One of my favorite movies of all times is Miracle on 34th Street, in which the movie seeks to validate the authenticity of Santa Claus. In the person of Kris Kringle, he gives a powerful definition of faith when he states, “Faith is believing in something when common sense tells you not to.” If one looks at the current crisis, not only in the Middle East but also in Afghanistan, in Iraq, potentially in North Korea, one might ask, can one truly believe that peace can be established in those regions? Can one have the kind of faith to believe that? I believe that faith can be established around the world. I believe that peace can be established around the world. I believe that if we look at the current crisis in the Middle East, it is going to take a lot of faith to make that happen.

The American Clergy Leadership Conference has dedicated itself to using religious means in establishing peace in the Middle East. Obviously, for most of us, being Americans, that is a very difficult task, knowing what the policy of our government is toward Israel, the Palestinians, that whole area. Our government is definitely pro-Israel, yet at the same time we are well aware of the fact that we cannot engage in partisan or political issues that in any way would exacerbate an already terrible situation. So, our approach as clergy members, representing not only Christians but Jews, Muslims, Hindus, Buddhists, and Native Americans, is to go into that area and seek to engage rabbis, imams, muftis and others in a dialogue that will help them transcend politics, culture, race and religion and center in on those areas of spirituality that make all of us the same.

It’s a very delicate situation, a very delicate balance, especially when you look at what the media are presenting. You often see lop-sided stories. I’m reminded that there are three sides to a story: my side, your side and the truth. And often, we do not get the truth from any one report or any news agency. So what is important is going to the region to see just what is going on. And not only that, but being able to work with individuals and convincing them that if there is going to be peace in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world, it must begin with each one of us. As the song says, “Let peace begin with me; let this be the moment now.” Each person who desires peace in the Middle East must transcend religion as well as politics and find that common area of spirituality where all of us are the same.

Now that may seem like a simple solution to a very complex situation, but it is not. We will never be able to make everyone happy in the Middle East, even if we create two independent states, and we’ve heard from the panel that there is a difference of opinion on that. I personally believe that there must be two independent states, that somehow we can find a way to let Palestine exist even in the context of Israel as an independent state. But again that is going to take more than faith, more than politics. It is going to take more than religion; it is going to take spirituality. When I talk about spirituality, I’m basically talking about the divine spark within each one of us, regardless of our race or our religious, political or social affiliation. That is what is going to be required. Yes, it seems like a simple solution, but it will work if somehow we can realize that we all call God our Father, whether we be followers of Moses, of Jesus or of Mohammed. We are all children of Abraham.

So I would hope that while we look at what the scholars and what the politicians are saying, and while they are parsing all the sentences as to how to put together a peace plan for the Middle East, I am convinced that what we must do is transcend all of that and find a commonality that brings all of us together as one people. Namely, that we all have one God who is our Father, and we must allow that which is spiritual within us to conquer that which is human.