Warning for Israel and the Nations: peace begins at home.
Peace begins in our ultimate home, inside our beautiful brains, with inner peace and self-acceptance.
Then we each can try to make more peace with our partner or our friends.
And we can work for peace in our communities, and work for more unity within our tribes and nations.
Israel, make more peace among your different political factions before you try to make more peace with your Arab neighbors, for peace begins at home. The governments of your Arab neighbors will need to make more peace and share more power with their own peoples before they can make a deep and lasting peace with you, for peace begins at home. Know that you will only be able to make a deep and lasting peace with Arab Muslims after they reject and forbid the “honor” killings of their closest female relatives, for peace begins at home. These “honor” killings have been based on sexual rumors or sexual facts or on refusing to agree to an arranged marriage. How can a man make peace with his distant cousin if he hasn’t yet made sufficient peace with his sister, mother or daughter? Arab Muslims will also need to renounce jihad killings. The “honor” killings psychologically prepare the way for the jihad killings – one who thinks that under certain circumstances he has the right to kill his sister or mother or daughter might then think he has the right to wage jihad on the world.
The Arab-Israeli conflict is not mostly about territory; instead it’s mostly a religious and cultural and ethnic conflict, and it’s very much about the treatment of women and the freedom given to women by different cultures. It is also very much about the hatred for Yehudim (Jews) that is sometimes expressed in the Koran, the hadith and the sira. There are some problematic texts in every religion. There are some problematic texts in the Torah, the New Testament, the Koran, etc. let us talk about the problematic texts respectfully and peacefully.
Arab Muslim brothers and sisters, please reject and forbid “honor” killings and jihad killings and incitement. You need to and you can find another way to deal with and heal from the painful and negative emotions that have led you to this behavior, and when you do you will be a great light to the world. Let jihad become the constructive work that we do on our own selves, instead of being hatred and violence that we unleash on others, G-d forbid.
We have been living in a love-starved and touch-starved world. I urge all people in this world to dress modestly, not to commit adultery, to practice non-violence, and to be kind.
Remember, peace begins at home.