"One Land for Two Peoples" - an evening in honor of Martin Buber

On a cold winter’s evening on February 11, 2020, a seminar was held in the library hall at Wahat al-Salam Neve Shalom in honor of Martin Buber.

The event was initiated by the Pluralistic Spiritual Community Center, and organized by Mr. Asher Levy, who made contact with the speakers and invited them to this special evening.

Because WASNS was the venue, the emphasis was obviously on Martin Buber’s thinking and work regarding the idea of ​​the bi-national state. All speakers addressed these ideas, Buber’s views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the one hand, and the positions of the Zionist movement throughout history on the other, from the early 20th century to the first years after the establishment of the State of Israel.

The evening opened with a lecture by Prof. Paul Mendes-Flohr. He began with a moving greeting to Anne Le Meignen, who was present. Anne, who together with Bruno Hussar, co-founded the village of Wahat al-Salam Neve Shalom, took part in a Jerusalem study group on Martin Buber together with Mendes-Flohr in the 1980s. Before beginning his lecture he left the podium, approached Anne, who is now 95 years old, in order to greet her and kiss her affectionately. His lecture focused on the moral side of Martin Buber’s teachings.

Prof. Shalom Ratzaby gave a broad and fascinating lecture on Martin Buber’s courageous position over the years vis à vis the Zionist establishment and his failed attempts to steer the nascent Jewish state in the direction of cooperation with the Palestinians. His lecture was conveyed with humor and many anecdotes from Buber’s life, such as his confrontation with the Jewish philosopher Hermann Cohen, who strongly opposed Zionism, and the reciprocal effects of these two personalities on each other.

Dr. Yemima Hadad, from the University of Potsdam in Germany, focused in her lecture on Buber’s inner world and sources of inspiration. Her well-organized academic lecture laid before our eyes the colorful and fascinating intricacies of Buber’s spiritual and religious world.

Asher Levy, the conference organizer, spoke in his lecture on the contradictions between parts of Buber’s teachings and reality. He asked, for example, why Buber decided to stay in the country after the founding of the state despite it’s being a national rather than a bi-national state. He also spoke of Buber’s struggle to try to prevent UN support for a Jewish state as another example of Buber’s uncompromising stance, even if against all odds.

At the end of the evening there was a lengthy and animated discussion with the audience. Questions were asked, opinions were expressed and only the late hour prevented its continuing.