Hope is an Action

2024 | Fundraiser for Interact

الامل عمل Hope is an action תקווה היא פעולה

Israeli Maoz Inon and Palestinian Aziz Sarah's vision is to use a dual narrative approach to learning and change, to generate critical understanding and deep empathy among war torn parties in conflict, and in the general public, that might lead to innovative solutions, and also notably, combat the rising tide of hatred and extremism.

"I am Maoz Inon, I come from Israel and my parents were killed by the Hamas.

My name is Aziz Abu Sarah. I am from Palestine and my brother was killed by Israeli soldiers.

Our pain and sorrow has brought us together to work and dialogue to create a better future. We are entrepreneurs and we believe that peace is the greatest enterprise to be achieved."



I've created a Glass Cathedral artwork inspired by their work, "Hope is an Action". It is being sold to raise funds for InterAct an organisation that supports their work.

Click link to get to fundraiser page (opens new webpage).

As importantly, please explore and support their work, and those like them. They are few but growing. On Instagram:
@azizabusarah
@maozinon
@hamzeawawde
@mageninon
@standing.together.english
@theparentscircle
@allianceformiddleeastpeace
@alonlee





Banner graphics and slogans are from Standing Together, another grassroots Jewish-Arab movement fighting for peace, equality and social justice in Israel-Palestine. Flag design by @hamsaflag.

Both organisations are part of a global campaign to highlight the critical role that grassroots movements and organisations play in creating lasting and sustainable peace- so that agreements are born from reality and not from ideologies. They met Pope Francis in May 2024. Below are some words from that meeting, and a link to a video of meeting.

On meeting Aziz and Maon, the Pope responded: "I believe that in the face of the suffering of these two brothers, the suffering of these two nations, one can say nothing. They have had the courage to embrace each other."

In May, Pope Francis joined more than 250 peace-building organizations and supporters in calling on G7 Heads of State to center civil society peacebuilding at the G7 Summit in June 2024.

Aziz and Maoz presented His Holiness, Pope Francis, with a letter from the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) to G7 World Leaders, which had been signed by more than 250 civil society organizations. The signatories represented a wide spectrum of peacebuilders and humanitarian causes, from a diverse array of Palestinian organizations, Israeli, international, all working to address different aspects of violent conflict but all adding their names to a unified call. His Holiness signed his name alongside this unprecedented coalition of Israeli and Palestinian peacebuilders, and their global allies.

The letter calls on the heads of government of each G7 member to commit to the following language in the official communique at June’s G7 Apulia Summit, which it was recently announced that Pope Francis will also now attend:

“We affirm our commitment to working together multilaterally – and with other international partners – to closely coordinate and institutionalize our support for civil society peacebuilding efforts. Ensuring that such efforts are part of a larger strategy to build the foundations necessary for a negotiated and lasting Israeli-Palestinian peace.”

ALLMEP and its membership of over 160 peacebuilding organizations, working to foster a more just, equal, and peaceful reality for all those living in Palestine and Israel, are now leading a global campaign to highlight the critical role that grassroots movements and organizations play in creating lasting and sustainable peace. As Pope Francis told the 12,000 attendees in Verona, with Maoz and Aziz by his side, “Ask world leaders to listen to your voice, so that agreements are born from reality and not from ideologies.”

These 250 NGOs, and now Pope Francis, are calling on world leaders to for the first time, integrate the vital work of Israeli and Palestinian civil society peacebuilders within any diplomatic strategy to address and resolve the conflict.

Click to hear their Ted Talk.