Arab-Israeli Peace Initiative

Introduction
A peaceful settlement to the Arab-Israeli crisis has been an elusive dream for many years. Experienced diplomats, spiritual leaders, and lay people have worked long and hard with little to show for their efforts. In fact, in many ways, the situation is worse today than it was twenty years ago. I am putting forth a proposal for peace and I ask you, the reader, to open your mind and heart and consider my words here very carefully. This is what I propose:

Israel would adopt two strategies: a proactive strategy calculated to permanently resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict and a defensive strategy to minimize loss of Israeli lives and property while the proactive strategy is resolving the conflict. The defensive strategy would entail taking whatever action is necessary, short of a preemptive strike, to protect Israel and the Israeli people from foreign threat. I will leave the defensive strategy to the experts and put forth in this paper an outline of the proactive strategy including the logic behind it and its political implications. I am not suggesting that the burden falls on Israel to take the initiative articulated in this article. I see Israel's taking this initiative as just one possibility

The strategy set forth in this paper is based on the assumption that in order for any strategy to take hold it must be founded upon the true nature of human beings. Its logic must be so sound as to resonate with people's common sense. The logic behind the strategy must be so compelling that it can ride through changes in political administrations and remain compelling even in the face of appalling terrorist activities. This article proposes that such a strategy would be founded upon two principles which serve as the cornerstone to unity among people: the principles of love and good-will.

The logic behind a strategy founded in love and good-will is derived from the following observations:

A strategy with a history of success Since the beginning of humankind, love and good-will have been the only path to lasting peace nations with acrimony.

Fundamental endorsement from the most prominent Western religions Both major Western religions -- Judaism and Christianity -- advocate love and good-will as ultimately the proper way to treat other human beings.

An offensive and defensive strategy In addition to healing acrimonious relationships, love and good-will act as preventative agents that keep ill-will at bay.

A means and an end Love and good-will not only provide curative and preventative contributions, but they represent two states of mind that ultimately feel good to people and provide an indisputably desirable psychological lifestyle. In fact, love and good-will are the states of mind that everyone wants for themselves in life as well as the states of mind they would want for their loved ones.

Fundamental to personal relationships All marriages, families and relationships that have high levels of love and good-will work out well for the participants while all relationships with low levels of love and good-will work out badly for participants independent of any compatibility factors.

Instinctually derived The ability to be loving toward others is natural and innate in people, as evidenced by the fact that every infant can do it without any education, training, or preparation.

Even if 1000 people had a vision for a sound peace strategy, that strategy would take on a momentum, a life of its own. If the strategy was supported by compelling logic it would spread with every discussion about the Middle East. Eventually the grassroots support for this proactive strategy would capture the support of the media and put pressure on the political system.

This article proposes such a strategy. It sets forth the logic behind this strategy and suggests the ways in which this strategy might be implemented. It also explains how strategies go from a good idea to a reality that changes history. The author has divided the article into four sections: The Proposed Strategy, The Fail-Safe Nature of This Strategy, The Logic Behind The Strategy, and a conclusion entitled A Vision for the Future.

This article does not speculate about the question, "Will the Middle East crisis in fact be resolved?" The purpose of this article is to address two questions, 1) if the Middle East crisis were to be resolved, how might that happen? 2) what approach is powerful enough to bring about that result?

The Proposed Strategy
The proactive strategy would entail actions and behaviors that serve the sole purpose of mending fences and promoting positive feeling. The strategy would be comprised of five components.
The first component would involve a culture-wide philosophical orientation of forgiveness, apology, generosity, compassion, and good-will. These qualities would be encouraged in the general population and in the government as a subtle, yet fundamental answer to the conflict. Given that the world today is exceptionally out of shape in the exercising of these qualities, some education and training will be needed. The second component would emerge as a result of the Palestinians being the initial recipients of these actions of good-will. In this way, Israel would look to actively improve the daily lives of the Palestinian people.

The third component would involve a shift in Israel's position in the context of public relations. Israel would position itself as an innovative, evolved nation, committed to leadership toward peace. The State of Israel would claim no more responsibility for the crisis than any other nation but a nation with the courage and humility to turn its back on history and change its ways to bring harmony to the Middle East.

In addition, as the fourth component to the strategy, Israel would apologize for its past instances of bad-will and hurtful deeds. It would offer this heart-felt apology notwithstanding whether other countries followed suit. Israel would do this with the full knowledge that other countries have much to apologize for as well.

The final component would require that Israel vows to continue its good-will campaign whether or not other countries reciprocate while maintaining its defensive strategy of self-protection for as long as necessary.

The Fail-safe Nature of this Strategy
The proposed strategy is based upon a foundation of logic surrounding the ripple-effect of a philosophical shift within a culture. Israel's goodwill campaign will help change the hearts and minds of ordinary Palestinians and Arabs. As this change of heart in the populace occurs it will undercut the support of terrorism and reduce the numbers of terrorist sympathizers and logistical suppliers. One must keep in mind that this strategy may initially take time to effect the government and the terrorist organizations because these factions tend to be more committed to the past and have others agendas to serve.

In addition to the effect on the civilians, the good-will campaign will create reluctance on behalf of the financial supporters of terrorism outside the Arab nations in supporting terrorist activities that undermine the perceived positive, good-will behaviors of Israel. Others nations will turn against terrorists because they, too, will want to be seen as encouraging peace.

Ultimately, the desperation and hopelessness in the Palestinian and Arab populations will be replaced by hope for better life conditions as the Israel generosity manifests. People who have a change of heart toward Israel will refuse to harbor terrorists and could potentially act as informants of terrorists. They will be motivated by self-interest to oppose terrorism in order to protect the lifestyle gains promoted by the Israeli's good-will. They will want to promulgate the Israeli generosity not only for themselves but also for their families and for generations to come. People's instinctive love and care for their children will be a powerful force in their thinking.

The Logic Behind the Strategy
When problems are seen from a deeper context, more powerful solutions become apparent. A given environment, be it in nature or in human ambience, will produce predictable ecological and social conditions, respectively. Terrorism thrives in an environment of despair and hopelessness just as mold thrives in dampness and darkness. Introduce a critical mass of light and the mold will disappear. Mold simply cannot exist in a light, dry environment. Likewise, introduce a critical mass of well-being and hope into a political situation and terrorism cannot survive. An environment of well-being and hope will not sustain terrorism.

Changing the psychological environment will immediately set a new dynamic in place and eventually reverse the adverse social conditions. Faced with a mold problem, it is easier to make a room light and dry than it is to address the problem with an anti-mold spray. In the same manner, when faced with adverse social conditions, it is considerably easier to create a positive feeling in a society than it is to try to address and manage the manifestation of a negative societal feeling. Good-will and love naturally create positive feeling in a society - a feeling that promotes well-being and hope among the populace.

As I am defining it, good-will is a feeling that is synonymous with any of the broad range of positive feelings such as love, affinity, compassion, warm feelings toward others, positive regard, inclination toward generosity, appreciation, and respect. To act out of good-will means to perform actions motivated by positive feeling. In the same manner that light is manifested through a prism as color, pure love is manifested in people as positive feelings, as illustrated in the following diagram:

Pure love manifests as positive feelings the same way
light manifests as colors in a rainbow

Since the beginning of time there have been tried and true ways of promoting a better feeling in a relationship that will ultimately bring about a positive relationship. Heart-felt good-will gestures touch the hearts of people and bring out the best in us. They heal the resentment and ultimately turn the hearts of the recipients toward reciprocal good-will. We know when we feel cared about and we are naturally drawn to that feeling. Good-will categorically affects the psychology of the recipient of the good-will. A healthier state of mind and a higher state of consciousness is the precursor for positive change. Love and good-will calms us down inside and helps us to find a healthier state of mind. When we get into a calmer, healthier state of mind we find perspective, see new possibilities and, as a result, feel more hopeful, forgiving and generous.

Notwithstanding how much hostility a person feels in a given moment or how long they have been hostile, they are still subject to the power of good-will. Love and good-will reside deep inside all of us and they come to the surface as soon as we allow it. Love and positive feelings are the meeting place, the common connection that we all share as human beings.

Consequently, we all are born into an inner world of love and good feelings and only leave that inner world when our free will and our thoughts take us elsewhere. Persistent good-will puts pressure on our hearts and minds to drop our bad feelings and live in our good feelings. Therefore, the logic of good-will is ultimately compelling and incontrovertible to human beings. Even though we might argue that it is unrealistic or impractical in a given situation, we know intuitively that good-will and love pave the only road to peace and are only antidotes to hate. Furthermore, love and good-will are the only road to our personal experience of well-being and enjoyment of life and the only road to family harmony. When we have a change of heart and enter a state of well-being, our view of life changes. Ideologies that preach hate make less sense. The scriptures and the oratory of the ideologies receive more benign interpretations.

A Vision for the Future
There will ultimately be enormous political implications to this strategy. Public support will go to candidates and leaders that take the good-will road versus the road of conflict. This good-will direction will attract high-minded people into politics, thus, a better leadership will emerge. Israel will be seen as the vanguard of a positive change in the world and their leaders will be praised for their courage and foresight. Good-will and generosity as a national political direction will come into favor with Israel as the benchmark and the world leader. Israel's example will be emulated as other nations realize the logic and success of the Israel strategy. Nations will turn to Israel for expertise and guidance. As the nation of Israel gains the respect and admiration of the world, anti-Semitism will be reduced.

No society in history has ever created an environment of peace and well-being through ill-will and retaliation. Once the people of Israel turn their hearts and minds in the direction of good-will, day by day, hope will awaken all over the Middle East. This type of grassroots movements, inspired by the heart and spread by the individuals in their everyday actions and interaction, is the most powerful of change agents. A potential for good-will lies in the heart of every human being. There is more than enough knowledge and training available to support the realization of this good-will potential once we are open to it. The move towards eventual peace is always only a thought away. In summary, this article does not suggest that good-will and love are the best solutions for the Middle East conflict, but that ultimately they are the only solutions.