Peace. Salaam. Shalom.

a two panel icon- on the left, an israeli mother holds a palestinian child; on the right, a palestinian mother holds an israeli child. In fron of the icon in a blue ceramic bowl sage burns

Peace. Salaam. Shalom.

Today I pray for the peoples of Israel and Palestine.

I pray for my friends and their families.

Today I look to this icon gifted to me by the artist and I hold its hope:

Israeli mother holding Palestinian child

Palestinian mother holding Israeli child

Sacred vision so far from current reality

I pause.

I burn sage, wishing to burn away, to purify, the desecration of peoples and lands. I imagine:

Israeli mother holding Palestinian child

Palestinian mother holding Israeli child

no punctuation

Israeli holding Palestinian

Palestinian holding Israeli

Israeli holding Palestinian holding Israeli holding Palestinian and on and on

Both

And

All

I will not choose who “deserves” to suffer or to suffer more.

I will not pick a winner except everyone.

I will not wish harm on anyone.

And still I will say clearly that any hope of true peace for Palestinians and Israelis depends on an end to the more than 5 decades of Israeli military occupation of Palestine and the 16-year blockade of Gaza.

I cannot pretend to know the steps to get there, especially now.

And so I offer my fragmented prayer, words I wish to see pieced together into a mosaic of wholeness:

Sage

Peace

Both

And

All

Visions

Holding

Safety

Love

Care

Peace

Salaam

Shalom

How?