“The Heart Is Capable of Grieving for Two Peoples at Once”
J.C.: My essay is uncomfortable and
inconvenient to readers because it considers the incredible suffering of both
Israelis and Palestinians. Some people complained that I stopped my volunteer
work with Road to Recovery after October 7, when in fact I temporarily paused:
I was scared, I needed time to digest what had happened. Three weeks later, I
signed up again.
Discourse demands a conversation, a give and
take. It’s a lot easier to listen to the sound of your own voice, but
conversation is a necessary step in order to break away from the vicious circle
of violence and hate.
M.T.: What, then, is the conversation that you were hoping to
provoke? And I’m curious—given the reaction, do you feel you might have
presented anything a little differently? The reaction was intolerant, but has
it made you think, well, maybe I could have said this in some different way and
communicated my point better?