Quote of the Day (Amos Oz, on a ‘Powerful Antidote to Fanaticism and Hatred’)

“Imagining the other is a powerful antidote to fanaticism and hatred. It is, in my view, also a major moral imperative.”—Israeli novelist, journalist, and peace advocate Amos Oz (1939-2018), speech upon accepting the 2005 Goethe Prize in recognition of his contribution to world literature, in The Amos Oz Reader, edited by Nitza Ben-Dov (2009)

The image accompanying this post of Amos Oz was taken Sept. 21, 2005, by Michiel Hendryckx.

Spiritual Quote of the Day (Book of Psalms, on God and the ‘Vine’ of Israel)

“Turn back again, God of hosts;
look down from heaven and see;
Visit this vine,
the stock your right hand has planted,
and the son whom you made strong for yourself.”—Psalm 80: 15-16

Photo of the Day: JFK Center, Israeli Lounge

When I visited the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington this past November, I did not, much to my regret, get to see the African Lounge, and the Russian Lounge simply left me—well, cold. But as soon as I entered the Israeli Lounge, I was impressed—scratched that, overwhelmed—by the level of its detail and its palpable sense of history.

As the name of the room suggests, and like much else I saw in this DC landmark, this was a gift from a foreign nation: in this case, Israel. What you see here is the ceiling, with 40 wooden panels, showing musical events described in the Old Testament: Joshua at the walls of Jericho, David playing the harp, Miriam dancing triumphantly, and a choir on the temple steps.

Those who come into this space—80 standing for cocktail receptions, 60 for seated dinners—can’t help coming away with a feeling of awe, I firmly believe.

Quote of the Day (Anwar Sadat, on His ‘Great Risk’ for Peace)

“I took this decision after long thought, knowing that it constitutes a great risk, for God Almighty has made it my fate to assume responsibility on behalf of the Egyptian people, to share in the responsibility of the Arab nation, the main duty of which, dictated by responsibility, is to exploit all and every means in a bid to save my Egyptian Arab people and the pan-Arab nation from the horrors of new suffering and destructive wars, the dimensions of which are foreseen only by God Himself.”—Egyptian President Anwar al-Sadat, Speech to the Israeli Knesset, November 20, 1977

Four years after launching the Yom Kippur War, Anwar Sadat (1918-1981) took the extraordinary “great risk” of peace by breaking with other Arab leaders in that region. The statement and the act reminds me of what Michael Collins, saddled with the responsibility of negotiating an end to Ireland’s war of independence with Britain, said at the conclusion of the process: “I may have signed my death warrant tonight.”

Following his public repetition, in a televised interview with CBS anchor Walter Cronkite, that he was prepared to discuss directly with the Knesset (Israeli’s Parliament) his desire for peace—even within a week of receiving the invitation—Sadat found himself before that body outlining his goals and his passion to end the suffering of countless Israelis and Egyptians. That opened the way for a meeting between him and Israeli leader Menachem Begin that resulted in the Camp David accords between their countries.

In 1981, Sadat incurred the full measure of the “great risk” he described to the Knesset, when he was assassinated by Muslim fundamentalists. In the violent statis of today’s Middle East, his overture to Israel remains the most significant step for peace in that troubled region. That is the most tragic commentary of all concerning that area.

(Photograph of Sadat taken at Andrews Air Force Base, January 1, 1980, upon his arrival in the United States for a visit.)