“Still Waiting for the Eraser of Peace”
November 9, 2017 by Rabbi Charles Savenor
Despite their generous offer, Abraham remains consistent in his desire to purchase the land.
The Torah reads: “Sell me the Cave of Machpelah ... at the
full price, for a burial site in your midst.” (Gen. 23:9) According to renowned
Biblical scholar Nachum Sarna, the Torah’s account of the discussion between
Abraham and the Hittites reads like a legal document because it reflects
accurately the modes of contractual arrangements in the ancient Near East.
The
question that begs to be asked is what does Abraham gain by purchasing the
burial plot instead of accepting it as a gift? Gifts are grounded in
generosity, while sales can be considered covenantal. Thus, he insists on
buying the plot of land and its adjacent field, so that there would never be
any doubt as to its ownership. Abraham’s actions are reminiscent of the
original mission of the Jewish National Fund, which focused on purchasing land
in Palestine so that its ownership would be authentic and valid. Abraham
possesses the foresight that formal agreements are the seeds of
understanding and trust.
However,
sometimes, even when we make a formal agreement, bilateral compliance is not
guaranteed. And, unfortunately, trust does not always emerge.
Over
20 years ago, we witnessed the signing of the Oslo agreement on the White House
lawn. I will always remember the palpable sense of hope that accompanied both
parties’ commitment to move forward on the road of peace.
The
first thing on the Palestinians’ to do list was to change its Charter. While we
might imagine that this document reads like our American Declaration of
Independence, the PLO charter is not benign. Rather it’s quite venomous. This
document, first established in 1964, encompasses thirty-three articles, twenty-nine
of which call for the destruction of Israel.
Changing
the charter represents the bare minimum to a discussion of trust and
understanding. “You don’t make peace with friends,” remarked Yitzhak Rabin, but
how are we supposed to relate to someone who seemingly wants to kill us?
For
years before his death, Yasser Arafat stated that discussions for changing the
Charter are “on the agenda.” Twenty years later these discussions about
recognizing Israel’s right to exist persist. How hard can it be to erase the
sections of the Charter that perpetuate hate?
This
is not the first time in history that a political figure has not followed
through with an important promise. During the 1960 Presidential election, JFK
promised to end racial “discrimination with the stroke of a presidential pen.” However,
once elected, Kennedy procrastinated for several years. Since the American
public wanted to believe that the statements of our world leaders to make the
future brighter should not be taken lightly, the public waited anxiously for President
Kennedy to fulfill his campaign promise. In order to show the President that
America had not forgotten his vow to end inequality, thousands of pens were
mailed to the White House as a not so subtle hint to remind him to pass the much
needed civil rights legislation.
Twenty
years ago when I worked at the Anshe Emet Synagogue in Chicago we organized a
campaign called “Operation Eraser” that sent hundreds of erasers to Chairman
Arafat to remind him of his promise to eliminate the call for Israel’s
destruction from their Charter. Sadly
the erasers were never used.
To
this day, the Charter remains unchanged. This unchanged document maintains a
culture of hate that continues to manifest itself in Palestinian textbooks and
the media and fosters violence across the region.
We
learn from Abraham that a formal agreement has the power to build trust and
understanding when both sides follow through with their promises. Perhaps this
is the moment for the Children of Abraham to return to the negotiating table
with pens and erasers not just to erase words of conflict, but also to write a new
story of hope.
Twenty four years after Oslo, the time has come to erase the
hate for the sake of the future.
