The thing is, you cannot ask people to coexist by having one side bow their heads and rely on a solution that is only good for the other side. What you can do is stop blaming each other and engage in dialogue with one person at a time. Everyone knows that violence begets violence and breeds more hatred. We need to find our way together. I feel I cannot rely on the various spokespersons who claim they act on my behalf. Invariably they have some agenda that doesn't work for me. Instead, I talk to my patients, to my neighbors and colleagues-- Jews, Arabs--and I find out they feel as I do: we are more similar than we are different, and we are all fed up with the violence. . Izzeldin Abuelaish
About This Quote

The idea of changing the world is a powerful one. It has inspired generations of people to march across continents and stand up for peace. It has also sparked hundreds of articles in newspapers and magazines, thousands of books, numerous film productions, and enough protests to make your head spin. So what's wrong with that? A lot when it comes to the world today.

We tend to think that if we can just convince enough people that something is wrong then they will stand up for peace. But what most people don't realize is that there are two sides to every story--and most people only hear the one side. Through their own experiences, they naturally develop an allegiance to their own side.

Every time you hear someone complaining about the other side, you are hearing only part of the story. The truth is, there are two sides to every argument, but most people only hear one side--and if they don't hear it, they don't believe it exists at all.

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