VIDEOS: "I Want to be Moral"

For two weeks, our interfaith delegation explored, in conversation, the pain and narratives shaping life in the Holy Land.  We met with fathers who've lost their children to unimaginable acts of violence and terror.  We met with business leaders struggling to build infrastructure and cohesive society.  We met with political settlers and angry activists.

And then, on our last day in Jaffa, we met with two young women, one an Israeli Jew and the other a Palestinian, who shared their perspectives on racism, violence, militarism and occupation.  Something about these two, Yael and Rulah, moved me deeply.  Perhaps it was their passion, their commitment to a better future.  Perhaps it was their despair, their aching without much hope for something more just.  I took two videos as they responded to our questions...and the videos reveal, I think, their efforts to be honest and bold, attentive to one another, faithful to the communities they come from.  Both feel somewhat invisible in the political process, unimportant to larger forces making devastating choices.

But they insist there are ways we can support them and empower their generation.  If there's to be a two-state solution (which seems increasingly problematic and impossible) or a stunning one-state proposal, the peoples of the Holy Land will need Yael and Rulah at the vanguard of a new society: bi-national, multi-ethnic and deeply relational.  I'm listening closely for their counsel and advice.

Here are two videos of Yael and Rulah and their interaction with us: 1. Responding to a question about what Americans can do to be supportive of their dreams and hopes.  2.  Responding to a question about the state of Israeli politics and life during and after the Gaza War last summer.  If you're wondering about ways for Americans to use political influence and power in advancing peace in the Middle East, here's a place to start.  "I want to be moral," Yael said about economic pressures from the West.  "I want to live in a moral country."