South County continues to be a place of fulfillment of the American Dream: people whose families came from all corners of the world, to live free of oppression. Freedom to express our own faith, or to choose to have no faith, while living respectfully with those whose faith is different than our own. Most places on this planet are not designed this way.
As a Christian who believes God created all humankind to be related to one another in love and to act from a place of peace, it pains me deeply to continue to see the horrific suffering of the war-torn Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The Holy Land upon which Abraham, Moses, Jesus and Mohammed walked has been desecrated, culminating in the recent horrific murders of six Israeli and American hostages. Hope has been torn from many hearts, yet grief-stricken families hold on to the belief that their loved ones’ lives will have been for a greater purpose. This is both humbling and awe-inspiring.
What are we called to do here, thousands of miles away, where we continue to have our freedom. We are not under constant threat of bloody terrorism and extreme military reaction.
How can we help raise up hope for our fellow Israeli and Palestinian citizens sharing life in Jerusalem, the “City of Peace”? Can civic and religious leaders find ways of modeling respect for one another which can lead to genuine peace across all differences?
Recently I’ve been inspired by the witness of peace across difference through the heavenly voices of teenagers, the Jerusalem Youth Chorus. They are an incredible witness to the power of music to unify across deep divides.
Formed in Jerusalem about 12 years ago, Palestinian and Israeli teenagers—Muslim, Jews and Christians—sing, discuss and sing some more to learn from one another, writing songs of peace. They state: we are “Palestinians and Israelis raising our voices to push back against the violence surrounding us—to reject war, occupation and terror, and instead sing out for peace, justice, inclusion and equality….We are the alternative” *
In October 2023, following the horrific terrorist attack in Israel, these teens created a new song, “A Different Way.” They address the absolute need to follow a way of peace and love that goes beyond differences of culture, politics and even religion.
These teens embody a profound understanding of the way we can respond across deep divides which can lead to violence or, by our choice, bring us to peace and calm. They understand what President Abraham Lincoln meant when he used the image of calling out humanity’s “Better Angels of their Nature” in his First Inaugural Address, 1861.
These teens of Jerusalem witness the power of choosing to have inner “Better Angels” as our guide.
In response to the Hamas attack and Israel’s offense, these teens wrote “A Different Way,” sung in Hebrew, Arabic and English, proclaiming the horrors of war which have touched their lives inexorably, and yet they choose to learn to live “A Different Way,” as the refrain states:
They say it is win or lose, they say it’s do or die,
But when the day is done, what will be left behind?
Only you and me with our futures intertwined.
We live within the wars, we feel each others’ pain.
Because of You I know we must choose a Different Way.
We must choose a Different Way…
The Rev. Mary B. Blessing is the Episcopal Priest of the Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real. She is an active member of Interfaith Clergy Alliance of South County.
