This commentary is by Rabbi Michael M. Cohen, rabbi emeritus of the Israel Congregation and Director for Community Relations for the Friends of the Arava Institute. The views expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily represent the organizations with which he is affiliated.A Jewish sage and leader of ancient Israel who lived and worked in Jerusalem during the decades before 100 B.C., Yehoshua ben Perachyah, said, “Judge every person favorably.” We should not prejudge others, especially when we disagree with them on issues about which we feel passionate.  We could learn from this advice when it comes to the Israel and Palestine conflict today and lower the temperature on how we discuss this very emotional topic. For 30 years, I have divided my time between Vermont and the Kibbutz Ketura campus of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, where we successfully bring Palestinians, Jordanians, Moroccans, and Israelis together.  We use the environment, which does not observe human-made political lines, to overcome divisions, as regional environmental challenges can only be addressed by working together. Those initiatives create human relationships that transcend political differences, building trust, which then allows us to confront those difficult political issues.  At the Institute, we have a component called the Dialogue Project – a safe place where our participants can voice the hardest, most critical viewpoints that need to be said.  Those sessions can be intense, yet they are spoken and heard with respect and the understanding that everyone is in this together, that only by struggling together can something better emerge.  We could learn something from these Israelis and Palestinians. They do not turn the conflict into a team sport. We should only root for nations in the Olympics and the World Cup.  Too many line up on the pro-Israel or the pro-Palestinian team, closing off hearing the other and self-critique. Calling out can cause endorphin release; it may feel good, even addictive, but it does little good and often perpetuates the conflict. So much energy is spent on the conflicts about the conflict. Apartheid-free community resolutions are coming up in a score of Vermont communities on Town Meeting Day. In the spirit of ben Perachyah, I give supporters of those resolutions the benefit of the doubt, absolutely affirming much of what they say and stand for.  In this conflict, where there is a tremendous asymmetry of power, it is easy to focus on the stronger party, in this case, Israel. And yet, that focus on Israel fails to get us closer to a just resolution. Denunciation of particular Israeli policies is called for, but that criticism is extremely one-sided against the Jewish state. In 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted 17 resolutions against Israel and only six resolutions on the rest of the world. Some say our tax dollars fund Israel, so there is a need to speak up. A legitimate point, but Americans purchased $439 billion in goods from China in 2024, directly funding a brutal dictatorship oppressing Muslims and Tibetans. Egypt receives $1.3 billion in military assistance from the United States, which has waived the human rights requirements.  During this horrible war in Gaza, investigations by international media and anti-corruption groups have reported that some Gazans seeking to leave through the Rafah crossing have paid thousands of dollars — in some cases up to about $10,000 — to intermediaries to secure exit permits. Egyptian officials have denied imposing official exit fees or charging for humanitarian aid convoys entering Gaza. The worldwide response: silence. The lopsided focus on Israel, including the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, confirms for many a troubling bias against the Jewish state, making it easy to dismiss criticism of Israel, even when there is a valid critique, and so those initiatives fail. That orientation must change. This brings us back to Apartheid-Free Community resolutions. While the motivation to address and improve the reality of the Palestinians in the resolutions is vital, its full wording fails; it is part of a worldwide choir that will criticize Israel but turn a blind eye to the non-Israeli transgressions of the conflict. Even with the best of intentions, it will not bring us closer to a solution but rather help the next shovel used to dig the graves of a Palestinian and an Israeli.  There is a vibrant ecosystem of brave Israelis and Palestinians working to overcome the unjust status quo. In the asymmetry of the sensational, they are drowned out, and the violent maximalists on both sides have their day.  Civil society peacebuilding programs enable Israelis and Palestinians to meet, discuss, and challenge together their hard reality. They need our support, as they are the only ones tilling the soil for something better to emerge. Rather than support Apartheid-Free Community resolutions, we should demand that the Trump administration release the $50 million it cut off from these civil society people-to-people programs, and that Congress refund these programs through re-establishment of the Middle East Peace Partnership for Peace Act. We should support the creation of an International Fund for Palestinian-Israeli Peace, and Vermont communities should each adopt one of the more than 180 programs of the Alliance for Middle East Peace. The root of this strife is the inability to reconcile two realities: for Israelis, they have come home; for Palestinians, they have been invaded. This conflict will only end when both sides can meet in the space beyond those two deep self-perceptions carved in stone and blood.  For too long, Israeli and Palestinian hardliners have held sway, leaving no room for the needed compromise located in that space. As Vermonters, we can make a positive difference when it comes to the Israel-Palestine conflict by lending our voices and support to these Israel-Palestinian civil society organizations building bridges and not walls. Read the story on VTDigger here: Michael M. Cohen: Build bridges, not walls. ...read more read less