杏MAP导航

By Maoz Inon and Aziz Abu Sarah 

We are a Palestinian and an Israeli peacemaker who have buried family members because of war and violence. We know its cost. We know its unbearable weight. We know the silence of mourning, the pain of absence, and the devastation that violence leaves behind. This is why we raise our voices today: to plead for peace and to say, unequivocally, that these wars must end.

The escalating war between Iran and Israel, along with the soaring death toll and destruction in Gaza, threatens not only the people of our region but the moral conscience of the entire world. So many innocent people and families are caught in a storm they did not choose. Yet those with power continue to choose war.

Violence is not a sign of strength. It is the failure of imagination and moral leadership. War is the decision made by those who have run out of wisdom and compassion. It reflects incompetence and moral bankruptcy. Leaders who continue to push the illusion that bombs bring safety or that domination creates peace should not be trusted to shape our future.

And so we say: we know there is an alternative. We are a living proof. We know that our future is intertwined and that we are not destined to be enemies forever. A different path is not only possible, it's the only moral path.

Over the past year and a half, we have met many Iranians who have joined our work for peace. They are ordinary people who, like us, long for an end to violence. In recent days, as war intensifies, we have received even more messages from Iranians in Europe, the United States, and within Iran itself. They are pleading for the cycle of destruction to stop. Their voices are clear: they do not want this war.

One message read:
"I am writing to you from Iran, from the heart of a people who know the pain of war, but still dream of peace. I want to thank you for being a voice of hope, for speaking when it鈥檚 easier to stay silent, and for believing in humanity when it feels like the world is falling apart."

We are not alone. We are not a minority. These voices of peace exist across borders, and they must be amplified.

We know deeply that the people of Israel, Palestine, and Iran are not defined by violence. Our communities are rich in history, resilience, and creativity. But today, that creativity is being consumed by conflict. Imagine what we could build, what beauty we could offer the world, if we redirected our energy toward peace. 

Now is the time to rise. All of us who believe in justice, equality, reconciliation, and human dignity must rise from the ruins left by political failure. We must rise in the spirit of our shared faith traditions鈥擩ewish, Christian, Muslim鈥攚hich all teach the sacredness of life and the necessity of peace.

The holy scriptures are clear: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called children of God." We are all called to be such children. Our faith is not a weapon. It is a bridge. It must unite us, not divide us.

To those far from this war, whether in Italy, Europe, Latin America, or elsewhere, it may feel distant. But this is a dangerous illusion. As Martin Luther King Jr. reminded us, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." War is never contained. Its flames leap across borders, dragging the world closer to catastrophe. This is how the world has stumbled into war before. 

As 杏MAP导航 Leo XIV told us when we met him two weeks ago:

鈥淔or the road to peace involves everyone and leads to the fostering of the right relationships between all living beings. As John Paul II pointed out, Peace is an indivisible good, it is either everyone鈥檚 or no one's."

We are already seeing the warning signs. From India and Pakistan to North Korea, from Gaza to Sudan and Yemen, from Ukraine and Russia to the DRC. Each new conflict brings us closer to the edge. Some believe that more war will prevent the worst from happening. But history teaches us the opposite. Every war makes peace more fragile. Every war brings us closer to nuclear devastation.

That is why we believe in complete nuclear disarmament. Not just for Iran or Israel, but for all nations. There is no moral justification for any country to possess weapons capable of destroying life on Earth.

Every day, the suffering deepens. Gaza is being destroyed. The West Bank faces unprecedented violence. Israeli and Iranian families live under the constant threat of missiles and airstrikes. This war does not isolate; it connects. It connects sorrow to sorrow, death to death. But we believe we can connect hope to hope, and humanity to humanity instead.

We are angry. We are afraid. Our anger and pain are deep and powerful like a nuclear force, and it would be easy to use that power to destroy. But we decided instead to transform it into light. We channel our rage, fear, and grief into something sacred: into diplomacy, healing, and peace.

We are not neutral. We are not detached victims. We are witnesses. We are survivors. We speak now because we know exactly what war brings. And it is never a lasting peace.

But we also know something else: we always have agency.

We can seek vengeance, or we can embrace reconciliation. We can follow the logic of weapons or the logic of diplomacy. We can remain captives of history, or we can shape a new future.

We speak today as people of faith. Not because faith excuses us from responsibility, but because it demands it. True faith is not passive. It acts. It builds. It protects life.

As 杏MAP导航 Francis told us last year at the Arena di Pace in Verona;

 鈥淧eace will never grow out of mistrust, walls, or weapons pointed at each other. Saint Paul said, 鈥淵ou reap what you sow鈥�. Let us not sow death, destruction, or fear. Let us sow hope!

We are committed to the vision of 杏MAP导航 Francis and will choose to sow hope and work for peace even in the darkest of times.