; let me sow love;
"Where there is injury, pardon;
"Where there is doubt, faith;
"Where there is despair, hope;
"Where there is darkness, light;
"Where there is sadness, joy."

* * *

Although there were four panelists discussing the Middle East on Tuesday evening, Oct. 5, two deferred to the two others. Essentially the evening was a cross between a dialogue and a debate between Rabbi Moshe Levin of Congregation Beth El and Salam S. Al-Marayati, cofounder of the Muslim Public Affairs Council.

Meanwhile, Stanley Sheinbaum, cofounder of People for the American Way and a longtime leader in the peace movement, served as the panel's moderator, while Superior Court Judge Victor Bianchini tended to be more descriptive than prescriptive in his presentation.

Although there were some claims and counter-claims in the Marayati-Levin discussion, people who are used to hearing Jews and Arabs quarrel were surprised by some of the conciliatory comments that came from each man.

Marayati said he believed American Jews and American Muslims can have a profound impact on peacemaking in the Middle East by dialoguing with each other. He called for "a dialogue that will have an in-depth understanding of each other's different points of views, a dialogue that will accept as a principle the right to disagree: that we agree to disagree with one another."

He also said that "there has been the theology of confrontation that has been given a lot of attention, but the theology of accommodation has not been given any attention," Marayati said. 

"Therefore we must begin in America, where we are both free, where we both see what is at stake, to create the model that will hopefully be the inspiring model for Jews and Muslims worldwide and especially in the Middle East to create a theology of accommodation based on our religious traditions."

Levin said that peace has become "critical to Israelis and ...critical to the young generation that does not want to continue to follow in the footsteps or into the uniforms of their parents."

The rabbi declared that "Israelis are prepared now to accept the truths that challenge the myths of the founding fathers, truths about who the Palestinians are and why many of them fled, and how Israel behaved toward them in various ways."

Whether Palestinians existed as a nationality only since Israel's creation, or date back 3,000 years to the Canaanites, no longer is an issue that Israelis want to argue about with Palestinian Arabs, he said. "There is today a Palestinian people and whether it is 50 years old or 3000 years old is insignificant," he said. "The expectations of the Palestinian people for a homeland of their own is something that will not go away, not with arguments and not by holding onto power."

For all that, the session had its moments of tension. Levin at one point approvingly quoted Israeli political scientist Eldad Pardo as suggesting that Arabs living in Israel would do well to model themselves after the American Jewish community.

"The American Jewish community is the most successfully integrated minority in the world," Levin quoted Pardo as saying. "It is a community that retains its integrity, retains its religion, retains its connection to the state of Israel, retains its peoplehood with Jews throughout the world and at the same time has fully participated in the American dream, the American enterprise, the American culture, American civilization and does not see itself apart from the American civilization.

"If (Israeli Arabs) take a lesson from us, they will learn how to be able to be good Muslims, good Arabs, and good Israelis," Levin said.

Marayati replied: "I disagree with the rabbi's statement: A Palestinian cannot fully integrate into Israeli society like we can here in American society because we are not Zionists... We have to understand that difference, that there is going to be a different political language, a different heritage, a different cultural understanding of the conflict there..."

At another point, in stressing the need to go beyond symbolism, Marayati made a comment which brought a sharp retort from Levin. "Today," said Marayati, "we have synagogues and mosques and churches coming together, lighting candles and praying for peace. Or when there is a terrorist attack, either Baruch Goldstein attacking the Ibrahim Mosque, or a suicide bomb attack in Tel Aviv or Jerusalem, we come to each other and say 'That is wrong, that is terrible; it should not be accepted as something done in the name of religion' and we light candles, we pray and we go home."

In responding, Levin took pains to sweeten the pill he was about to serve to Marayati: "We need these types of dialogues to begin to know each other and to learn about each other," he said. "Over dinner I said to Salam that the perception of American Jews is that very few Muslims or Christian Arabs would dialogue with Jews over this issue -- or Israelis -- because they are probably afraid for their lives; they could get assassinated, stabbed in the back or something like that. And he laughed. It was important for me to learn that he is not afraid of that and that my assumption or stereotype that every Arab has to look over his or her shoulder before he will talk to a Jew is mistaken, but how will I learn that this is a stereotype except through these kinds of dialogue?

"How will I have an opportunity to say to a leader in the Muslim community that it offends me when you use Baruch Goldstein as an equal act of terrorism to a suicide bomber. There has been one Baruch Goldstein and there has been a suicide bomber once a year, four times a year, year after year!"

The panel was structured in such a way that members of the audience could make comments, leading to other exchanges between Arabs and Jews.

George Khoury said he was of "Palestinian origin; I am an American citizen." He noted that as a Christian Arab, he did not see anyone representing his interests on the panel. He stated that Arabs were pushed by Jews out of Israel in 1948, then asked: "What do you think of restitution to the Palestinian people and their right of return?"

Bianchini responded for the panel by describing the debate over repatriation and reparation, saying "The Israeli position is that there should be no right of return because the territories that were captured in the Six Day War, 56 War, Yom Kippur War and the '48 War, of course, all arose out of conflict--a war -- that was started, as the Israelis believe, that was started by the Arabs. ... The Palestinians are approaching this in a hard line as well, and believe there can be no other solution than a return of the lands to the Palestinians who lost them."

The judge added that he tends "to take the Israeli side on this issue, but I believe it would not be inappropriate to have reparations." However, he warned, problems associated with that "are daunting in terms of proof, in terms of the amount of land we are talking about and in terms of the moral issue of how those lands came to be in Israeli hands in the first place."

To this Marayati took exception: 'I don't think restitution is such a hard line position. I think it is a human right. I think it is a human right to say that Jerusalem is your home, that no other group has the right to dominate Jerusalem. It is unfortunate that in the next 20 years according to some religious scholars there will be no Christian presence left in Jerusalem. There has been a complete eradication of the Christian community in Jerusalem. I think it is wrong. I think all Americans should stand up and say that they have the right to be there; everybody has the right to be there."

Levin, incredulous, demanded, "What do you mean it has been eradicated?"

Marayati replied: "Since 1968, the Christian community has dwindled to a fraction of what it used to be. They are leaving because their homes are being taken over, there is expropriation of their lands, because of the policies of Israel."

From the audience, a woman whose first name sounded like "Elka" said, "I lived in Israel from 1935 to 1958. The question of restitution for refugees is always asked. But no one asks the question about the 800,000 Jews who have left Arab countries when Israel was established. Are these Arab countries prepared to give restitution to these people who are now millions probably, just like the Palestinian Arabs? Are they prepared to take them back?"

Khoury and a relative visiting from England commented from the audience that the other Arab countries should pay restitution. Bianchini then observed, "The Khourys say yes, but the problem is the governments wouldn't in any way allow this."

Behind this meeting attended by both Jews and Arabs was another controversy, handled adroitly by conference organizer Dee Aker and people of good will. Originally the panel session was to have been sponsored both by the World Affairs Council and by the Jerusalem Foundation. 

However, that was before the Jerusalem Foundation realized that Marayati was the speaker. Protests by Jewish groups earlier this year that Marayati had made statements that were soft on or even favorable to terrorism had led House Democratic Leader Dick Gephardt to withdraw his nomination of Marayati to a seat on the National Commission on Terrorism.  As a charitable organization that seeks to improve the quality of life in Jerusalem for all its residents, The Jerusalem Foundation didn't want to land itself right in the middle of such a political fight. After considerable discussion, it was arranged for the World Affairs Council to sponsor the debate and for the Jerusalem Foundation to co sponsor another,

BISHOP KAFITY

 relatively non-controversial event at the conference. That was a panel on Monday, Oct. 4, in which various members of the business community gave their opinions on how corporate America could aid the peace process.

Among the corporate presenters was a prominent member of the local Jewish community: Murray Galinson, chairman of the San Diego National Bank. He said corporations should participate in building peace through charitable and political activities.

"It is important for corporate America to be involved in the political process (because) elected officials are the ones who control these types of issues," he said.

"It seems to me that if we are going to be looking for leaders who care about the issues of peace, then we have to bring to the surface the candidates' positions on issues that relate to peace," Galinson said.

"One issue that has come up recently is the Wye Conference funding for Israel and the Arab countries that apparently want to proceed to bring about peace in the Middle East," he added. "A big issue in the United States Congress now is will the United States use any of its foreign aid for what is needed that has come out of that conference. That is an important issue to ask candidates."

As for corporate participation in charity, he said: "If corporations are going to be involved in charity, in my opinion the charities they should be supporting are those which will affect world peace eventually and those are things like hunger, education and medical issues."

Not all scheduled speakers were able to attend the conference, according to Aker. For example, Francis Dubois, UN deputy special coordinator for Occupied Territories, assigned to the Gaza Strip, was suddenly posted to Iraq and had to cancel an appearance on a panel discussing "Peace Making: What Is It Like Out There."

Regina Larson, an electoral officer for the Organization for European Security and Cooperation, and Tatiana Androsov, a former provincial coordinator for elections in the Nampula province of Mozambique, did participate in the panel. Each told how she had helped to get people who had been enemies to start working together and talking to each other.

In the case of Larson, who is on a short break from her work in Bosnia, she helped organize a travelling art exhibit that commissioned works created by artists of several ethnicities.

"When the artists were willing to come together, we were able to attract other people together," she commented.

Androsov said in Mozambique she was able to establish the large living room in her apartment as neutral ground where leaders of previously warring factions could discuss matters openly.

"The people came up with a wonderful idea: to get the community together, the young and the old, the internationals, and the nationals, the political parties, the business community." Then the group pondered "what could be done that was fun?"

They decided to organize a "peace run" on a Sunday two days before the election. Police laid out the route. Soldiers fixed up potholes. A musical band materialized. A businessman donated shoes for children who had none. Another business offered television sets as prizes. "Everybody took part, and those who couldn't run, walked," she said.

During the elections the national head of one party announced he planned to withdraw from the elections. But in the province of Nampula, the good engendered by the peace run had an important effect. The party's provincial head in Nampula refused to join the boycott. 

According to Androsov, the provincial party leader said people had worked too hard for the election for him to walk away from it. Next, the political chieftain in the neighboring province followed suit.

"Little actions can have big consequences," Androsov said.

The groundbreaking event itself drew numerous dignitaries including Mrs. Kroc, whose late husband Ray built the McDonald's hamburger empire, and U.S. Education Secretary Richard Riley. Guests enjoyed a smorgasbord of foods from areas all over the world. 

According to USD officials, the Kroc Institute will include "a premier conference center, classrooms, meeting facilities and a residence building for visiting dignitaries and scholars. The Institute will work to promote peace and justice through international conferences, symposia and retreats, as well as academic studies, research and mediation and conflict resolution programs."