Yesterday, we celebrated the 248th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. It gave me reason to consider that like many, if not most countries, the US was conceived in war. That has been the human condition throughout most of history - as Douglas Murray reminds us in his incredible advocacy for Israel. Peace hasn’t been the natural state. Not here, nor anywhere else. It has to be fought for, and once achieved, it has to be nurtured and sustained, or the painful natural state returns.
I think it is obvious that we are living through a time where our societies, across the US, Israel, around the world, haven’t adequately nurtured or sustained the peace we aspire to, so we are in some ways the authors of our own conflicts, or, at least, of giving others the impression that there is something to be gained by initiating conflict. Peace takes effort. It takes vigilance, it takes consistency and it takes compassion - most of all compassion for those who don’t have choices in a conflict, as well as those who will follow after, and deal with the consequences of not guarding and sustaining the peace.
With this in mind, I invite you to join us in Israel on August 25-29, as we embark on a mission of unity, seeing how Israeli society can heal, sustain itself, support those who have lost so much, and take the time to have our own conversations in such a consequential environment, about how we can be consistent, vigilant, energetic and compassionate. On Monday July 8 at 6:30 p.m., we will be having an info session via zoom on our Israel Mission. You can find more details and register HERE.
Looking forward to seeing you!