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Good morning, The images from Gaza this weekend are almost unbearable to see, let alone discuss with any coherence or clarity. It’s hard not to import battles from there into relationships here and even more difficult to sustain space for dialogue - but it is possible. When I lived in Jerusalem, I worked with West Bank Palestinians – Muslims and Christians - and Israeli Jews. I facilitated conversations about the most painful, traumatic subjects that directly affected their lives and interdependent futures. The entities of Israel-Palestine are hyphenated because they’re existentially dependent. Unfortunately, this war’s also been destructive for some interfaith relations here. Some friendships are fragmented or severed and events have been abandoned out of kindness, fear or fury. But even whilst this war wages I’m astounded by the bravery of a range of organisations - sporting, religious, transport, and health, who’ve asked my Muslim work partner and friend, and myself, to teach them how to have difficult conversations.,. In wartime, we must build language to agree, disagree and protest in ways that don’t exacerbate division and hatred. We teach that it is possible to criticise Hamas or the Israeli government without holding Muslims or Jews here responsible for actions there. We invite people to envisage what being pro-peace, rather than just pro-Israel or pro-Palestine, might look like. We suggest conversational red lines – don’t compare the Israeli government or army or Hamas to the Nazis for example. And we consider whether British Muslims or Jews might be targeted for criticism, bias or hatred from ulterior motives or political opportunism. I find the best, most effective word for difficult conversations is ‘some’ – some Jews, some Muslims, some people. And you might be pleasantly surprised. When God first appears to Moses, it’s in the form of a burning bush. Moses must’ve wanted to flee. Instead, that fiery plant contained liberation for the Israelite slaves, and the message of the power of relationships, as God assures Moses – don’t fear, I’ll be with you. Separation and avoidance are enticing, and can be calming in the short-term. But we need to talk, with people with whom we disagree and who may infuriate us. Next week I’m off to Bradford – and really looking forward to teaching in Muslim schools who contacted me near the beginning of the war. ‘Rabbi Laura’, they told me. ‘We practiced these conversations before the war, but now, even though it’s hard, it’s time to talk more’.