When it comes to Israel, no one wants to hear anything that sounds like support or at the very least sympathy for the Jewish people. The idea of hearing any person who sympathises with innocent women and children who are killed by extremists or the right of existence of the state of Israel is terrifying.
But I argue that this is problematic particularly if we are indeed serious about ending the conflict in the Middle East and brokering peace between the Israeli and Palestinian people. For this reason I decided to visit these two countries so that I can experience the conflict that I have committed almost my whole life to help resolve.
I could not imagine any other way of experiencing this conflict without getting into the shoes of those affected and hearing from both sides how they want the rest of the world to help them resolve their issues. So I visited these two countries and I was shocked by the amount of falsehoods upon which my views on Israel were edificed. At the end of my visit, I was convinced more than ever that more needs to be done to correct these falsehoods and help the people of Israel and Palestine to find a lasting resolution.
From what I gathered during my visit, the violent and often deadly conflicts which characterised the first and second intifada have decreased significantly. Many conflicts have been avoided since the second intifada – except a few infrequent attacks - credit to the leadership on both sides.
It seems that both sides have come to appreciate the necessity of peaceful engagement that will lead to the resolution of this conflict, whatever the issues are. As we speak, many peace-loving Arab and Jewish people are engaged in a process of finding peaceful ways of resolving the conflict.
I must confess that this is a site that I never thought existed, my idea about this conflict was that there is blood everywhere and gunshots are heard every other minute. However, let me hasten to admit that a number of contentious issues remain unresolved.