Daniel Lubetzky

“Status quos are made to be broken.”
-Ray Davis

This is yet another pitiful example of extremists disparaging one another. Moderates must vocally stand up to extremism on both sides of the divide. Otherwise, we are stuck with a relentless zero-sum fight between anti-Israeli and anti-Palestinian groups trying to delegitimize the identity and the humanity of the other. Any group that does not accept the fundamental right of each nation to a state, to freedom and to dignity and peace is part of the problem.

If we do not stand up firmly and resolutely against these extremists on both sides, they will continue feeding and strengthening one another and eventually turn both Israelis and Palestinians into international lepers. It is already happening. The question is whether enough of us will stand up before it’s too late.

I am in the Middle East on a OneVoice mission, and today I had a number of engaging meetings with Israeli leaders (to be followed by 4 more intense days with Palestinian, Israeli and international leaders). One of my most remarkable meetings today was with Yuval Diskin, the former head of Shin Bet, the Israel Security Service (kind of like the FBI of Israel). This was my second meeting with him, and I am extremely impressed with his grasp of the political issues confronting Israel, with his understanding of Palestinians (actually rare for most Israelis who almost never actually get to interact with them, given the physical and virtual separation they face), and with his down-to-earth and practical persona. Below is an article recently published on the Israeli Walla website and a day later in The Jerusalem Post, which details quite accurately the conundrum Israelis must face now.

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Something about growing your own veggies makes them so much tastier when you eat them. We grew these gigantic cucumbers and the boys and I were eating them last week and will do again next week, just whole, as a snack. They are crunchier, tastier, they just feel so fresh, so real, and so ours. I love growing veggies with my kids, showing them the magic of nature and life, getting them to work to harvest their food – I just love it. This summer we grew tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, basil, cilantro and radishes!

“If you want to make peace with your enemy,
you have to work with your enemy.
Then he becomes your partner.”
- Nelson Mandela

 ”They always say time changes things,
but you actually have to change them yourself.”
- Andy Warhol

“The point is not to pay back kindness but to pass it on.”
– Julia Alvarez

 

This is sweet story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez with a beautiful message. See the full story in its original Spanish as well as the English translation below.

Cuento corto de García Márquez

Un científico, que vivía preocupado con los problemas del mundo, estaba resuelto a encontrar los medios para aminorarlos.

Pasaba días en su laboratorio en busca de respuestas para sus dudas.

Cierto día, su hijo de 7 años invadió su santuario decidido a ayudarlo a trabajar.

El científico, nervioso por la interrupción, le pidió al niño que fuese a jugar a otro lado.

Viendo que era imposible sacarlo, el padre pensó en algo que pudiese darle con el objetivo de distraer su atención.

De repente se encontró con una revista, en donde había un mapa con el mundo, justo lo que precisaba.

Con unas tijeras recortó el mapa en varios pedazos y junto con un rollo de cinta se lo entregó a su hijo diciendo: “como te gustan los rompecabezas, te voy a dar el mundo todo roto para que  lo repares sin ayuda de nadie”.

Entonces calculó que al pequeño le llevaría 10 días componer el mapa, pero no fue así.

Pasadas algunas horas, escuchó la voz del niño que lo llamaba calmadamente.

“Papá, papá, ya hice todo, conseguí terminarlo”.

Al principio el padre no creyó en el niño!

Pensó que sería imposible que, a su edad hubiera conseguido recomponer un mapa que jamás había visto antes. Desconfiado, el científico levantó la vista de sus anotaciones con la certeza de que vería        el trabajo digno de un niño.

Para su sorpresa, el mapa estaba completo.

Todos los pedazos habían sido colocados en sus debidos lugares.

¿Cómo era posible? ¿Cómo el niño había sido capaz?

De esta manera, el padre preguntó con asombro a su hijo:

Hijito, tú no sabías cómo era el mundo, ¿cómo lo lograste?

Papá, respondió el niño; yo no sabía como era el mundo, pero cuando sacaste el mapa de la revista para recortarlo, vi que del otro lado estaba la figura de un hombre.

Así que di vuelta los recortes y comencé a recomponer al hombre, que sí sabía como era.

“Cuando conseguí arreglar al hombre, di vuelta a la hoja y vi que había arreglado al mundo”.

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Short story by Gabriel Garcia Marquez

A scientist that lived preoccupied by the world’s problems was resolute in finding the means to ameliorate them.

He would spend days in his laboratory searching answers for his doubts.

One day his 7 years old son invaded his sanctuary wanting to help him with his work.

The scientist, nervous by the interruption, asked the child to go play somewhere else.

Seeing that it was impossible to put him out, the father thought of something that would keep the child busy.

Suddenly, he found just what he needed. A magazine where a map of the world appeared.

With a pair of scissors he cut the map into pieces and together with a roll of tape gave it to his son telling him, “since you like puzzles, I am going to give you the world all cut up for you to repair without anyone’s help.”

He calculated that it would take the child 10 days to reconstruct the map, but it was not so.

After a few hours, he heard the child’s voice calling him quietly.

“Daddy, Daddy I finished.”

At first the father did not believe him

He thought that it would be impossible that at his age he was able to reconstruct a map he had never seen before. Ambivalent, the scientist raised his eyes from his notes with the certainty that he would see the work of a child only

To his surprise, the map was complete.

All the pieces had been put back in the right places.

How was that possible? How could a child do this?

The father dumbfounded asked his child, “my child you did not see what the map looked like. How did you do it?”

“Daddy,” the child answered,  ”I did not know how the world was , but when you took out the map from the magazine to cut it, I saw that on the reverse side was the figure of a man.

So I turned the pieces over and began to reconstruct the man that I did know how he was.

When I was able to reconstruct the man I turned the page over and saw that I had fixed the world.”

“Always remember that the future comes one day at a time.”
-Dean Acheson

“It’s not where you sit that counts, it’s where you stand.”
-Senator Frank Lautenberg (1.23.1924 – 6.3.2013)