'The Future Is Peace'

On Yom HaZikaron, a message of hope from warriors for peace; Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon

I consider Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon to be heroic advocates for peace. Both men have suffered tragic losses as a result of the Israeli‑Palestinian conflict. Aziz’s brother died from injuries inflicted while in Israeli custody, and Maoz’s parents were murdered by Hamas terrorists on October 7. Days after Maoz’s parents were killed, Aziz reached out to offer his condolences. Soon after, they began touring together to share their message of peace through dialogue with audiences around the world.

They recently published a book titled The Future Is Peace: A Shared Journey Across the Holy Land, which I look forward to reading as soon as I can get my hands on it. As part of their book tour, they appeared with Jon Stewart on The Daily Show to talk about their stories of loss, humanity and shared activism. I strongly recommend watching the interview below to see how truly inspirational these men are.

Today, on Yom HaZikarron, Israel’s Memorial Day, in addition to memorializing Israel’s military heroes and victims of terror, I think it’s also important to focus on the hopeful future Aziz and Maoz envision, so that we can aspire to a time when we will have no new deaths to mourn on this day.