Pay attention to us

Letters

Editor: I am writing with respect to Mr. Jack Chivo's letter (Bulletin, Feb 7) where, again, he tries to spread negativity and fear.

A few weeks ago, I met with Mr. Jack Chivo at Har-El. Mr. Chivo refused to meet with Derek Walker Youngs, my colleague, the peace walker, for a dialogue. He insisted on meeting only with my husband, Alan, and me in Rabbi Birnham's office. It seemed to me that a great opportunity for a true dialogue was missed by his unexplained refusal.

We are living in a divergent society, where separation and alienation are sources of misunderstanding and unnecessary conflicts. One of the goals of the Peace Walker Society is to further dialogue about the concepts of peace and co-existence. We will host a five-session workshop called Sharing Peace at the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver starting on March 20. We believe that an open dialogue can help different people get to know one another. We must respect others as much as we expect to be supported and understood.

Unfortunately, Mr. Chivo promotes fear. He writes without any concrete information and perpetuates confusion and misconceptions. Mr.Chivo hasn't been to any of our activities, yet he has a lot to say about them and about our "true" goals. He takes phrases out of context and rewrites them in his so-called "warning" letters. According to his letters and my personal meeting with him, Jack is not familiar with the concepts of diversity, openness, the ability to listen to the "other" and to engage in a constructive dialogue. How sad.

Here are some corrections to his Feb. 7 letter:

1. The Sharing Peace workshop is not sponsored by the JCC.

2. Deborah Campbell is a journalist and a writer. Her book was displayed at the Jewish Book Festival last November. Apparently, the JCC found it fit to be there. The fact that her book is displayed on the CanPalNet Web site does not automatically make her anti-Semitic or anti Israel.

3. The Peace Walker Society didn't promote or invite the public to John Pilger's documentary.

It seems to me that our true aim is not clear to Mr. Chivo. To help him understand us better, here are our goals, as written on our Web site, www.peacewalker.com:

The Peace Walker Society is a group of concerned and committed citizens who recognize that peace is a process, an exquisite journey of enriching our lives and giving back to the planet we live on. For the Peace Walker Society there will be no destination, only a journey - a journey to promote unity and reconciliation, which transcends the conflict of the past. Along the way we hope to discover and rediscover the true self, for in order to change the world we must begin with ourselves.

One more example of Jack's misunderstandings in when he states, "Furthermore, according to their agenda, the same workshop has invited some unnamed 'counter-culture organizations' to participate, as well as activists who have visited places such as 'Israel, Palestine, Syria'...."

Here is our text from our Web site: Israel – Popular Media and Counter Culture. Most Canadian sources of news deliver only information about terrorism, military actions and geo-political processes. But is that the whole story? In this session, we will learn about what grassroots peace movements are doing on the ground in Israel to support peace and reconciliation within communities. Please bring your own stories about organizations that are working towards peace.

I would like to invite all of your readers to come and attend our sessions. Our first guest, Deborah Campbell, has chronicled experiences for print and broadcast from Paris, St. Petersburg, Havana, Tel-Aviv and the Gaza Strip. Born and raised in Canada, she has lived in France and Israel and currently teaches writing at Capilano College.

Please pay attention to us and our activities. You, too, Mr. Chivo.

With peace,

Hila Russ-Woodland
Vancouver

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