On the 9
th day we looked into the question how
can we love our enemies? Loving our enemies as we discussed is very difficult
but crucial for peace and friendship. We started our day by going to a settlement
made from Jews who had to evacuate Gaza. We heard the story of man named
Ariodes. He told us his story and that of many others like him who were forced
to leave Gaza during the Disengagement in 2005. They started a settlement
called Neta. His story was very compelling. We also had discussions and text
study during this time.
After lunch we met with two women who are part of an
organization called the Parents’ Circle, an organization supporting families
who have lost a loved one in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. They shared their
story and the goals of the organization to try and create peace and friendship
between Arabs and Israelis. We then listened to a Jewish women who makes clay
pieces and puts them on the wall between Gaza and Israel. She tries to make the
wall a more attractive and less hostile site. She also paints peace and peace signs
towards Gaza so someone hopefully sees it in Gaza. With her, we all chose a
clay piece and help decorate the wall between Gaza and Israel. We met some IDF
soldiers and talked with them. We understood what it was really like to live on
the border with Gaza, and how peace could really be an option.
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