In order to prepare for a presentation I gave on Sunday I read The Shepherd's Granddaughter by Canadian children's author Anne Laurel Carter.
The novel tells the story of a young Palestinian girl named Amani who learns how to be a shepherd from her grandfather. After her grandfather dies Amani, a teenager, becomes solely responsible for her family's flock.
The novel describes how Israeli settlers move closer and closer to the land that has been in Amani's family for generations.
This causes Amani to go in search of a secret meadow her grandfather has told her about where she hopes her sheep can safely graze. However that secret meadow is also home to a wolf who wants to destroy her sheep. In the meadow she meets an Israeli boy from the settlement named Jonathan who is about her age.
They develop a friendship and Jonathan helps her save her sheep from the wolf.
I recently read about an Israeli organization called Women Wage Peace. They have some 50,000 members dedicated to ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through government engagement, digital communication and special projects.
Israeli and Palestinian mothers marching together in Jerusalem
The Israeli Women Wage Peace group partners with a Palestinian organization called Women of the Sun based in Bethlehem which has much the same mandate.
Logo for the Together for Humanity Concert
In January of 2024 Women Wage Peace and Women of the Sun co-hosted a sold-out concert called Together for Humanity in Berlin featuring the Berlin Symphony Orchestra as well as many other well-known music performers.
Both Israeli and Palestinian women told stories during the concert about how the current conflict is impacting them and their families.
One speaker said, "Mothers, Israeli and Palestinian, Arab and Jewish, are committed to creating peace until the conflict is finally over. Because there is no power in the world that can stop a mother if she wants to create a future for her children."
Money raised at the Berlin concert was divided equally between the two organizations.
Both Israel's Woman Wage Peace organization and Palestine's Women of the Sun organization have been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
In their efforts to save their lambs- their children from the wolves of war- those shepherding Israeli and Palestinian women are working together.
Other posts..........
Loving Our Children More Than We Hate Our Enemies
Remembering the Holocaust Through Personal Experiences
A Peaceful Mind and Heart
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