I hope you’ve had a great week! On Wednesday I returned from a remarkable trip to Israel with an incredible group of Rhode Islanders. For seven days we travelled across the country. We experienced the wonder of Jerusalem, travelled to the West Bank and Bethlehem to speak with Israelis and Palestinians who are working for peace, and to understand multiple perspectives on the conflict. We travelled to the site of the Nova Music Festival to pay tribute to those who lost their lives on October 7th, and we visited Hostage Square in Tel Aviv the day after Israelis celebrated the return of Edan Alexander from Hamas captivity. We did so much on this trip, and I’m still processing all we saw, but there is one part of the trip that I want to share with you today. 

Before our visit to the Nova Festival site, we met an Israeli named Yoel at Netiv Haasara, a farming community just 1300 feet from the northern border of Gaza. Yoel was born in the Sinai in the 1970s and he and his family were forced to move as a result of the Israel-Egypt peace deal. He spoke of the anger he felt early in life toward Palestinians because of this. But then he talked about how for decades he lived side by side with Palestinians, traveling in and out of Gaza. He spoke of how Hamas shattered that 20 years ago when they came to power. He showed us the remnants of the rockets fired into his community. 

And he shared his experience on October 7th. His voice breaking, he shared how he had to come to grips with the fact that he could not protect his son who was on guard duty or his sister because he had to protect his wife and daughters when Hamas terrorists entered the community on paragliders that morning. Thankfully his son and sister survived, but 20 others in the community lost their lives. 

Still, Yoel was not deterred about the importance of peace. He still works in Netiv Haasara and hopes to move back one day. He spoke passionately that it is not about a Palestinian state or an Israeli state, it should be about an Israeli state and a Palestinian state, and that he believes that peace is possible. That most people on both sides want peace. 

I thought about Yoel a lot on Wednesday when I returned to Rhode Island and the news that Providence City Council was displaying a Palestinian flag in their chambers. I also thought about Noor and Shaul, a Palestinian and Israeli working on dialogue and peace efforts in the West Bank. Israel is an incredibly diverse place, and the issues are so complex. I was so grateful to take this trip with the group that we did. That we heard from Yoel and Noor, and Shaul together. I only wish that those on the city council would consider doing the same. Symbolic gestures are easy. The hard work is listening to those you disagree with. The hard work is trying to understand and to empathize with a point of view you don’t share. The hard work is moving past what we think we know in favor of learning from those for whom the conflict is an everyday experience. 

Yoel’s last words for us before we said goodbye were that he continues to look on the bright side. He continues to hope. I echo that sentiment. It is my hope that the remaining hostages are freed. It is my hope that Israelis and Palestinians can live side by side in peace. It is my hope that more people locally will open their hearts and minds to dialogue. It is my hope that our community can continue to find the bright side in difficult times. 

Until next time, I wish you a safe, peaceful, and joyous Shabbat. 

Shabbat Shalom,
Adam Greenman
President & CEO