Hope Is Something You Create with Palestinian Peacemaker Aziz Abu Sarah

Going Places

Aziz Abu Sarah is a peace builder, cultural educator, entrepreneur, author and international speaker. He’s also a Palestinian man who lost his brother to the Israeli soldiers and who is currently working with his Israeli partner, Maoz Inon, to imagine a new vision for both Palestinians and Israelis.

If there is only one episode you will tune in to this season, let it be this one, because it will give you an idea of how to talk to people who don’t have the same views as you when it comes to Palestine - Israel, one of the most important issues and injustices of our time.

Aziz is a National Geographic Explorer and a TED Fellow who co-founded Mejdi Tours, a travel company that takes people to places like Palestine/Israel, Northern Ireland, and South Africa and presents multiple narratives about those places. His recent efforts with Maoz Inon include a Ted talk titled A Palestinian And Israeli, Face To Face, and meeting Pope Francis in time for the G7 Summit.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• What it's like to meet with Pope Francis
• How Aziz stays engaged in the face of pain and loss
• A Palestinian and an Israeli joining forces
• Aziz tells the story of losing his brother and becoming a peacemaker
• What it's like living under the Israeli apartheid structure
• What Aziz wants people to see when they see Palestinians
• The power of poetry in Palestinian culture
• Mejdi Tours and the Dual Narrative method
• Seeing beyond tourism stereotypes in Egypt
• The asymmetry between Palestine and Israel
• The crux of Aziz's peacemaking approach
• Moving beyond pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli labels
• Fighting fear with hope
• What the peacemaking vision in Palestine and Israel looks like
• How you can get involved in the peacemaking process
• Why Aziz thinks hope is an action

Featured on the show:

• Learn more about Aziz on his website
• Read Aziz's Ted Ideas story, How I Learned to Forgive My Brother’s Murderers
• Check out the Ted Talk by Aziz and Maoz, A Palestinian And An Israeli, Face To Face
• Read Al Jazeera op-ed by Aziz and Maoz, When It Comes to Israel-Palestine, True Naivety Is Believing in Endless War
• Learn more about Mejdi Tours
• Learn more about Land For All
• Get involved at InterAct
• Learn more about the Palestinian poet Samih al-Qasim
• Follow Aziz Abu Sarah on Instagram
• Follow Maoz Inon on Instagram
• Check out Aziz's book, Crossing Boundaries: A Traveler's Guide to World Peace

Get more information at: Going Places website

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Going Places with Yulia Denisyuk is a show that sparks a better understanding of people and places near and far by fostering a space for real conversations to occur. Each week, we sit down with travelers, journalists, creators, and people living and working in destinations around the world. Hosted by Yulia Denisyuk, an award-winning travel journalist, photographer, and writer who's worked with National Geographic, The New York Times, BBC Travel, and more.

Learn more about our show at goingplacesmedia.com.