Tikkun organizer Marisa Handler spoke in the Weyerhaueser Chapel about peace in Israel Tuesday. Handler is from the Tikkun Community Association. Tikkun, which means "healing" in Hebrew, focuses its efforts on creating a sustainable peace in Israel and Palestine. Approximately one hundred people were in attendance to hear Handler present Tikkun's stance on the current situation in Palestine and Israel.

Handler belives that locating a common ground between two factions is an incredibly difficult task to accomplish when negotiating any sort of agreement. Handler illustrated this point by conducting a series of role-playing activities where students formed groups in attempts to come up with compromises for various aspects of the Mid-East crisis. Few groups were able to accomplish this task.

Handler pointed out that as a result of this activity, students realized how difficult it can be to reach a compromise, especially when the opposing sides are devoted to their issues.

Handler also believes that Americans today seem to be unaware of the history surrounding the Israel-Palestine conflict. Because of this Tikkun, which has a better understanding of the issues than most Americans, is calling on the United States government to propose a peace agreement in Israel. The proposal includes five major changes:

—Israel and Palestine must go back to the borders of 1967

—A Palestinian capital must be established in East Jerusalem;

—Both countries must be included in N.A.T.O.;

—An international fund should be made available for reparations to refugees

—An international peacekeeping force must be established within Israel.

Handler stated that enacting this proposal would be the only "peaceful path to peace." Handler added that other than the Israelis and Palestinians themselves, the American people are the only people in the world who can create an impact in Israel. This is one of the reasons that Tikkun was created. Tikkun is dedicated to organizing local communities into small activism groups, which together can make a huge difference in the United States' policies in the Middle East.

There is some interest in setting up a Tikkun Community here on Macalester's campus. The group currently has a temporary leader, but there are other leadership opportunities available. Call Louis Ledder at x7326 for more details.