No Mother Should Suffer

This post is dedicated to a courageous, brave and beautiful woman I heard speak at a meeting between Jewish and Muslim women in a town in the West Bank. It was a meeting sponsored by a group of families living on both sides of the conflict who have lost dear ones to the terrible hatred spawned by extremists. This woman lost her son after he was abducted by Jews outside his home in east Jerusalem, beaten almost to death, then set on fire. This must stop, she said, so that no other mother – Jewish or Arab – suffers as she suffers. If only for her, we should all give those we might otherwise consider our enemies a chance to speak.