By Nate Feldman
Summary:
On day 2, Maoz and Aziz went to Jaffa and Tel Aviv. They met with a Jaffa resident, a Palestinian with Israeli citizenship, who works in politics.
The chapter talks about Jaffa's history, as it was an important economic hub for the Palestinians once. It mentions how many residents were displaced during the 1948 war, and how only a fragment of the original Arab population remained there.
They also visit Rabin square in Tel Aviv, where the former Prime Minister (Yitzhak Rabin) was assassinated in November 1995 while promoting a peaceful resolution with the Palestinians. From there they discuss how Rabin and Yasser Arafat, the former leader of the Palestine Liberation Organization and President of the Palestinian authority had agreed to work together after having been bitter enemies. The writers say that other Israelis and Palestinians can also make the change to partners after having been adversaries.
My thoughts: Whether you agree with the writers' points of view on the conflict or not, it is important to keep in mind that their ability to work together is the most fundamental thing. The goal of peace is not to get everyone to agree with one another. It is to disagree, but with civility, empathy, and perhaps even love in some cases.
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