The park side chats we all need to be having

Two 21-year-olds walked into a park on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in Weston, FL. I was the first to arrive on scene. We first started talking about our different paths when it comes to higher education. She had just started college at 21, and meanwhile, I’m 21, I struggled in college and it didn’t work out. However, that doesn’t matter. As education is valued in Judaism, a degree is becoming more useless, and we evidently have seen it, and finding a job is becoming harder.

I then told her I write for a news podcast/site based in Israel, and she was blown away and wanted to see my work. So I let her.

While reading an article I showed her, she pointed to “Tulkarem,” and having never heard of it, she asked what it was, so I explained it: a city in the West Bank that has been in numerous headlines the last couple of months.

As it turned out, she was a Palestinian Christian with family in the West Bank. She told me that she loves learning about Jewish history and seeing us advocate for the hostages, and even had a book about Jerusalem with her. She was wearing a cross necklace, and I was wearing a Magen David and Chai necklaces.

Taken at Weston Regional Park International Festival – Courtesy of the Author/Instagram

We ended up talking about our families, our histories, our culture, and eventually, our families, their history, and how they both came to America fleeing persecution. Not a single mention of politics or conflict.

The reality is that — Israelis and Palestinians are not going anywhere. But, we have almost the same food, similar cultures, and similar sounding languages.

Courtesy of the Author

It was a very lovely and powerful conversation and one I will carry with me forever.

As an only child who also comes from a huge mixed interfaith family on both sides, I have learned a lot about dialogue, civil discourse, and understanding differences. As arguably the “most prideful” Jewish member of my family, I still know I have to remind myself that I have non-Jewish family members and to honor their differences.

These are also the kinds of conversations we need to be having, especially in the young generation. I have been having these types of conversations for years, and sometimes, you never know what you can get out of them. It’s always a delight and honor to share thoughts, feelings, experiences, and listen to others.

My advice to all of you reading this — have that challenging conversation, because the only way to fight conflict is by talking and doing the uncomfortable tasks. Keep up the fight.

A mixed Chai – Cross necklace, photo Courtesy of the Author