Sand and Sky

Holy Land

Gaza: A Dark Night of Hope

Gaza: A Dark Night of Hope

by | Mar 15, 2024 | , , , ,

We have not slept. Our entire city is haunted by the images, videos and stories streaming out of Gaza. Life seems heavily veiled in a haze of shared grief, fear, helplessness and even guilt as we try to understand how our tax dollars could be used by those we elected to slaughter our relatives overseas. Abdullah H. HammoudThese words from the Mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, haunt me. My ancestors came to America generations ago, so I cannot imagine what it feels like to be here, to love America,...

Without Vision

Without Vision

by | Nov 30, 2023 | , ,

Decades ago I became haunted by a question: When does a war end? The suffering of refugees and veterans endures long after and far away from the hell of war. If not faced, the trauma passes from one generation to the next. Since 1948, Jews traumatized by Europe’s pogroms have traumatized Palestinians, who...

Big Ifs in Israel and Palestine

Big Ifs in Israel and Palestine

by | Nov 30, 2023 | , ,

The outbreak of war in Israel/Palestine on October 7, 2023 prompted me to post these reflections based on a visit to the Holy Land in 2007. A look at the conditions then may help us understand the current tragedy. My most recent post on the war is here. May those who have suffered most find a way to future healing.In 2006 I attended a talk by...

Iceberg Tips and Stones of Hope

Iceberg Tips and Stones of Hope

by | Aug 31, 2023 | , ,

Out of the mountain of despair, a stone of hope. —Martin Luther King, Jr.The people I encountered at Chicago’s Parliament of the World’s Religions, speakers and attendees, were tips of icebergs. Returning home and learning more about them and their affiliations, I am amazed at the quiet flotilla of virtue and social transformation that they...

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