Confessions of a Peace Activist

Like the majority of us, October 7 changed me. Prior to that day, I facilitated countless dialogue groups and listening circles with Palestinians and Jews, taught Jewish studies, attended protests, served as program director for over a decade with Together for Humanity, and was a long-time mentee of the great Stella Cornelius OBE, National Treasure, peace warrior.

As a professional storyteller, my particular niche was bringing disparate groups together. For years I have worked in Israel and Palestine, from Beit Jalla to kibbutz Lotan, to run workshops, including for the Bereavement group – the mothers and fathers who lost children on both sides, and are committed to being in relationship with each other, because they don’t want to lose another.

I co-founded Jewish Voices for Peace and Justice in 2001, a group that continues to this day. I wrote a regular column for the Australian Jewish News from 1999 to 2007, named Telling Tales.
So what has changed?

In 2002, during the second Intafada I wrote this in a column for the AJN:
‘“I feel Im on the front line, dodging hand grenades of fear and loathing. Words march toward me with guns drawn—words that look innocent but entrap heretics: occupation, jihad, apartheid. Some words are taken hostage—self‑defence, justice, truth. And there are traitor words—like Zionism—once a hope of the Left, now its favourite scourge.”

Looking back 24 years, it would seem very little has changed.
Back then, we didnt have the insidious algorithms that serve to numb our discernment and conscience. We didnt have the onslaught of disinformation, conspiracy, and international propaganda. We were not bombarded with false narratives and endless fake-everything, to the point that I can hardly believe anything.

Stella Cornelius taught non‑polarisation: in war, taking sides hardens conflict. That does not mean silence in the face of wrong; it means speaking without prejudice. It asks us to hold more than one truth at once: that every life is of infinite value, and that justice without empathy curdles into vengeance.

Recently, I was eager to take part in a Prayers for Peace for Gaza, Israel, and Iran. On arriving at the Uniting Church, I saw that a great purple banner was hanging outside ‘Pray for Gaza’. I kept going and did not attend. Im happy to pray for all humanity who are suffering due to conflict and war. I refuse to be polarised, to choose between the suffering of one group of people and ignore the others. Particularly in this climate of hate. I have run many listening circles since October 7. Facilitating circles comprising of Jews, Palestinians, Muslims, and Christians to speak of their experiences, their feelings, their values – without being challenged, or interrupted. Without debate, being questioned, asked to defend… just listening. It is a process which creates safety, the capacity to listen without trying to convince, explain, deny, or reject. It develops a sense of unity, greater understanding, and expansion. If we are to live together, as two sovereign nations, there is no choice but to listen to each other.

I stay close to the brave souls in Israel and Palestine who protest their governments and nurture relationships across the divide. They hold to a higher ideal—the lineage of Abraham, who argued even with God against collective punishment. We must speak against injustice, even to the highest authority. There are thousands planting seeds of peace. If they, amid agony, can reach toward “the other,” surely we—so far away—can do the same.

I have changed. I am loathe to add to the polarisation and hatred that is rampant. I hold close to me the sense of uncertainty, because no one knows the truth. We are all, every one of us, being brainwashed, and if you think you know what’s going on, you are deluded. Certainty is a scourge. Listening is the discipline. Peace is the destination.

Donna Jacobs Sife is a writer, award-winning storyteller and peace-worker.