IWagePeace Founder Bruce Barrett was introduced to members of Combatants for Peace (C4P) at Congregation Mishkan Israel, Hamden CT in 2007 and was so inspired by their message and work that he continued to support and sponsor events in the US to spread their message of non violent resistance, hope, and peace over many years.
Combatants for Peace (C4P), founded in 2006, is a non-profit, volunteer organization of ex-combatant Israelis and Palestinians, men and women, who have laid down their weapons and rejected all means of violence. They are working together to end the occupation of Palestine, bring just peace to the land, and demonstrate that Israelis and Palestinians can work and live together.
C4P’s mission is to build the social infrastructure necessary for ending the conflict and the occupation: communities of Palestinians and Israelis working together through non-violent means to promote peace. We believe that such communities can serve as a role model for both people, demonstrating through action that there is a real alternative to the cycle of violence. They believe that disseminating such activities widely can and will affect attitudinal change at the societal level and policy change at the political level.
Photo Courtesy of CFPeace.Org
Melinda Tuhus interviews C4P members Erez Krispin and Nour Shedahah 2012
John Dankosky Interviews C4P members Mohammad Owedah, Erez Krispen, Adi Greenfeld and Bruce Barrett 2013
Scott Harris interviews Erez Krispin, Mohammad Owedah, and Bruce Barrett 2013
Scott Harris Interview with C4P members Sulaiman Khatib and Maya Katz, 2015
Thoughts as penned by Bruce Barrett, Founder, IWagePeace
IWagePeace assembled American peacemakers and skeptics alike to hear a panel of C4P members who shared their experiences and transformation from advocates of violence to non-violent activists for justice and peace. An audience question and answer period followed. The entire event was documented and may be viewed here.
Combatants for Peace members joined us for this year's IWagePeace walk as we publicly advocated to defend all faiths and traditions both in the US and abroad
C4P members Erez Krispin and Nour Shedahah spoke at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace at an event co-sponsored by the Foundation for Middle East Peace, Americans for Peace Now, Middle East Institute, Churches for Middle East Peace, and the American Task Force for Palestine.
C4P members joined ourwalk in New Haven on a pilgrimage of faith, praying with our feet as we unite our faith traditions by symbolically visiting a church, a Jewish Center, and a Mosque along the route
As part of the tour, Erez Krispin and Nour Shehadah spent time at Jerusalem Peacebuilder's Acer Farm in Brattleboro Vermont along with 32 American, Israeli and Palestinian youth from Kids4Peace.
During 2007/2008, IWagePeace Founder, Bruce Barrett produced and directed the documentary film "The Combatants for Peace and The Billboard From Bethlehem" featuring members of C4P. Following the film's release in 2009, Bruce brought the documentary to numerous film festivals across United States and in Canada, Israel, and France. The film was also made available for numerous houses of worship, organizations, and groups both large and small, for viewing spreading C4P's message of peace, non violent resistance, and hope. The film is available online for viewing in it's entirety.
These condensed life narratives are penned by some of the C4P members from abroad who have shared their message here in the United States through IWagePeace sponsored events. They will walk you through some of their personal experiences and evolving opinions and were not written to document the official positions of the Combatants For Peace. It is common practice at bi-national meetings for the members to share their personal experience of the conflict, their once surrendered posture to the paradigm of violence, and their transformation to the awakened reality of bi-national non-violent action. At these meetings, they do not focus on “correcting” the narrative experience of their “enemy,” but on understanding the lives of their peace partners so they can build the personal connections critical for moving forward. When hearing the combatant’s stories, we hope you will listen as a peacemaker. This may feel uncomfortable or extremely upsetting, but by listening and not “correcting,” you will find the truth in the saying that “We do not need to agree on everything to work together for justice and peace.”