SARAH MCCAMMON, HOST:
Peace activists in Israel are lonely voices these days. After more than a year of war in Gaza following the October 7 Hamas attacks, it's hard for their talk of reconciliation with the Palestinians to be heard. Many are worried that the incoming Trump administration may not want to hear it. NPR's Michele Kelemen talked to activists who are trying to keep that hope alive.
MICHELE KELEMEN, BYLINE: Maoz Inon made his name in the tourism business in Israel, running a hostel in Nazareth. But these days, he says he's changed careers.
MAOZ INON: I'm now a full-time peacemaker.
KELEMEN: He took on the role after the devastating death of both of his parents on October 7 of last year. They were killed in their home when Hamas militants stormed over the border from Gaza. His mother was an artist, who he says encouraged him to chase his dreams.
INON: And I have a dream. I dream of peace from the river to the sea. And my mom gave me the ability to dream and the courage to chase and fulfill my dream. So this is exactly what I'm doing now.
KELEMEN: His father was a farmer who always liked to say that after a bad harvest, you should plant again and hope for something better. Inon says his father's words resonate more than ever.
INON: And now I realized it's up to me. It was the worst year, devastating year ever in the hundred years of conflict between Israel and Palestine. But next year will be better. And it's my turn to make it better.
KELEMEN: We meet in the courtyard of Open House - a peace education center in Ramle, a mixed Jewish and Palestinian city in central Israel. Inon is holding an event here featuring Palestinian and Israeli rappers. There are women in hijabs, others in T-shirts covered in peace slogans. Inon has been taking part in events like this all over Israel to try to change the discourse about the war in Gaza.
SAMEH ZAKOUT: (Non-English language spoken).
(APPLAUSE)
SAMEH ZAKOUT: So my name is Sameh Nasrallah Bahauddin Hamuddin Rabia Zakout (ph), aka, SAZ. I'm an actor, singer - was born and raised in Ramle. It's a city between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
KELEMEN: Sameh Zakout is a Palestinian citizen of Israel, who says he lost at least 40 relatives in the war in Gaza. He's posted videos about them living in flimsy tents without food, but he says he's getting a lot of hateful messages on social media.
SAMEH ZAKOUT: They're just telling me we pray that your family be vanished and killed. It's just a shame. I'm going to do a new video this week about these hate messages. And I'm going to do the opposite. I'm going to use their hate to make hope. That's what I'm doing.
KELEMEN: He says he's worried that some people close to Donald Trump have said that Palestinians don't exist or that Palestinian statehood is a fantasy. But he's trying to stay positive and promote the more moderate voices.
SAMEH ZAKOUT: You cannot fight the darkness. You only have to enlight (ph) the light. That's what you're going to do. I cannot fight the darkness around the world. It's not just Palestine-Israel. I think it's all around the world.
KELEMEN: His Israeli friend, Maoz Inon, echoes that.
INON: At the moment, the world is facing a leadership meltdown. We don't see any leaders. We see only politicians.
KELEMEN: Politicians here and around the world who play on people's fears. Inon says he was disappointed in the Biden administration and the first Trump administration, which prioritized Arab-Israeli normalization deals over a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
INON: And this is part of the reason why we faced October 7. But what I learned is that we must forgive for the past. We must forgive for the present, but we cannot and we will not forgive about the future.
KELEMEN: He's not offering any prescriptions - one state or two - but says there will be no security and safety for Israelis unless Palestinians have that, too. And he and the activists here will continue to send that message to the incoming Trump administration. Michele Kelemen, NPR News, Ramle, Israel.
(SOUNDBITE OF KUPLA'S "RITUALS") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
