Today was Rosh Hodesh (the beginning of the month) of Elul: the month of soul introspection that precedes the Jewish New Year. Apropos of the season, I thought I’d share this remarkable new year’s greeting: a clip of the Palestinian partners of the Geneva Initiative wishing their Jewish friends a Shanah Tovah. Though the clip seems to have been prepared last year before the Annapolis summit (and even though the promise of those days have been largely squandered) I still receive it in a spirit of hope. For me, at least, this greeting offers the perfect New Year’s message for our dark and disillusioned times.
PS: Listening to Palestinians offer Jewish New Year greetings in Hebrew reminded me once more of the irony that a significantly larger proportion of Palestinians speak the Jewish native language than Jewish Israelis speak Arabic (or than the world’s Jews speak Hebrew itself, for that matter…)
Let us hope that these good wishes, probably a year old, are still legitimate; that there is no hidden agenda; and that peace is possible. It won’t be a moment too soon.
Shalom v’salaam! Salaam v’shalom! We are all family.