Hi, I'm Melissa Adwarnie, and you're listening to Book of the Day. Sometimes a book comes

along that makes you question how you think about things. For me, the book was The Future is Peace.

It's written by two peace activists, one Palestinian and the other Israeli. Aziz Abu Sara and Maoz-Inon

experienced the killing of close family members during the Gaza war,

and they both still want peace.

How might this happen?

The pair suggests through travel and understanding.

They spoke with here and now host Indira Lakshmanan.

How can we resolve the bitter, bloody conflict between Israelis and Palestinians and build bridges to a peaceful Middle East for all its people?

That's a dream that Palestinian Aziz Abu Sara and Israeli Mao's Inan have each been working on independently for years.

Neither of them is a diplomat or a politician.

Both of them work in the travel industry.

Both also suffered the horrific loss of close family members killed by the other side.

Despite those tragedies, the two men have dedicated their adult lives

to bringing Israelis and Palestinians together through tourism to build understanding and a peaceful future.

And after the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023, the pair took an eight-day journey across the Holy Land to explore Jews, Muslims, and Christians contrasting narratives over the disputed territory.

They write about it in their new book, The Futures Peace.

Aziz Abu Sara and Maoz Inan, join me in the studio now.

Thank you both so much for being here.

Thank you.

Thank you for having us.

Maoz, we learn right at the beginning that your parents were murdered in the Hamas attacks of October 7th.

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