One Palestinian and one Israeli stand for peace

[Nada Jung]

Osama and Maoz, two men from different backgrounds - one Palestinian and one Israeli, that have faced tragic loss and pain and despite this continue to stand for peace.

Osama shares about his first CfP encounter: "A friend invited me to a meeting in Beit Jala. When I arrived, I discovered there were Israelis there. At first I refused to sit or talk to them, so I sat on the side. I heard an Israeli woman say, “We’re allowed to defend ourselves and we’re allowed to defend our people, but what happened in Gaza – to blow up a whole building and kill several families to take out one terrorist, that’s not acceptable to me. That is not my people, that is not my army.”

That moment changed my life. I wanted to hug her. After that I kept meeting with Israelis, learning about them – befriending them. My entire perspective shifted. I went to more and more joint gatherings. I met people, who only years before were my enemy – who might have shot bullets in the direction of me or my friends. Yet today we work together for peace, justice, security, equality and dignity.

I know that we can only heal this situation if we work together. We can only end this conflict, and heal the sorrow and pain of both our nations, if we work together cooperatively and peacefully. Peace cannot come through war. Freedom will only come when we break out of the chains that bind us: the chains of hatred, of violence and of revenge."

This post comes from the
'Combatants for Peace' Network, and I want to say thank you!