Many books have been written about the Oasis of Peace.  

This is the first written by someone who has settled there and offers a thought provoking insight into the frustrations and the pleasures of living in a mixed Arab/Jewish village.

Inspiration for the title comes from the broadcaster David Attenborough who describes the anteater and the jaguar locked together in a brutal embrace – the anteater torn by the jaguar’s teeth and the jaguar torn by the anteater’s claws. An analogy that works for Rayek. He is torn apart, the Jews and Arabs living in the village are torn apart as are those living in the wider community. In shreds but at the same time inextricably bound together – living on the same small piece of land and in the case of the village residents, sharing a mission to improve society. 

Against a background of the sometimes painful environmental and organisational changes required for the village to grow to the size it is today, Rayek recounts his personal journey. It isn’t easy but he ends up understanding that “we are all right, we are all wrong, we are all victims”. 

An excellent read. Highly recommended.  

This post was written by current trustee of the Oasis of Peace UK, Jenny Nemko. To find more about Jenny, please see our Meet the Team information page. 

Please note that all opinions expressed on our blogs are those of the authors alone, they do not necessarily reflect that of the Oasis of Peace UK.