Daniel Lubetzky

This weekend we were able to enjoy the crops from our garden, picking the vegetables and turning them into a delicious meal.

“Status quos are made to be broken.”
-Ray Davis

This is yet another pitiful example of extremists disparaging one another. Moderates must vocally stand up to extremism on both sides of the divide. Otherwise, we are stuck with a relentless zero-sum fight between anti-Israeli and anti-Palestinian groups trying to delegitimize the identity and the humanity of the other. Any group that does not accept the fundamental right of each nation to a state, to freedom and to dignity and peace is part of the problem.

If we do not stand up firmly and resolutely against these extremists on both sides, they will continue feeding and strengthening one another and eventually turn both Israelis and Palestinians into international lepers. It is already happening. The question is whether enough of us will stand up before it’s too late.

I am in the Middle East on a OneVoice mission, and today I had a number of engaging meetings with Israeli leaders (to be followed by 4 more intense days with Palestinian, Israeli and international leaders). One of my most remarkable meetings today was with Yuval Diskin, the former head of Shin Bet, the Israel Security Service (kind of like the FBI of Israel). This was my second meeting with him, and I am extremely impressed with his grasp of the political issues confronting Israel, with his understanding of Palestinians (actually rare for most Israelis who almost never actually get to interact with them, given the physical and virtual separation they face), and with his down-to-earth and practical persona. Below is an article recently published on the Israeli Walla website and a day later in The Jerusalem Post, which details quite accurately the conundrum Israelis must face now.

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Something about growing your own veggies makes them so much tastier when you eat them. We grew these gigantic cucumbers and the boys and I were eating them last week and will do again next week, just whole, as a snack. They are crunchier, tastier, they just feel so fresh, so real, and so ours. I love growing veggies with my kids, showing them the magic of nature and life, getting them to work to harvest their food – I just love it. This summer we grew tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots, basil, cilantro and radishes!

“If you want to make peace with your enemy,
you have to work with your enemy.
Then he becomes your partner.”
- Nelson Mandela

 ”They always say time changes things,
but you actually have to change them yourself.”
- Andy Warhol