Dear friends and supporters of Indiana Center for Middle East Peace,
The two questions I’m asked most often are:
First, “Why do you do what you do? What is it about the Palestinian issue that has caused you to commit your life to it?”
And the second, “Where do you find hope?”
I always, always respond with the same answer: It is because of the Palestinian people.
It is because of the many Palestinian people that we have met on our solidarity tours and who we’ve hosted in Fort Wayne, and others – their courage, their faith, their steadfast resistance, and more – that has inspired me in my work. And second, it is because of that same courage, faith, and steadfast resistance in those same Palestinian people where I find hope.
I imagine that for you, especially for those of you who have traveled with me, knowing them, becoming friends with so many of our Palestinian friends, you would say the same thing. And that is why you have been so supportive of our work at Indiana Center for Middle East Peace.
In Saturday’s Mondoweiss, Mitchell Plitnick says this same thing. So for this blog posting, I want to share with you his Opinion Piece – “Where To Find Hope.” Here’s the Mondoweiss link, if you’d like to read it: https://mondoweiss.net/2022/12/where-to-find-hope/.
Mitchell Plitnick is the president of ReThinking Foreign Policy. He is the co-author, with Marc Lamont Hill, of Except for Palestine: The Limits of Progressive Politics. Mitchell’s previous positions include vice president at the Foundation for Middle East Peace, Director of the US Office of B’Tselem, and Co-Director of Jewish Voice for Peace.
Wishing you all a blessed holiday and a 2023 that brings peace, justice, and joy.
Michael