RECONCILIATION IN THE MIDDLE EAST. Hundreds convene in Israel on August 21, 2002 for interfaith peace initiative.

JEWS AND ARABS MAKE PEACE. Reinforced by international peacemakers, representatives from all sides of the Middle East conflict assemble to generate solutions.

Last year, on the third night of Hanukkah and the holiest night of Ramadan, an interfaith gathering took place in Israel.

Called Sulha," reconciliation in Arabic, the gathering brought together over 100 Jews and Arabs - both considered the children of the same patriarch, Abraham - to share deep connections, meals and prayers for peace. Sponsored by the Peacemaker Community of Israel, Christians, Druze, Europeans, Americans and Native Americans also attended.

The Middle East has become one of the primary stress points on our planet," said Gabriel Meyer, the Israeli Jew who organized the Sulha. Corrupted by both inner and outer forces for millennia, its root cultures have gone astray from their original purpose and identity. We believe that to begin rebuilding trust between the children of Abraham, we must tap into the sacred traditions at their common root."

On August 21, 2002, the next Sulha will take place. Coordinated by Meyer and Elias Jabbour, a Christian Israeli Arab second-generation peacemaker and founder of House of Hope in Shefaram, the gathering will coincide with the last stop of the Galilean peace walk sponsored by Tovana insight meditation society. It will take place at Chan Hamirei Hagalil, next to Moshav Amirim.

Meyer first met Jabbour - who has written a book called Sulha - when he called him and requested a meeting. I went to his village and we sat together for three hours. Hes been a partner ever since."

Jabbour, whose family has been in Palestine for generations, said he inherited this legacy from his father. Its a mission, a commitment to make peace whenever there is a conflict or quarrel," he said. Whenever people quarrel over anything, there is always a committee of peacemakers. Its a natural thing."

Meyer has also been participating in Sufi rituals with Sufi Sheiks including Sheik Muhamad El Kiwan, and noted that these kinds of connections are happening all the time, but no one knows about them because the violence of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so overwhelmingly dominates the media.

We just connected at a heart level," said Meyer. When you make a heart connection rather than just an ideological connection, its easier to work together, peace becomes an honest and embodied reality."

Such dialogues are key to solving the conflict, agreed Jabbour. The worst coexistence is better than the best non-existence. The worst peace is better than the best war. If we are wise, we can see that peace leads to light, while war leads to death and destruction."

The Sulha event will centre on deep sharing as a means of transformation.

In addition to those of different faiths who will come together from the region, the Sulha will also be witnessed and empowered by international peacemakers, including Geshe Thupten Phelgye of the Tibetan People's Assembly (the Tibetan parliament) as an official delegate of the Tibetan Government in Exile; Qhuzulini Sithole, National Chairman of the African Cultural Heritage representing South Africa; and others from around the world.

Tibetan monks can bring some compassion, or a South African leader can talk about what they went through," said Meyer. If theres any value in all this wisdom, its to help each other as a planet."

Future Sulha projects are also in the works. To find the Sulha Peace Project on the web, visit www.metasulha.org/sulha. Also contact Zak Zaidman (US Representative) at z@earthville.net or 510.455.0303.