Help Us Tell A New Story

I am here in California a week after the election and a week after returning from Israel and Palestine. Our countries have so much in common: they are divided, torn apart from the inside out. But the work we have been doing gives me so much hope– for the United States, for humanity.

I have learned so much in the past year and a half of being with this group. Firstly, I have learned that there are so many people who long to find a way to bridge a terrible divide, even when it’s a risk to their life to do so.

I can tell you that so many groups made up of both Israelis and Palestinians fell apart after October 7th. It was such an intense and fractured time. But not ours. We are adapting. This past meeting we had to meet separately – Israelis together and Palestinians together– because there was no safe space for all of us to gather. Our next meeting is in January, and our hope is to meet together. Being together costs significantly more money because of the logistics but they are infinitely more beneficial.

Being together is what we need. Being together is what the world needs. When we spend time together, so many of the stories we tell about each other fall away. And when stories fall away there is the possibility that we can tell a new story together.

With hope in my heart and gratitude for all the support we have already received,

Ann