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Good morning The American Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, is in the Middle East again, working on a truce to end the devastating war in Gaza and Israel. The late Israeli author and peace activist, Amos Oz, wrote in 2004 that Palestinians and Israelis need external help from the international community to enable what he calls ‘a fair and just divorce.’ This divorce will be painful but, as he said, ‘better than the kind of living hell, which everyone is going through now.’ He suggested to others that ‘instead of wagging your finger, calling the Israelis this name or Palestinians that name, I would do anything I could to help both sides to divorce.’ Palestinians and Israelis may not have agreed to be married but are certainly stuck with each other, in the same home. What divorce means is open to interpretation and even a negotiated compassionate settlement doesn’t detract from pain of the situation. The Talmud teaches that “Even God sheds tears when anyone divorces.” We’ve all seen difficult divorces, yet these can be the foundations for healthy settlements and not complete severance. Divorce in Judaism is seen as a painful occurrence, yet also a conventional one, and not a sin. The Torah allowed a man to divorce his wife if he doesn’t find her attractive anymore but then, thankfully, Jewish law developed this process and help the couple to negotiate mutual terms and shared custody. I had the privilege of working in Palestinian-Israeli dialogue as part of the Oslo Peace Process when I lived in Jerusalem. I know that Israelis and Palestinians can get to some arrangement that allows them to live together. When robust, kind and experienced help is allowed into a conflict, unforeseen possibilities unfold – a sustained peace between Israel, Egypt and Jordan or most recently, previously unimaginable power sharing in Northern Ireland. International help is essential because communities worldwide are affected - despite being faraway, it’s contaminating relationships here. Many Jews and many Muslims are being held into account incorrectly here for what they are not responsible for there. Jews here are not responsible for the actions of the Israeli government or army, just like Muslims here are not responsible for Hamas. It is simply wrong that a primary school congregant of mine had another child saying Heil Hitler to them, because of what’s happening in Gaza. I wish everyone involved in this negotiation God’s speed as they help both sides to reach cessation of hostilities and a just way of living alongside each other for the future.