1. Calling the Jaha

   When a conflict has led to grievous damage, the family of the offender (or the offender himself)goes from house to house, confessing the wrong and calling the community to mediate between the two parties. Petitions are made at the homes of respected community leaders, asking them to assemble in a delegation of mediators, known as the Jaha.

2. Consent

   The role of the Jaha is, in turn, to petition the offended household on behalf of the offenders': "We are asked by the offender and his family to come and pay you a visit in order to have the honor of offering their repentance and to express their sorrow for what has happened... [We] ask you to be kind-- to have a great deal of honor on your own part and let us take the case into our hands... [Allow us to] help to restore peace between you." (Jabbour, 1996)

   Generally, due to the grief and anger of the victim's family, the Jaha must return to the household several times before obtaining consent. Despite the rejection the mediators may initially receive, this persistence is necessary in order to demonstrate proper respect for the crisis and honor for the injured family. Consent only occurs when the head of the injured family states, before witnesses, that he entrusts the case to the Jaha and will accept its ruling.

3. Hodna

   The granting of consent establishes a principle of the sulha process, called hodna. The hodna is a truce agreement wherein the Jaha specifies a period of time, usually three to six months but in some cases longer, with the understanding that the offended family will not retaliate. Likewise, the offender's family promises to avoid meeting or confronting members of the victim's family. Hodna is therefore considered an act of humility, demonstrating repentance and a willingness to make peace.

4. 'Atwa

   'Atwa is paid during the hodna period-- sort of a "bail bond" to back up the hodna commitment. The 'atwa could be a sum of money, or the offended household may require a verbal pledge of honor from the offender's household. Although the victim's family has the right to refuse the 'atwa, the Jaha skillfully counsels the family to accept it. With this, the Jaha seals the hodna pledge of nonviolence.

5. Diya

   After the hodna has been stated and the 'atwa has been given, there follows a period of grieving and repentance during which the Jaha decides on an appropriate ruling. If the case involves a killing, brutalization or serious injury, the delegation calls for the payment of redemption money, or diya. This substantial payment is viewed primarily as a symbolic compensation, given to the offended family to honor "the person's blood" which, according to Arabic tradition, has no price and cannot be replaced.

6. The Sulha Ritual

   After these five elements have been completed, the community enacts the formal sulha ritual. It is held that true peace must be made openly, and so the sulha ceremony is regularly held in late morning at a gathering of family members, special guests and the greater community, all overseen by the Jaha.

   It is a rich and elegant ritual wherein the reconciling households exchange gestures and verbal pledges commemorating the peace and acknowledging that a sincere restitution is being made.

   Respected witnesses join the parties in knotting a ceremonial cloth, symbolizing the making of peace and fresh relational ties. Afterward, the victim's family hosts the offender's family at home to share bitter coffee, an ancient symbol of hospitality. Finally, the head of the offender's household rises and invites the other family to his home for a traditional meal. The meal features the sharing of bread and salt, age-old symbols of fealty, and a banquet of rice and lamb. It is critical that the members of both families all eat together, as this at last signifies the reversal of the original tragedy-- new friendships.

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WI'AM AND THE ROLE OF THE JAHA

The success or failure of the mediation effort in Palestinian society falls squarely on the shoulders of the Jaha, the delegation of community leaders recruited to mediate the conflict. It is a role demanding the utmost in sensitivity, patience, communication, attention to detail and sense of justice. It is a role the community cannot afford to see unfulfilled.

A Wi'am mediator is uniquely trained to serve the community in this archetypal role of Peacemaker. The Jaha has served each generation of Palestinian society not only as a mediator in incidental conflicts, but as a model of community peacemaking. And the chaos in Palestinian life with the Israeli occupation has made the need for this traditional body all the more acute.

It is this need which has put Wi'am's mediators in high demand, and has made the Center's conflict resolution program a crucial asset to the community. Support of this project is nothing less than support of Palestinian cultural continuity and of social harmony in this region.