Because I know about the Holy Land, I've taught lessons about

“Because I know about the Holy Land, I've taught lessons about the Holy Land all my life, and – but you can't bring peace to Israel without giving the Palestinian also peace. And Lebanon and Jordan and Syria as well.” Thus spoke Jimmy Carter, former President and tireless mediator, whose voice carries the weight of experience and the tone of lament. His words are not the idle musings of a scholar but the cry of a man who once walked the corridors of power, striving to end wars, and who knows that true peace cannot be the possession of one people alone. It must be shared, or it will perish.

From the dawn of history, the Holy Land has been the meeting place of peoples, the cradle of prophets, the battleground of empires. Here Abraham walked, here David ruled, here Christ and Muhammad’s followers proclaimed faith. Yet the same soil that bore revelation has also drunk deeply of blood, for each people who loves it has claimed it, and each who claims it fears to lose it. Carter speaks to this tragic cycle: there can be no peace for Israel if there is no peace for Palestine. The wound of one becomes the wound of all, for in this land, destinies are entwined like the roots of ancient olive trees.

History bears witness to this truth. In 1978, Carter himself brought together Menachem Begin of Israel and Anwar Sadat of Egypt at Camp David. Against all odds, they forged an accord that ended decades of enmity. But even then, Carter knew: unless the Palestinian people found justice and dignity, peace would remain incomplete. And indeed, the decades since have confirmed it. Treaties with neighbors may calm the borders, but the fire within the land itself still burns, for no man or woman can live in peace while their neighbor suffers in oppression.

The wisdom of Carter’s words stretches beyond Israel and Palestine. He names Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, for he knows the region is bound together by threads of history, faith, and family. To secure peace in one corner while leaving turmoil in another is to attempt to dam a river with reeds. The waters of conflict overflow. The struggles of refugees, the cries of the displaced, the anger of the dispossessed—all spill across borders. Thus, peace cannot be isolated; it must be regional, it must be shared, it must be rooted in justice for all peoples.

The ancients themselves taught this. The Hebrew prophets declared that the work of righteousness shall be peace, and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. Christ proclaimed, “Blessed are the peacemakers.” The Qur’an speaks of reconciliation as pleasing to God. In every tradition born of that land, the call to shared peace resounds. And yet, how often have men twisted religion into a weapon rather than a bridge? Carter’s plea is a return to that ancient wisdom: there is no true peace unless it embraces both friend and foe.

The lesson for us is profound: peace is indivisible. If you seek it only for yourself, you will never hold it. Just as families cannot flourish when one child is neglected, nations cannot flourish when one people lives in safety while another lives in despair. To build peace, we must lift the burdens of all, not merely our own. Carter’s words remind us that solidarity, not selfishness, is the path to lasting harmony.

Practical actions follow. In our own lives, let us learn not to pursue peace only when it serves us. In families, seek peace for every member, not only for those who agree with us. In communities, work for justice for the marginalized, for their unrest will unsettle the whole. And on the stage of nations, press leaders to remember that treaties and borders are empty if they do not bring dignity to the people who dwell within them. For every act of fairness, every gesture of compassion, builds the foundation of true peace.

Thus Jimmy Carter’s words stand as both warning and beacon: you cannot bring peace to one without peace for the other. The fate of Israel is tied to Palestine, the fate of one nation to its neighbors, the fate of each soul to the souls around it. And so I say to you: do not seek peace for yourself alone, but seek it for all, and you will find it more secure than any fortress of stone. For peace, once shared, becomes unbreakable; but peace hoarded will vanish like sand through the hand.