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SanghaSeva | Meditation in Action: Being Peace

Israel and Palestine
11 - 23 October, 2023


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Welcome

Thank you for your interest in this project. Here are further details of the retreat. We have tried to keep it as brief as possible, and such things as how to get there will be sent to you upon registration. There is a link to the registration form at the end of this page. If you wish to participate please complete it.

Dates

For those coming from the local area it is possible to attend the retreat for a shorter period. We do not recommend this for those who are coming from abroad. The situation is quite complex, and not easy to meet fully in such a short time.

The full retreat dates are: 11 - 23 October, 2023

Shorter dates: 11 - 14 October
18 - 21 October
It is possible to combine two of these periods, or maybe to extend them to make for a fuller experience of the retreat. Yet, due to the considerable workload of running this event, it is not possible to shorten any of them, nor come for other periods. We thank you for your understanding, and hope you will join us.

Registration forms are at the end of the message.

What's going to happen on the retreat?

We have been running this retreat offering this retreat in Israel and Palestine since 2008, yet each year will be unique, and we can't exactly predict how it will look. Our days together will combine working, with time for meditation, inquiry and processing of our experience. We believe full heartedly in the importance of the work we will do together.

Some of the retreat will be spent in a Palestinian village. We will stay in the village by invitation of the local council. They have asked us to help by harvesting olives with the villagers. But in their own words, the main need and wish is for us to listen to their stories and to bear witness to their suffering.

During the rest of the retreat we will be joining the activities of several organisations probably including Rabbis for Human Rights, Breaking the Silence, and Combatants for Peace.

One of the main activities we will be involved in is olive harvesting. Most days we will travel out to the fields around Palestinian villages to help with the harvest. Palestinian villagers living in the territories occupied by Israel are prevented from freely and easily accessing their olive groves during the harvest season, either by the Israeli army or by Jewish settlers. They therefore lose their sole or major source of income. In a beautiful act of non-violence Jewish Israelis and international volunteers come to pick the olives with the villagers. With the presence and protection of these non-violent activists the Palestinians themselves are able to work their land.
We feel very privileged to be working with many inspiring organisations. During the retreat we will meet many people working for peace.

The aim of the retreat

The retreat we propose will combine time for hands-on work with time for meditation, as well as the opportunity to meet both Jews and Palestinians and share in their lives. We hope to provide an opportunity for all of us to express who feel ourselves to be. This may include stepping out into the unknown.

It is not just about helping, but about the willingness to experience things for ourselves. Not about judging, but about witnessing and sharing. Together we can support each other on this journey, creating moments of inner and outer peace as we go.

We are confident that our time will be of value to ourselves and others. A lot of hard work is going into making this retreat happen, and just the idea of it is already providing much needed support and an injection of energy to peace activists.

Suggested schedule

Due to us having many different days during the retreat, it is not possible to offer one suggested schedule. Our working days will be quite long, and start quite early, but we will also have rest days, and days of meditation and reflection.
Something to remember is that both the middle-eastern mentality and the volatile situation make all plans subject to change. We must all be prepared for changes to the schedule.

Facilitators

We wish the facilitation of this retreat to provide a safe environment that will allow each of us to freely offer our wisdom and support to each other. We envision this retreat as an experiment of living and working together, with each of us participating and contributing to the fullness of the retreat.
The facilitators offer their time and energy freely and do not receive any payment for what they do. You are welcome to offer them a donation at the end of the retreat.See below for more information about supporting the facilitators.

The work retreat will be facilitated by Nathan Glyde and Zohar Lavie

Safety

The risk involved in this kind of work is obvious to all of us. Yet we believe if we act clearly and consistently in the name of peace, we can evolve the changes we want to see.
We do not intend to be daredevils or put any lives in danger. There is plenty of work to be done away from areas of armed conflict. Your safety is our primary concern, and during our time together we will do all we can to ensure that everyone will know where we are and why we are there. All the villages we work in understand our peaceful intentions.

In peaceful acts peace is born, through non-violence violence ceases.

Practical details

Food

We will mostly be doing our own cooking on a rota basis, but no one needs to cook on their own!
The food will be vegan and locally sourced, organic and fair-trade where possible, and we prioritise supporting the Palestinian economy as much as we can.

Accommodation

In order to keep the retreat affordable we will be staying in dormitory accommodation or camping.

Cost

We are doing the best we can to keep the costs as low as possible. The cost per person will be 2,200 Israeli Shekels.

Follow the links to see how much xe.com converts that into in UK Pounds or Euros. For other currencies follow the either link and click Convert again.

A flight from Europe to Israel costs around £250-300 / €325-390. Usually, the earlier you book the better the price.

Deposit

To register your place for this retreat we require a non-refundable deposit of £100.

Financial Assistance and Dana

The cost of this retreat does not include a fee for the facilitators. The facilitators are offering their time and teaching as part of an ancient system of ‘Dana’- an old word from the time of the Buddha meaning ’generosity’. This is a gift economy in which teachings are offered freely, and those who come to hear them are invited to offer donations to support the teachers to continue offering more in the future. We will explain more about this in our booking materials and in the week.

If you would like to join the retreat but require financial assistance, please do contact us. If you are touched by this project but cannot join us, you could also help by sponsoring someone else to go, please contact us for further information on how to do this or visit the support page

For any other questions please contact us

For those interested in the whole event please fill out the form at the bottom of the page. If you're interested in one or more of the shorter periods, please fill out the relevant form by following one of the links below it.

To register your interest for this retreat please fill out the form below.

Some people don't see a form here: if you are experiencing that absence please go to: this page to see the form

We have info letters in Hebrew and in English for the shorter event.