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 Peacemaking in the Middle East Urgently
Requires a Religious Dimension
Rabbi Shmuel Jakobovits
The narrative of the century-old
Mideast conflict is not only geo-political or even ethnic;
it also involves a distinctly ideological and supra-historical
dimension. Here the contest is not, essentially, between
Jew and Arab, or, as some fringes would misleadingly have
us believe, between Judaism and Islam – but rather between
religion and secularism, faith and agnosticism, divinely-ordained
morals and “moral relativism” (i.e., permissiveness). For
neither Judaism nor Islam, in their fullness, can accept
either outright secularism or the neo-Christian notion that
religion and secularism can reside in the same hearts.
Accordingly, and as bitter experience has shown, purely
secular peace-making does not work in the Middle East. The
very concept, for instance, of a New Middle East, with blurred
boundaries between our peoples and placing the striving
for economic prosperity above all else, is antithetical
to authentic Judeo-Islamic sensibilities. Attempts to impose
agreements based on concepts such as this – even if they
are proposed jointly by Jews, Arabs, the US, the UN and
the EU – serve merely to exacerbate the conflict, because
they ignore its deeper religious components.
So long as the powers that be insist on cultivating secularist
“moderates” as peace partners while continuing to treat
unbending religionists as the intractable enemy, peace must
continue to elude the region. Most urgently needed, therefore,
is a peace initiative that will reach also the religious
players, speak in their language, think in their terms and
address their concerns and sensitivities. This requires
fundamentally new visions, broad and systematic planning
and resolute positive action.
As religious leaders, we must, of course, extol the merits
of peace and decry the terrible wrongs of violence. But
we must do that within a comprehensive context that is vastly
more than that. We must see to it that faith and religiously-inspired
living regain the moral high ground in a world that is steadily
undermining the stature of man and sliding toward moral
chaos and spiritual decadence. In today’s circumstances,
this can only be achieved with benevolence: religious force
desecrates the name of G-d and distances people from Him.
As an important step forward, let us issue a call to
all involved governments and international agencies to recognize
and respect the religious dimensions of the Mideast conflict
and to incorporate distinctly religious elements at all
levels of their peace-making efforts. And let us ourselves
take up the momentous, historic challenge of setting in
motion a religiously-oriented peace initiative, which alone,
with Heaven’s help, may finally bring relief from the endless
bloodshed, pain and suffering of all the peoples in the
area. This will also be of incalculable global significance
in sancitifying the name of G-d and rehabilitating the soiled
honour of religion.
Ultimately, peace must be secured through meriting it
in the eyes of Heaven, for peace is not a natural state
but a divinely-bestowed one. But we must do our part. If
we fulfill that condition, then we may look forward to the
fulfillment of our most fervent prayers that “He Who makes
peace among the celestial bodies above, He will make peace
among us as well.” Amen.
*This concise position-paper was written in May 2004,
as a Statement to The First World Congress of Imams and
Rabbis for Peace in Ifrane, Morocco, organized by the
Hommes de Parole Foundation under the High Patronage
of the King of Morocco.
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