L-R: Robert Corsini, Rav Hanan Schlesinger, Shaul Judelman ve-Stephen L. Fiske.  ‘Roots’ peace center, Gush Etzion, Israel/Palestine, occupied territories. 

October 7th is a date of infamy and catastrophe for both Israel and Palestine. It is a date of remembrance and oblivion. On this day, Hamas led a bloody raid into southern Israel, killing 1,200 among the Kibbutzim adjacent to the security barrier along the Gaza border.  This event triggered the extreme Israeli military response in Gaza and the West Bank, which is currently unfolding in profoundly tragic ways. The events have raised the specter of hate and destruction between Jews and Arabs in the region. This is chaos at a level not seen since 1948. Then, Palestinians were first expelled from large parts of their lands by the new Israeli/Zionist forces seeking to establish their homeland.

But, for those who know the complex history of the Eastern Mediterranean, also known as the ‘Levant’, the events of 7 October were no surprise. For decades, alarms have sounded across the region. Ordinary people have grown fed up with the lack of progress on a political level in achieving peace.

The Palestinian side of the separation barrier showcases vivid anti-occupation art. It stands near the Gilo crossing on Hebron Road to Bethlehem. The Graffiti Wall broadcasts creative declarations of resistance to Israeli rule.

“Women Wage Peace”, and many others have been part of an amalgam of organizations and non-profits seeking ways toward reconciliation, despite an architecture of separation imposed by the state to facilitate the suppression of Palestinian identity and self-determination.

Another such organization that predated the creation of Women Wage Peace, is Roots-Shorashim-Judur, a Palestinian-Israeli education and peace center located in Gush Etzion, literally at the crossroads of the occupation. This is where Palestinians and Israelis live side by side their entire lives, separated by a 30 foot tall concert security wall and never engage with one another.

‘Settler’ Rav Hanan Schlesinger, together with Ali Abu Awwad a former Hamas member, formed a partnership and established the organization on Ali’s family’s land. Their work has been seen as a breakthrough of organizing for peace in an area fraught with enmity and violence — where Jews and Arabs, can come to talk, share meals and even engage with each others children.

Robert Corsini walking on Hebron Road to Bethlehem on his first production trip to the West Bank in 2017.

VideocraticMedia, Robert Corsini and Stephen Fiske have spent over six years documenting their stories in Israel, the West Bank and in the US during their frequent fundraising trips. Given the present day chaos in the region, the ‘Roots’ story represents another compelling narrative in the Warriors of the Heart project. Hanan Schlesinger and his Palestinian partners such as Noor Awwad and others, continue their mission, calling for broader recognition of the historical context of the conflict that predated October 7th.