Jan 26 1999

Friends,

This morning we buried Inbal, an Israeli woman, born and brought up on a kibbutz. In the afternoon we buried Elias, a Palestinian man, from the West Bank village of Beit Sahour. And in the evening, we buried Yohanan, a religious Jew from New York who had immigrated to Israel. The three could not have come from more different backgrounds -- backgrounds that symbolize the conflict. But in reality, the three were partners in peace: all senior staff in the Alternative Information Center (AIC), struggling for a just solution to our national conflict. And as of today, they became partners in death as well: killed by a flash flood that surged through the canyon near the Dead Sea where they were hiking.

Inbal, Elias and Yochanan worked for the AIC, a joint Israeli-Palestinian peace center headed by Michel (Mikado) Warschawski. It was a staff trip, and Mikado and the others managed to cling to the rocks when the raging waters suddenly surged through the area. The other three were swept away.

Palestinian and Israeli peace activists shared a bus today, moving from cemetery to cemetery. We prayed in each other's sanctuaries, eulogized each other's loved ones, and cried in each other's arms. It was not about an act of political violence. It was about living and dying together as if our nationalities and religions didn't matter.

Elias Jeraisse from Beit Sahour was 38 years old. He was the father of two sons, aged 12 and 5, separated by 7 years -- those seven years that Elias had been a political prisoner in Israel. Two of those years were spent as an "administrative detainee" -- imprisoned without trial. Elias had been editor of the Arabic-language publication of the AIC.

Inbal Perelson, a 38-year old Israeli born in Kibbutz Amir, was recently appointed editor of AIC's Hebrew periodical. Inbal was known for her incisive analysis of the range of social-political issues in Israeli society. Her literary essays frequently graced the Ha'aretz newspaper.

Yohanan Lorwin, 45 years old, had moved to Israel from the US. He was a lawyer by profession, and worked as assistant editor of the English-language publication of AIC. Yohanan, a religious Jew, was soft-spoken and self-effacing.

These three, working together, had dedicated their lives to peace. We shall miss them terribly. And as we interred them in the cold earth today, it was clear that their deaths had brought us even closer together.

Dear friends, may you rest in peace.

Gila Svirsky