Holy War, Holy Peace : How Religion Can Bring Peace to the Middle East

## Abstract In 1993, when Yasser Arafat and Yitzhak Rabin sealed the Oslo peace agreement, it was heralded as the beginning of a new era in the Middle East peace process. Instead, violence on both sides has continued to plague the region. The brutal facts on the ground have called into question the style of diplomacy that saw its greatest triumph with the Oslo Accords. This book asserts that the failure of the peace process stems in large part from its complete neglect of cultural and religious factors; attempted solutions have ignored the basic needs and values of average people. The author argues for a far greater integration of the religious communities of the region into peace‐building efforts. Drawing on his own personal experience with religion‐based peace initiatives in Israel and Palestine, he writes of the individuals and groups that are already attempting such reconciliations. He offers a detailed prescription for future negotiations using methods specifically designed to undermine the appeal of religious extremists by subtly incorporating religious values and symbols into the procedures of official and unofficial diplomacy, believing that a combination of secular and religious methods of peacemaking will yield a rich and creative model for conflict resolution. Any effort at peacemaking that fails to take into account the deep religious feelings of Muslims, Jews, and Christians is destined to fail. Only by including religion in the peace process can we move past fragile and superficial agreements and toward a deep and lasting solution. The book is arranged in two parts – Analysis, and Practical applications.
The Intifada of 2000-2001 has demonstrated the end of an era of diplomacy in the Arab-Israeli conflict. The style of peacemaking of the Olso Accords has been called into question by the facts on the ground. Elite forms of peacemaking that do not embrace the basic needs of average people on all sides are bound to fail.
The complete neglect of deeper cultural and religious systems in the peace process is now apparent, as is the role that this neglect has played in the failure of the process. Building on his earlier book, Between Eden and Armageddon, Gopin provides a detailed blueprint of how the religious traditions in question can become a principal asset in the search for peace and justice. He demonstrates how religious people can be the critical missing link in peacemaking, and how the incorporation of their values and symbols can unleash a new dynamic that directly addresses basic issues of ethics, justice, and peace.
Gopin's analysis of the theoretical, theological, and political planes shows us what has been achieved thus far, as well as what must be done next in order to ensure effective final settlement negotiations and secure, sovereign, democratic countries for both peoples. Acknowledgments......Page 7 Contents......Page 9 I - Analysis......Page 11 1 - The Interaction between Religion and Culture in Peace and Conflice......Page 13 2 - Family Myths and Cultural Conflict......Page 17 3 - Political and Mythic Interdependencies......Page 47 4 - Patterns of Abrahmic Incrimination......Page 68 5 - Conflict, Injury, Transformation......Page 102 II - Practical Applications......Page 111 6 - Patterns of Abrahamic Reconciliation......Page 113 7 - The Use of the Word and Its Limits......Page 154 8 - Ritual Civility, Moral Practices of Interpersonal Exchange, and Symbolic Communication......Page 170 9 - De-escalation Plans and General Steps toward a New Relationship......Page 196 10 - Specific Steps toward a New Relationship......Page 208 Notes......Page 239 Bibliography......Page 265 Index......Page 271 Part I: Analysis 1. The Interaction between Religion and Culture in Peace and Conflict2. Family Myths and Cultural Conflict3. Political and Mythic Interdependencies4. Patterns of Abrahamic Incrimination5. Conflict, Injury, and TransformationPart II: Practical Applications 6. Patterns of Abrahamic Reconciliation: Act, Ritual, and Symbol as Transformation7. The Use of the Word and Its Limits: Dialogue as Peacemaking8. Ritual Civility, Moral Practices of Interpersonal Exchange, and Symbolic Communication9. De-escalation Plans and General Steps toward a New Relationship10. Specific Steps toward a New RelationshipNotesBibliographyIndex War has been made holy by the families of Abraham, and the monotheistic religions of those families, for many centuries. But, argues Marc Gopin, peacemaking was made holy too, through a variety of cultural and religious practices. He argues for a far greater integration of Middle East peace processes with the religious communities of the region.. The use of religion in inflaming the Palestinian/Israeli conflict represents one understanding of the Abrahamic traditions. Marc Goplin argues for a greater integration of the Middle East peace process with the region's religious groups The complexity of human social relationships seems to require a degree of healthy conflict, by its very nature.