Claudette Habasch, Director, Caritas International, Jerusalem, stated, "I am a Palestinian. Palestine is my country. I am one of 12 million Christians from the Middle East. That is my faith." Describing her many roles - a mother, wife, daughter, friend, fighter, member of a community, survivor, and human who wants to live with dignity and respect - she asserted that her most important facet is that she is someone who believes in the power of Peace.
She told a story about a parent whose daughter, like every child, must go through a checkpoint at gunpoint on her way to school. The parent was concerned because one day he heard his daughter describing feelings of happiness about a suicide bomber she had head about, saying that this suicide bomber was trying to "protect" her. Knowing that the suicide bombings are unjustifiable violence, the father described his disappointment that in spite of his attempts to raise her according to Christian principles, the violence around her "took over" her sense of morality. Because it came into his home daily, his daughter now identified violence as something that could protect her. Many parents are working, like this one, to raise their children and grandchildren without hate and ready for reconciliation. Even so, students ask their teachers at school, "How are we to love this enemy who constantly shells our homes?"
"I propose to reframe the debate," said Ms. Habasch. "The situation is not about Israel and Palestine. It is about those who choose violence versus those who choose Peace."
She told a story about a parent whose daughter, like every child, must go through a checkpoint at gunpoint on her way to school. The parent was concerned because one day he heard his daughter describing feelings of happiness about a suicide bomber she had head about, saying that this suicide bomber was trying to "protect" her. Knowing that the suicide bombings are unjustifiable violence, the father described his disappointment that in spite of his attempts to raise her according to Christian principles, the violence around her "took over" her sense of morality. Because it came into his home daily, his daughter now identified violence as something that could protect her. Many parents are working, like this one, to raise their children and grandchildren without hate and ready for reconciliation. Even so, students ask their teachers at school, "How are we to love this enemy who constantly shells our homes?"
"I propose to reframe the debate," said Ms. Habasch. "The situation is not about Israel and Palestine. It is about those who choose violence versus those who choose Peace."