Chapter 1: What personal experiences led to the belief that peace is possible?
The Clare Byrne Show on Newstalk with Aviva Insurance.
Now, for those who have suffered in the Middle East and for those who have spent a lifetime watching the war there ebb and flow, it's understandable to lose hope that peace is possible. But the authors of a book called The Future Is Peace Believe Otherwise say,
This book brings together Palestinian peace activist Azizi Abu Sarah and Israeli peace activist Mawaz Inan, both of whom have experienced devastating personal losses and yet continue to push for peace. I'm delighted now to be joined both by Azizi and Mawaz and you're both very welcome to the programme. Good morning to you.
Hi, good morning. It's great to be with you.
Thank you both for being with us. And now, as I might begin with you, because your journey together, where you arrived at the conclusion that the future is peace, it began really on the 7th of October, didn't it, where you were deeply and personally impacted?
Yes, you are right. My parents, my beloved parents, Bila and Jacobi, were among the first victims of the Hamas attack of October the 7th. They lived only 200 meters from the border with Gaza, and we lost contact with them early morning, Saturday morning. And later in the afternoon, we learned that their house was burned to ashes with them inside.
And we've decided, me, my three sisters, and my young brother, to start the Shiva immediately. It's the seventh day of mourning within the Jewish tradition. And on the second day, my brother, Magen, told us that we must make a family decision and then to share it with everyone that is willing to listen. And he wanted this decision to be that we are rejecting revenge.
that we don't want to avenge the deaths of our parents, and he explained that by avenging their death, we're not going to bring them back to life, and we'll only escalate the cycle of violence and bloodshed.
We, Palestinian Israelis, have been trapped within for a century, and he argued that to cherish my parents' legacy and memory, we must create a new path, a new vision for peace and reconciliation.
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Chapter 2: How did the October 7th attacks impact the guests' perspectives on revenge?
So I definitely acknowledge and recognize those feelings. And then the question is, what are we doing with this anger? And like Aziz taught me and says many times, anger is like a nuclear power. We can use it to destroy civilization, and we can use it to create light, light that will take us into a better future. So in the future is peace. We are transforming revenge into reconciliation.
We are transforming through the stories we share, through the journey we are inviting the readers to join us to. We are transforming trauma into healing and despair. All Israelis probably you speak with now are in despair. And we are together, when Palestinians and Israelis are working together to create a shared vision, to create a shared future, we are transforming despair into hope.
So this is exactly our mission.
But you know... Often the loudest voices are those who shout war. I mean, look at last week at Ben Gavir, who stood amongst the people who were on the flotilla and their aim was to bring aid, as we know, to those in Gaza. And there were Irish people on that flotilla. So this was a big news story here. And the way that they were treated caused outrage here in Ireland.
They're the voices that we hear most often, aren't we? Aren't they?
Yes, yes, because unfortunately, media and mostly social media, what bleeds leads. And this is why we are so thankful for you for interviewing us, for sharing those message of peace and reconciliation. And Aziz and I are only presenters of the peace movement that is growing, that is gaining momentum. of Palestinian Israelis that are working together.
So we'll be happy to go on your show and many others as much as we can and also introduce you to other Palestinian Israeli peacemakers.
Well, on that, Aziz, how rare is it to find people who think like you? Or is there perhaps more willingness to understand and to push for peace than we realise?
There are tons of Palestinians who are like me. I think the problem is they don't have a platform and they don't have the opportunity to speak in the media. Look, there are many countries makes it next to impossible for Palestinians to travel to them. In the United States today, you cannot even get a visa to the US as a Palestinian.
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