Author Michael Harris calls Linda Solomon Wood's story on Israel: 'Brilliant. A knock-out piece of work.'

National Observer editor-in-chief Linda Solomon Wood traveled to Tel Aviv, Ramallah and the West Bank to bring back an extraordinary story of Israeli settlers and Palestinians working toward peace behind the wall.

Best-selling author Michael Harris (Party of One)  calls Solomon Wood's report:  "A brilliant piece. A knockout piece of work. A big and crucially important accomplishment."

In this in-depth feature, she captures the voices of peace activists, soldiers, grieving mothers, entrepreneurs and settlers who are all working toward ending the cycle of hatred and violence between Palestinians and Israelis. 

One of the groups at the center this challenge is Roots, an organization dedicated to teaching nonviolence. Led by Palestinian peace activist Ali Abu Awwad, Shaul Judelman— a Seattle-born Orthodox Jew, and Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger, the group helps people on both sides meet and share their stories, to have a real conversation with “the other" and express their pain.

After meetings like this, says Abu Awwad, "they are never the same."

"Don't be pro-Palestinian or pro-Israeli," Abu Awwad often says. "Be pro-solution."

Read Linda Solomon Wood's story, "Can an unlikely alliance of Jewish settlers and Palestinians help bring peace to Israel?" on National Observer.