Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa

We met with Father Pierbattista Pizzaballa, the Roman Catholic "Custodian of the Holy Places," at his ornate office in Jerusalem's Old City. He told us about a long history of relationships between the Christian churches, and the Arabs in Jersusalem, dating from even before the dawn of Islam (see the painting of St. Paul). He also identified an important, possibly critically so, school, that brings Arab and Jewish schoolchildren together for study. The Hand in Hand Center for Jewish-Arab Education in Israel is one of several promising efforts we heard about on our trip. In my (personal) opinion, these sorts of programs may one day accomplish what decades of tough guys with guns on both sides have failed at--a secure Israel at peace with its neighbors, who have a decent life. I hope that we will be able to organize support for these sorts of efforts from Houston's interfaith community.