Hello friends,
If this post landed in your email inbox, you may be one of the new subscribers who signed up to receive my newsletter Sift. Shift. Lift. over the past few days. Thank you. I am so glad you did.
Or, you may have subscribed to Sift. Shift. Lift. in (gulp) 2021. If so, thank you for reading my posts in the past. I am glad you did, and I hope you will stick around for Sift. Shift. Lift. 2.0.
In 2021-2022, I published close to 70 posts exploring little-known historical events, highlighting social justice movements, and profiling (in a good way) clever, curious, compassionate folx committed to making this a better world.
I stopped publishing my newsletter for a couple reasons. One: I was tired of blocking neo-Nazis and Russian bots in the comments. And, two: I wanted to devote more time to writing a novel.
Now, as I scroll through my Substack feed, trying to make sense of all the destruction underway, I am pulled back here. It is time to revive Sift. Shift. Lift. (While putting the finishing touches on draft six of my novel, a coming-of-age story set against the horrors of the Holodomor.)
I hope you will walk with me.
I have been thinking a lot lately about what it means to be a good neighbour, in times of peace and, most critically, when there is conflict.
I have been thinking about the neighbours waging war and threatening to redraw borders around the globe. There is Russia’s aggressive attack on Ukraine. The long, devastating conflict between Israel and Palestine. And Trump’s threats against Panama, Mexico, Greenland, and Canada, the country I call home.
In the face of threats to Canada’s sovereignty, I have pledged my resistance. I have doubled down on efforts to strengthen my local community. I am buying Canadian products and cancelling plans to visit the United States.
It is hard. I have much-loved friends and family south of the border. I see the turmoil within the U.S. I feel deeply for those who are losing their jobs and those impacted as critical legislation and other safety nets are pulled apart.
In the wake of a boycott on U.S. products on February 28, an American asked Canadians: do you still like us?
I do.
Now, as I wonder how to protect my nation’s sovereignty — and my rights to universal health care, reproductive freedoms, marriage equality, gun regulations, and so much more — I am asking myself: How can I resist the threat of annexation and support my American friends and family in their struggle.
Friends, how can we walk together?
Over the next few weeks, I will highlight some of the academics, artists, and activists worldwide who are wrestling with these questions and, in the process, creating paths to peace. Starting, today, in the Middle East.
Will you join me?
Sift.
Sift through academic research in peace and conflict studies.
Recently, I stumbled across the concept of agonistic peacebuilding, or “creating a political space in which a friend/enemy relationship can be reframed and transformed into one of legitimate adversaries” (Aggestam et al., 2015: 1,738).
Though we cannot think alike, may we not love alike? May we not be of one heart, though we are not of one opinion?” — John Wesley
Dr. Lisa Strömbom, Associate Professor and Senior Lecturer in the Department of Political Science at Lund University in Sweden, has written extensively on agonistic peacebuilding, especially in Israel and Palestine.
For a deep dive into the research, read “Agonistic peace: advancing knowledge on institutional dynamics and relational transformation.”
Short on time? Watch this six-minute video.
Shift.
Get inspired by music — and musical partnerships — that transcend boundaries.
I am listening to Israeli-Canadian musician Yael Deckelbaum as I write this post. Her musical chops are considerable. A founding member of Habanot Nechama, an Israeli folk band who’s self-titled album went platinum in Israel, she has released four solo albums and performed on the same stage with Sir George Martin, Suzanne Vega, Chris Cornell, Bobby McFerrin, Matisyahu, Gregory Porter and more.
She is also a force for peace, equally at home performing on stage and in the streets. Following the viral success in 2016 of “Prayer Of The Mothers”, a song featuring Jewish and Arab musicians, written to support the Women Wage Peace movement, Yael has been invited to lead women’s marches in 10 countries, bringing her steadfast message of unwavering kindness, mutual respect, and hope to people on four continents: Europe, Asia, Africa, and North America.
Do you have a few minutes? Listen to “Prayer Of The Mothers.” In the video, thousands of Palestinian and Israeli women march together, inspiring women across the globe.
Palestinian musician Meera Eilabouni often collaborates and tours with Yael Deckelbaum. As I write this post, they are wrapping up shows in Amsterdam. In “Hayati,” they sing defiantly and joyfully about forging friendships across physical and ideological divides. Echoing Rumi’s famous lines:
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing, there is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
Lift.
Take action and support grassroots, women-led organizations working together to promote peace between neighbours in Israel and Palestine.
Women Wage Peace is the largest peace organization in Israel with over 44,000 active members.
Established in 2021, Women of the Sun is an independent Palestinian women’s organizaton.
The two organizations have signed a partnership pact, committing “to work together with determination, persistence and mutual respect in order to bring about the end to the long and bloody conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians.”
In 2024, their collaborative efforts were recognized by the European Parliament, earning them their place as one of three finalists for the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought.
Before you go
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Thanks for sharing @B.A. Lampman — you are a good neighbour. :-)
Welcome back 😊, and thanks for your considerable hard work.