The rupture between Israel and Palestine is neither new, nor limited to the peoples of that land. Nor has it been widely recognized by those of us in North America—until now.

The recent and horrific escalation of violence has seared the ‘conflict’ into the conscience of people worldwide. With so many strong opinions in our feeds, conflicting information from our news sources, and condemnations from people in our families and communities, many of us don't know where we stand.

Or we know where we stand, yet we hesitate to share our perspective. We know way too many people are being killed, yet does support of Palestinians mean we're anti-Jewish? Likewise, does supporting the existence of the state of Israel mean we don't support Palestinians? What do we do with our urgent desire to do something?

These aren't questions that can’t be answered quickly. Instead of seeking a solution, let's tend to ourselves: sharing what we feel tender about in a community setting can be a potent elixir in this time of strong feelings, strong divisions, and global angst.

This public conversation stems from a private conversation between Martha Hurwitz and Maggie Karshner, about the experiences, hesitations, and questions of a non-Jew (Maggie) and a secular Jew (Martha). They expanded the conversation several times with a larger group of friends, and are now taking their unique approach to listening and collective processing to a larger audience.

Martha and Maggie will continue offering these conversations regularly, as long as the community expresses a need.