September 25, 2008
While the passing of famed Israeli psychologist and peace builder Dan Bar-On on Sept. 4 is truly tragic, his influence on peace building will be felt for generations to come.
His family and friends, as well as all others who work for reconciliation and peace, know well his commitment to dialogue and social justice and his unceasing efforts to reconstructing human discourse between peoples after trauma. With his work focused mainly on Jews and Germans on one hand and Israelis and Palestinians on the other, he dared to confront the truth in order to arrive at hope.
The author, left, with Dan Bar-On, right, and Sami Adwan in April 2007
I first met Dan in 1999 in New Jersey when I invited him to speak to a dialogue group of American Jews and Arab Americans. Although born on opposite sides of the Arab-Jewish/Arab-Israeli divide — he in Haifa under the British Mandate in 1938 and I in East Jerusalem under Jordan in 1955 — we felt much in common, particularly our interest in promoting respect for and understanding of the other.
Our relationship evolved into a strong friendship and into coauthoring articles and co-teaching a course on collective identity in the age of globalization at Monmouth University. (Dan held the Ida E. King Distinguished Visiting Professorship in Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Richard Stockton College of New Jersey in 1998 and 2002-2003.) These joint projects were deeply enriched by Dan’s partnership with our friend, Palestinian educator Sami Adwan, at the Peace Research Institute in the Middle East.
Unlike most peace builders, Dan challenged the status quo and he aptly balanced principle and pragmatism. While he was against extremism and occupation, he was not interested in a quick fix for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or in advancing peace for his own people only. His ideas and actions promoted an agenda for peace for the common benefit of both Israelis and Palestinians. He was firm in demanding distributive justice and its equitable application on both sides. He promoted and upheld independence from parochial or political interests of either side. He emphasized shared interests and insisted on equality, parity, and symmetry to sustain the benefits for peace.
Dan had preference for storytelling as a way to work through political and collective hostilities. For him, the path to political conciliation can be traveled when former enemies show readiness to hear each other’s life stories and narratives.
In his impressive book, Tell Your Life Story, Dan actually took us on his personal whirlwind journey through chaotic times, starting with his German family background through his life at Kibbutz Revivim and his work in the Israeli-Palestinian domain, especially at PRIME. Unlike his parents who left Germany for Palestine in 1933, Dan believed in sticking it out in Israel, “working things through until, at some point in the future, belief in the possibility of more positive relationships in this small and hurting land…materializes.”
What I have learned from Dan is first that peacemaking and peace-building are both necessary for the successful resolution of protracted conflicts and the creation of a genuine and sustainable culture of peace. The former, mainly occurring from the top down, and the latter, mainly occurring from the bottom up, cannot continue to operate in separate spheres as they have done historically. Peacemaking does not necessarily translate into peace-building; when the ink on a peace agreement has dried, real peace will not automatically ensue. Hence, structural and process synergy between them must exist in order for peace to evolve.
Second, the populations on both sides of the protracted conflict must engage in psychological and social transformation so that peace agreements can be successfully implemented. Otherwise, unfulfilled expectations and a delegitimization of peace will occur, often producing worse conditions.
Third, individual initiative and social responsibility are important for moving out of conflict, but so is the need for political leaders to help society release itself from its past and current fears. While security is essential for survival, the actualization of peace and good neighborly relations enhances rather than distracts from security.
Fourth, what is needed in Israel and Palestine is fewer fighters and more educators and psychologists. Education for peace is essential. The more people engage in peace, the farther they move from the abyss of dehumanization, victimization, and death and the closer they approach mutual acceptance, healing, and hope.
By advocating for storytelling, dialogue, and nonviolence, Dan met the peace challenge head on. By engaging in peace building, he served a cause greater than himself. Therein rests his intellectual, moral, and personal strength and the importance of his ideas and legacy.
Saliba Sarsar is professor of political science and associate vice president for academic program initiatives at Monmouth University.
Comment: comments@njjewishnews.com
