The two authors come with a different background. Aziz Abu Sarah is a Palestinian who has lost a brother (and others) to the conflict. Maoz Inon is a Jew whose family had migrated from what is now Moldova and his parents were killed at the recent Hamas onslaught. One similarity is that they both were tour guides, but that also ended with the conflict.
Ariz had developed the idea of offering the Jewish and Palestinian view for his tours. Later he persuaded Moaz to adopt the same practice. Unfortunately tourism itself was hurt by the violence since October 2023,
Yitzhak Rabin was the first Israeli Prime Minister to acknowledge Palestinians had rights. He along with Yasser Arafat and Shimon Peres was recognized with the 1994 Nobel Peace Prize. Rabin was assassinated in 1995
Aziz has tirelessly pushed for peace. "Peace work does not necessarily bring peace of mind....In peace work the only failure is inaction...We must treat war and hatred as diseases." It is pointed out that we do not consider cancer research a failure, but strive to try harder and smarter and so we should consider peace efforts the same way.
The West Bank settlements are a major obstacle. The Israeli government gives incentives for Jews and places restrictions on the Palestinians. Over 800,000 olive trees that had been farmed by Palestinians have been uprooted. In 2018, the Trump administration cut off Palestinian aid programs. One enterprise, Olive Oil without Borders found the co-operation between Israelis and Palestinians productive was forced to abandon their efforts.l
Saladin, a Muslim leader defeated the Crusaders around 1187 C.E. He was tolerant of Jews and Greek Orthodox Christians, allowing them to practice their religions freely.
Parts of the world wonder why the Israelis and Palestinians cannot forgive each other. In 1990 South Africa dismantled apartheid. In 1998 in North Ireland, the Protestants and Catholics reconciled. In the early 2000's the Hutus and Tutsis moved forward in Rwanda.
Palestinians feel Jews used the Holocaust as a tool to gain global sympathy and are reluctant to acknowledge the Jewish pain. They feel the pain they suffered from what is called the Nakba. Both need to be made aware of the suffering of the other and then maybe they can reconcile.
The authors do not believe a two state solution is possible. at the present time. As the two states would be like a divorced couple. They feel a solution requires equality, dignity, recognition, safety and security for all. The efforts of the two authors is a small step in the right direction and needs to be joined by many others. The fields of sports and music are promising, but maybe what they need is a common project such as fighting climate change.
An earlier post with more background: http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/10/life-death-and-pursuit-of-peace-in.html
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