A Peace Story from Mohamad M. Jamous
Palestine Programs Director
It was the evening hours, and there was a splendid sunset on the banks of the northern Dead Sea.
Two friends of mine from Jericho and I walked through a quiet and beautiful area, to the top of a mountain in an Israeli area called “Metzoke Dragot”.
Imagine being surrounded on all sides by total magnificence. There were breathtaking views of the Dead Sea on one side, and the wide open desert and mountains on the other! It was sunset and the sky began its performance just as we reached our stop. We were just in time for nature’s ultimate show.
I took some time to absorb the moment. the silence surrounded me like a blanket that took my breath away, it was the end of the sun’s journey and all its power was being plunged into the waters of the Dead Sea.
As the sea began to fill with the threads of sunset, the sounds of the waves instilled hope and faith in my heart.
Enveloped by the moment, colors of the sunset turned the pages of history, and breathed life into the soul of the universe.
It was a calm peaceful evening and as we sat at the top of the mountain, we saw many Palestinian cars parked on the mountain roads. Families had come to escape the misery of being quarantined by the Corona Virus closures and spend time relaxing.
The scenery merged with words of my Al-Aser prayers and filled them with beauty, reverence, depth, and magic.
After the sunset, we bid farewell to the beautiful silence and began the half hour journey back to Jericho.
As we drove, I noticed an Israeli car in a muddy area close to the seashore.
As I focused on that car, I saw young children poking their heads out of the car window. Something strange was happening.
I asked my friend to turn our car back to see if they needed help.
As I approached, I realized that they were a Jewish family, so I spoke in Hebrew, “My brother, are you okay? Do you need help?”
The man replied “Yes, we are fine, but we are stuck in the mud, and I can’t get the car out!”
We parked our car and went to them on foot to offer our help.
My friends and I placed small stones under the car wheels, then we worked together to push the car out of the mud.
While we were pushing, I saw two young children, 3 and 5 years old, in the car, smiling and waving to thank us for our work. The smiles of these two young children made me stronger! And I called for everyone to push harder.
Our attempts were failing, but we continued to try, and after a few minutes, another car carrying a group of Palestinian youth from Jerusalem stopped to see what was happening.
They asked in Arabic, “Do you need help?”
And I replied, “Yes, it is wonderful that you have come to put in a hand.”
I explained that we needed to get this Jewish family out before dark.
With more people, we were more powerful. Once! Twice! And the third time we succeeded.
We got the car out of the mud. We saved the family from being stuck through the night.
The faces of the Palestinian youth were filled with happiness and joy. The difference they made felt good.
No one had hesitated to help because of this family’s nationality, color, beliefs or religion. It was simply not relevant.
This situation made me so happy! I was glad that there were human hearts and understanding minds, prepared to do humanitarian work for anyone!!
After this rescue operation, I got to know this beautiful family; Yonatan, his wife Sarah, and his two children, Yuval and Adi. As Yonatan and I spoke, I introduced myself to him firstly as a human being, and then secondly as a peacemaker, and finally as a Palestinian Arab Muslim.
I explained my work with the Abrahamic Reunion and described the multi-religious programs that we carry out in Palestine, and in Israel, and in other countries.
Yonatan and Sarah thanked me many times and invited me to visit them in their home in Jerusalem. I promised that I would go when the pandemic improved, and life stabilized.
As we got back in our car, and continued our drive to Jericho, I thought about Yuval’s and Adi’s smiles, and how this beautiful and humane attitude would remain implanted in the hearts of these two beauties!
In my own secret heart, I prayed to God to preserve and protect these two children, and this beautiful family, and to preserve and protect all families in the world.
Yes, a small experience carries great potential.
We were created on this earth to fight racism and to spread peace and love through certain situations that happen to us by chance in life.
Through organizations like the Abrahamic Reunion that ignite hope and strengthen love and peace, the future is full of beautiful possibility.
Thank you, my family, for the way that you raised me, and for my good education, which made me a human being before anything else.
And thank you, Abrahamic Reunion, for making me an integral part of you, and giving me the opportunity to introduce myself to the world as a Palestinian Peacemaker.
Mohamad Jamous is a young Peacemaker living in Jericho, Palestine, coordinating programs, interfaith events, peace journeys, and intra-Palestine peacemaking events to build the movement for peace. He is one of the great emerging multi-faith peacemaking leaders in the Holy Land. mohamad@abrahamicreunion.org
