Send Them Peace

Target : Israel 

STP Target Dates :  June 1 to June 10, 2016

The lack of Peace in Israel, ongoing since the mid 20th century, has now become almost cliché. As you increase your knowledge through study of the links given below, see if you can identify the problem. It's not the GDP nor widespread corruption. What does it take for people to learn to live compassionately? 

Perhaps: The Compassionate Listening Project?

Compassionate understanding of our worst enemy is the answer.  SendThemPeace. Meet The Challenge.

Perhaps all it takes, is Send(ing)ThemPeace.

"After more than sixty years, the Israel-Palestinian issue is as intractable as ever. Groups and individuals on either side reflexively point to the other as the cause of conflict. Blame and intense emotion permeate virtually any discussion of the subject. In this book, Richard Forer explains that no action occurs in a vacuum, that we all play roles in the suffering of others and that only an honest intention to discover the history for ourselves can alleviate the suffering. Through meticulous research Forer examines and reframes the most common and misunderstood arguments on both sides of the conflict. He shows that the real enemy is the unexamined mind that projects its suffering onto the other. Though not a religious Jew, Forer had been a loyal defender of Israeli policy all his life and zealously supported Israel s 2006 invasion of Lebanon. In response to what he perceived as growing global anti-Semitism, he became a member of AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee. Angry that two of his most trusted friends resisted his views, and surprised that a long-time Jewish friend would suggest that his opinions were not as factually based as he assumed, Forer began an intensive study of the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict, determined to discover the facts for himself. With an uncompromising commitment to the truth, he went far beyond his original intention, even challenging his very identity. Reaching into the depths of himself, in a remarkable moment he underwent a spontaneous spiritual transformation in which he awoke to his true identity, beyond the limits of the ego and its enforced loyalties. Feeling how his attachment to Israel had blinded him to the human dimension of the conflict and had led him to reject the other in a heartless way, Forer realized that the true root of conflict is one's presumed identity and the beliefs and images that emanate from and reinforce that identity, and that these presumptions are false and unnecessary. He discovered that in Truth we are all Muslim and Jewish, Palestinian and Israeli. Forer had recognized the heart of Judaism, which embraces the Universal and identifies with all of humanity." at  Amazon.com

Overview : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israel and www.cia.gov/library/publications/resources/the-world-factbook/geos/is.html
Geography/ Climate : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Israel
Target Coordinates Used (Lat./ Long.) : 31°30'N 34°45'E tools.wmflabs.org/geohack/geohack.php?pagename=Geography_of_Israel&params=31_30_N_34_45_E_type:country

History : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Israel#State_of_Israel_.281948.E2.80.93present.29
Travel Guides : www.worldtravelguide.net/israel
Immunizations required : wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/destinations/traveler/extended_student/israel?s_cid=ncezid-dgmq-travel-single-001

People : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Israeli_people and en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israelis

Global Peace Index Ranking : Israel is ranked 148 out of 162. Clearly, not a peaceful country. 
Details of the GPIR are found here : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_Peace_Index#Global_Peace_Index_rankings
Health : www.who.int/countries/isr/en/
GDP per capita (current US$) - (year: ) : 37,206 current $US/ capita in 2014. 
(GDP in USA, 2014, for comparison : 54,629.50 US$/ capita). 
(Other countries for comparison) : 
Burundi : 286/ cap in 2014 
Somalia : 543/ cap in 2014 
Afghanistan: 634/ cap in 2014 
Cambodia : 1,090/ cap in 2014 
Myanmar : 1,203/ cap in 2014 
Yemen : 1,408/ cap in 2013 
Syria: 2,080/ cap in 2007 
Bosnia&Hz 4,790/ cap in 2014 
Israel: 37,206/ cap in 2014 
Belgium : 47,517/ cap in 2014 
U.S.A. : 54,629/ cap in 2014

Good Country Ranking (best = 1, worst = 125) : Israel is ranked 37th. Here are the overall rankings :  http://goodcountry.org/index/overall-rankings

Corruption : Israel is ranked 32nd (#1 = Denmark, best, and #167 Somalia, is worst) 

And from Transparency International : www.transparency.org/country/#ISR the percentile rank for Israel is 72% 

Strengths/ Weaknesses : www.coface.com/Economic-Studies-and-Country-Risks/Israel
This lists major macro economic indicators, and discovers a relatively high public debt in Israel. Political fragmentation is at the root of most weaknesses. 

Peace & Compassion Deficits : The Israeli-Palestinian conflict, see : en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Israeli%E2%80%93Palestinian_conflict

The remaining key issues are: mutual recognition, borders, security, water rights, control of Jerusalem, Israeli settlements, Palestinian freedom of movement, and Palestinian right of return. The violence of the conflict, in a region rich in sites of historic, cultural and religious interest worldwide, has been the object of numerous international conferences dealing with historic rights, security issues and human rights, and has been a factor hampering tourism in and general access to areas that are hotly contested.