Nine souls sharing עצמאות ונכבה - Independence and Catastrophe - يوم النكبة ويوم الاستقلال

Two hundred souls, Israeli and Palestinian, gathered for two days of the Israeli Yom ha-Zikaron & Yom ha-'Atsmaut (Remembrance Day and, following it, Independence Day) as well as to mark the Palestinian Yom al-Nakba (Day of Catastrophe).
It is, of course, the very same day.

The same day, two very different narratives.

Each narrative is part of the whole -- and only part.
Each has hardened. Each shuts out the other.
Two divergent narratives tear people apart.
Even more true, hardly ever do those people meet with hearts open.
Nearly never do they hear the story of the other, much less enter the heart of the other.

Two hundred of us here in this land chose to come together
to listen, to share memories, to be present and
to make possible visions of a future better than the
ongoing deep traumas of the past and present.

I thank God I was blessed to be among those people. I want to share the experience with you.
Beyond words, how can I share it?
Here are small introductions to nine souls who live in this land . . .