Activist Rick Sahar on his experience of peace

Rick Sahar spoke about his experience of peace at the HumanKind discussion, at Carterton’s Peace Festival, March 21, 2026

When I look back at the causes I have actively supported, I see a pattern emerging; that it is by facing conflict while pursuing Justice is how I approach Peace-making. I believe I have been influenced to approach Peace in this way from the two paths I have mostly studied; the Jewish tradition I grew up in where I attended religious services and trained and also through the twenty years I studied and practiced Tibetan Buddhism. Many people have followed a similar path and we are sometimes called “JU-BUS”. Both paths encourage robust debate and also the pursuit of justice… and as the saying goes, there cannot be Peace without Justice… this saying was popularized last century by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other religious leaders, as it declares that peace is not merely the absence of conflict (or “negative peace”) but can only be found in the presence of Justice. Justice is widely considered an inherent, natural right derived from universal moral principles and human dignity, rather than merely a human-made law. It is often viewed as an inalienable right to receive fairness, equality, and what is due to an individual, often described as a moral necessity. I believe that in all levels of human existence, that pursuing Justice, preferably with loving kindness, metta bhavana practice, has the potential to create a deep and lasting Peace. I can see a connection as to how this can apply in international relations as well as in our daily personal interactions.

I have veered away from Jewish Orthodoxy, as in the “ortho” “rigid” approach that I grew up in, to practice, as coined by Rabbi Gershom Winkler, a more Jewish “Flexidoxy” way of life… I have decided not to attend services at Temple Sinai, where I am still counted as a member, instead I attend vigils, demos and rallies to show both my support for the Palestinian cause and to express my anger at what Israel says they are doing on my behalf… I told the president of TS that I will not attend services until all references to the “state of Israel” are removed from its constitution and prayer services. Israel is not seeking Peace but instead is pursuing expansion of its territory, to occupy and annex neighboring countries. There are several commentators that Marilyn, Adham I and others can suggest worth reading/listening to, to get more factual information…

Shortly after that 7^th of Oct, I “traded in” my Jewish prayer shawl, known as the tallis, for a kufiyah, a Palestinian scarf. I checked with Palestinians to ensure I was not misappropriating their culture in any way. Instead, I was encouraged, and I made the conscious decision to replace my tallis with a kufiyah, to visibly support those under an unlawful occupation that has led them to suffer a genocide. The kufiyah is used globally as a symbol of a peaceful form of protest against the illegal occupation and a show of solidarity with the Palestinian people. For me it is not only a political statement but also a spiritual one; to pursue Justice, as we know there is no Peace without Justice… I wear a kufiyah to honor Palestinian culture and history and to honor their pursuit of a Just Peace. “From the River to the Sea…” for Palestinians and everyone else, to live equally in one state.

I would like to look at the Hebrew language regarding this word Honor that I speak of. Most words in Hebrew have a three-letter root. The three letters of “chaf (or kaf) vet (or bet) & daled” (כ ב ד), when pronounced as “koved” (not related to the virus; no conspiracy theories, please), is the Hebrew word for “heaviness, mass, or a burden”. When conjugated slightly differently, it could be the Hebrew adjective of “kaved” to describe something “heavy” and there is also a link to the “liver” as “keved”, which you might include in the “kebood”, that is the food and drink to serve guests, perhaps as pate’ (or, in my case, chopped liver) … we do that to show our guests “kavod” (כָּבוֹד), while commonly translated as “honor”, or in religious terms as “glory”, as  its root meaning literally signifies “weight” or “substance”. This describes someone whose presence or their word “carries weight”… that’s where I was going with all this… There is no honor/kavod in Israel’s genocide against Palestinians…

This all seems to have put me in conflict with many in the local Jewish community… but I am able, for the most part, to accept that vulnerable position, to bear that “weight/burden”, which we all now know is related to “honor/respect”, so to try to bring awareness to the prospect of the “Peace” alternative by supporting the establishment of Palestinian rights and statehood…

So I put forward that Peace is not found only by avoiding conflict but also by working with conflict… for example, in January 2025, just over fourteen months ago, a couple of activist friends and I decided to bring our anger directly to the terrorist state of Israel, by establishing an ongoing protest action in front of their embassy on Brandon Street. We called it “Occupy Brandon Street” (OBS)… what? You never knew that the Embassy of Genocide is located there? You would not the first to admit that, as the zionists have been hiding in #36 Brandon Street, the Bayley’s Building, without flag or sign to show they are there. And actually, since attacking Iran, they are no longer in the building as they have created a situation where they do not feel safe, through their own acts of aggression and disregard of international law. The good news is that the Israeli embassy’s lease has come to an end. And the building owners decided their lease will not be renewed. We feel that OBS can take some credit in that as the owners of the building say it has to do with all the noise, loud music, speeches, pavement chalk art and the presence of Palestinian flags held by kufiyah-wearing activists outside their building. We have handed out about ten thousand leaflets to people passing by that give an accurate historical account of the zionists’ apartheid practices in Palestine as well as notice for upcoming rallies. And where will the embassy go, you might ask? They plan to relocate into the US Embassy in Thorndon, their partners in crime… Yeah, we could claim that our “occupation” can take some credit in their forced “displacement”, but actually, it is all their own doing by not adhering to international law and by becoming the greatest threat to Peace in the world.

If you think you could also bear some of this “weight”, once you feel confident in doing so, try initiating a conversation with people you know who may not understand the facts about Israel’s Genocide in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem. People need to learn why Israel is now recognized as the greatest threat to world peace. Boycott, divestment and sanctions are what worked in South Africa to take down that apartheid state. We need to go all out in applying this now on Israel. And please check what your KiwiSaver is invested in; are you unknowingly supporting Israel’s war machine? The ASB was made to divest from stock supporting the Israeli Occupation Forces through a campaign by human rights groups, led by local NGO Justice for Palestine (look them up). The ANZ will be next…

Unfortunately, for us all, the current government is useless, spineless, in fact complicit, as it doesn’t have the courage to call out Israel for what it is, or for what the US is doing in Iran and other countries. We need to vote out the current government and vote in one with Cavod/honour, one that would pursue Justice and Peace.     

Thank you for your attention…

Rick Sahar