イスラエル／パレスチナ和平

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=70526
Bereaved families call for peace

Their status gives these families a moral authority to speak out, and a group of Israelis and Palestinians is using the platform to fight an atmosphere of hate.

Calling themselves the Parents' Forum, they first came together seven years ago; what is remarkable is that they continue even now to meet and reach out to an increasingly resistant audience.

Their message is the antithesis of today's mainstream: No to revenge. Turn the other cheek. Peace over pain.

"After my first brother was killed," Awwad says, speaking in flawless, casual Hebrew, "I didn't want to see Jews anymore. My brain stopped working. But then I thought, that's not the solution. You kill me, I kill you - it's not right. Then my second brother was killed. I have to tell you, they were my favorites of all my brothers.

"The first days were hateful, but then I calmed down. The solution is not to kill but to solve the reasons people kill."

About 150 Israelis and 100 Palestinians are members. Their numbers were initially swelled by new deaths during the current conflict, then eroded by feelings of betrayal and hate that have driven even peace-loving Israelis and Palestinians apart.

"I do not love Palestinians - they killed my son," he once told the Los Angeles Times. "But I have respect for Palestinians as a people and give to them the dignity that I would give to an Israeli."

"Our family has spent years in the struggle," Khaled Awwad said, seated next to Fatima. "Nobody can come and say a word against us," he said. "They cannot claim that I am doing something against my people. I lost two brothers. You cannot lose the blood of your brothers and be accused of collaborating.

"I'm not ashamed to say I want peace with the Jews. I don't care if they accuse me of being an informer or a traitor. My brain tells me, my soul tells me, this is the only way."

テロで家族を失ったイスラエル人と
軍に家族を殺されたパレスチナ人が
一緒にイスラエルの高校で講演会を開いた、
との記事です。