Not a Christian Sunday sermon, because the chance Jesus, peace be upon him, would have agreed is too big

Pieces of the Peace puzzle

• Since Israel has shrewdly atomized the West Bank and destroyed everything but Hamas in Gaza a one state solution has now become imperative. Rename Israel, name to be chosen after a referendum in which all citizens, unless implicated in war crimes, of the newly formed nation can participate

• Israeli settlements in the West Bank are one of the most essential sources of violence and conflict so these have to be abandoned, settlers have to be prosecuted and based on each individual story and motivation, justly sanctioned for participating in an illegal movement. It’s possible that in some cases an objective judge will decide some can stay, if for example despite their being in an illegal settlement they did somehow aid the Palestinian cause. There are always exceptions and this new nation needs to be founded on unprecedented levels of fairness. Most settler dwellings will be given to Palestinians, but some also to other victims of war and the destitute, this can also be peaceful, law abiding former Israeli citizens and even asylum seekers from all over the world if they are willing to integrate in the new society, it’s likely many Palestinian would balk at the thought of living in the houses of their former oppressors

• Free the thousands of hostages Israel holds, including kids, often tortured, detained on trumped up charges, tried by military courts with a 99 percent conviction rate • Prosecute all war crimes • Investigate all IDF soldiers for potential crimes, hate speech, dehumanizing acts, same for Palestinians who may, in some instances, have overstepped the boundaries of legitimate resistance to an occupation and illegal settlements (land theft)

• As soon as the Palestinians are no longer at risk of being exterminated release also the Israeli hostages, since they are about the only leverage the Palestinians have against their collosally equipped oppressor • Make holy sites fully accessible to all religions

• Make Palestinians outside of current Israel, Gaza and the West Bank, full citizens of the new country

• Keep any Israeli citizen who expressed joy over the killing of Palestinians inside the newly formed country, but locked up, doing community service, we don’t want dangerous individuals to spread all around the world, keep them together where we can monitor them and have them do some good, such as helping to clear the rubble in Gaza and picking up body parts

• Compensate Palestinians families for damage inflicted during the Naqba and later

• As with all trauma, and Israel-Palestine is one long story of trauma upon trauma, something good has to be squeezed out of so much pain, this is the only way forward, crap has to be turned into fertilizer, so the new country has to be sponsored by the US and other crimes abetting nations to become a center of learning, open to students from all around the world. The new country’s educational centres will have all academic disciplines, but have to specifically specialize in conflict resolution and peace keeping. Warring parties anywhere in the world can receive very substantial international humanitarian if the leaders of warring factions agree to be educated on the dynamics of transferring from war to peace at the institutions of the newly formed country

• Create a monument similar to the Vietnam War memorial where you can see and touch the name of every child which died in this conflict since 1947/48, on both sides, the Palestinian names will heavily outnumber the Israeli ones, but both will be etched into the monument, local artists will of course give the monument and many like it a local artistic touch. At a national center of mourning, the largest and most unique of its kind, you will be able to read and/or watch a biography of each slain child

• Abolish Aipac immediately, since the US, if it wants to maintain that it is a sovereign state, should never tolerate such far reaching stranglehold over its own politicians by a foreign entitity • Anyone who has made a significant effort to promote peace in the world can apply for a subsidy to tour the newly country relatively cheaply

• Those who have been cleared of criminal charges will be able to serve in the newly formed mixed army. Former enemies will have mandatory military service in mixed units. Those who object will have the option to perform community service, lasting double the time of the mandatory service, but will not be stigmatized or penalized for refusing the military service.

• Interfaith marriages will be legal, of course

• The new country will become a model in how different religions can co-exist, especially Jews and Palestinians currently residing outside of the borders of historic Palestine will be welcome to come and live here

• There will be no difference in funding for schools linked to ethnic backgrounds, no minorities will experience extra difficulties when it comes to housing and there won’t be any need for fences • Especially the history classes will be carefully composed by teams of international Middle East experts to make sure all pupils receive the most balaanced, most objective history education possible

• We are very far away from peace, and yes, I lay the bulk of the blame for this squarely at the feet of the dominant radical elements in Israel and their US allies and other piss poor western leadership. • For as long as necessary Holy Sites will be controlled by an international peace keeping force, with the assistance of both former enemies, not just in Jerusalem, but also in Al-Khalil (Hebron).

• it’s highly likely small, but radical splinter groups from both former hostile camps will try to disrupt this newly formed nation, so the new nation needs international help to prevent such attacks and to deradicalize some of its citizens

• since the UN has, again, been proven to be practically useless in stopping war, the world will have to create a new organization tasked to stop conflicts from escalating, this time for real

Potential pieces of the peace puzzle and not an exhaustive, comprehensive list.

We are far away from peace, but achieving anything starts with the dream of it. We will never get all the lives lost back, but we owe it to them and their families to honor them by doing better, a lot better.

Have a peaceful Saturday evening and a blessed Sunday.

Much love, William