Skip to main content
By
Are our leaders ripe for Peace?? This has been a question I’ve been
pondering lately.

As I look at recent history, I see a pattern in Israeli leaders, one that
I remember particularly starting with Begin in the 1970's. He started out
very warrior--like, giving the impression he was going to straighten things
out by using strong military force. He was going to fix those Palestinians once
and for all. But after a few years he gradually began to sing a different
tune. He came to see that military might just was not getting anywhere and began
to question if all the bloodshed was worth anything. This all brought him
to the point of talking with Arafat, which led to reconciliation that
developed into an actual friendship between the two leaders.

As you might remember, Begin was then assassinated, after which Arafat
spent over an hour with Begin’s widow consoling her. She has remarked
about the miracle it was when she came to appreciate Arafat and his
compassion through this whole experience.

Similar things happened with Israeli leaders Barak and Rabin. Now,
Sharon, President Bush, and Abbas seem to be coming to the same realization.
My sense is that one of these times a peace will be achieved that we tend
to think is impossible. The role that we have in this whole scenario is
to pray for their protection and that the forces of good will overcome
the forces of evil that might want to do an assassination,etc. and
undermine this peace initiative. Pray that true reconciliation and
friendship could develop between the leaders. Also, we need to encourage
our government representatives to support this peace initiative.
Believing as I do that there is that spark of God in all people, I think
it could happen with any of these leaders no matter which side they are
on. This could be a very critical point in history.

I sense it depends on our prayers a lot more than we realize. The
question is, are we ready to do our part to pray for Peace and encourage
our representatives? Are you going to help to ripen this peace initiative
and bring it to fruition?

One opportunity to do something is to join the prayers of the North
Central Illinois Citizens for Peace in the park across from the
courthouse the first Sunday of each month 7-8 PM. in Princeton.

Jim Fitz Tiskilwa, IL

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Hope in Iraq

By
Dear Friends, I have recently finished Peggy Gish’s book An Iraq Journey of Hope and Peace . It brought me to deep prayer at times, helping me to see US soldiers as human beings and breaking down some of my stereotypes of them. It also helped me experience the personal pain of Iraqis who are caught in the war as opposed to hearing statistics in the news. This was peacemaking taking place in my own heart and mind. Peggy’s honesty in sharing her own personal struggle and admitting her own mistakes is challenging to my own peacemaking. Another aspect of this book that was inspiring to me was that when CPTers in Iraq realized they were making a mistake in midst of sharing with Iraqis, they were able at times to change right then and there. This is clear evidence of the Spirit at work. It also gave me a sense of how God was able to use the seemingly small amount of people, just six or so, to make a significant difference for the good in this horrible situation. I am adding to this messag...
Post a Comment
Read more

An Incredible Prime Minister

By
           An Incredible Prime Minister     Dear Friends, a hopeful happening,                  Two years ago, Ethiopia was a basket case. The government seemed to be losing control The majority Oromo people were restive under a rule that seemed to rob them of their place. The traditionally powerful Amhara rioted. A state of emergency brought silence on the surface, but underneath the nation seethed. Civil war threatened. A foreigner was killed. Tourism waned. Finally, the prime minister resigned. The church prayed earnestly. Then, unexpectedly, eight months ago, the relatively unknown Abiy Ahmad was elected prime minister. What followed was equally unanticipated. In a bold, courageous acceptance speech; Ahmad announced a policy of peace, love and unity for the nation and its relationships with the rest of the world. He made sweeping promises and, to...
Post a Comment
Read more

An Army Visit

By
Dear Friend, “There must have been 40 or 50 soldiers from the Colombian Army who came through here. They accused Jorge, my son, of being an informer for the guerrillas. I was so scared. They took his picture and asked him a lot of accusing questions. I was afraid to let him go fishing like he often does. They were all around the house. I was afraid that if there was a confrontation with the guerrillas, bullets might hit any one of my children.” “They asked our first and last names and checked them, with lots of others from the community, against their list of supposed guerrilla sympathizers. We are not guerrilla sympathizers, but there is nothing we can do to convince them otherwise. They have guns, so I don’t argue with them. Someone must be singling us out. I was so scared that I called Pierre of CPT to let you all know about it. Then I was scared that they might be listening in on the call. Pierre said it is was ok and wondered why the army keeps using these fear and intimidation ta...
Post a Comment
Read more