In a display of hope amid ongoing conflict, Israeli entrepreneur Maoz Inon and Palestinian peace activist Aziz Abu Sara are demonstrating that personal tragedy can become a powerful catalyst for reconciliation.

Despite the profound losses both have suffered – Inon’s parents were killed in the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks; Abu Sara’s brother died in 1990 at age 19 following a year in an Israeli prison – the two have formed an unlikely but formidable partnership championing peace between Israelis and Palestinians.

“I lost my parents, but I won a brother,” Inon tells ISRAEL21c.

Their collaboration began shortly after October 7, when Abu Sara reached out to offer condolences to Inon. 

“It was an act of courage and humanity,” Inon recalls, noting how difficult it can be for people to reach out during times of grief.

Since then, their partnership has flourished into a dynamic peace initiative that has gained international recognition. 

In April 2023, they opened the TED Convention in Vancouver with a powerful dual presentation that became the third most popular TED talk of 2024. They’ve met with Pope Francis, members of Congress, and European Union officials to discuss policy changes that could advance peace in the region.

People’s Peace Conference

The duo’s efforts are now culminating in It’s Time – The People’s Peace Conference, scheduled for May 8-9 in Jerusalem. The two-day event, expected to draw over 10,000 participants, represents the largest non-protest peace gathering in decades.

The summit aims to move the focus from past suffering and conflict toward a future of peaceful coexistence. Practical steps are planned, such as cultural events, dialogues, excursions and sessions that address security concerns, reconciliation efforts, economic development and the future of education. 

“We want to amplify our voices and build legitimacy for peace,” explains Inon, who at 50 is about five years older than Abu Sara. “We are showing that in order to achieve security and safety, we must invest in dialogue, equality, reconciliation and acknowledgment.”

The conference is organized through the It’s Time coalition of more than 60 activist organizations. These organizations, along with US-based InterAct – founded in 2018 by Abu Sara and Scott Cooper to bridge divides and foster empathy through education, storytelling, art, and technology, and now co-presided by Inon and Abu Sara – have set an ambitious goal of establishing peace in the region by 2030.

Communities respond positively

Despite the assumption that their work might face significant resistance, Abu Sara reports that community response has been overwhelmingly positive. 

“The vast majority has been extremely welcoming and very much thirsty for this message because there’s a shortage of it,” he says.

In recent weeks, the pair has met with Palestinians and Israelis in schools, communities and various other forums. Abu Sara explains that they offer “an example of collaboration that works, an example of equality, an example of friendship, and an example of people who have vision.”

They acknowledge the trauma, pain and fear present in both societies but draw on their own experiences of loss to connect with those suffering. 

Hope as action

For Inon and Abu Sara, hope isn’t merely a feeling to be maintained but rather to be actively scaled up. 

“Hope is like a muscle that we can train,” Inon says. “It’s the way you frame reality and your actions.”

The demand for their message is “overwhelming” with a constant stream of invitations to speak on podcasts and at schools, communities and peace organizations. They work closely with groups such as Standing Together, Seeds of Peace, Combatants for Peace and Women Wage Peace, sharing their vision and framing concrete actions for creating hope.

“We reject revenge, but we also reject despair,” Inon emphasizes. “We have the agency to change the future.”

When asked what gives them the most hope for Israeli-Palestinian relations, both pointed to the emerging generation of young peacemakers.

“We see young Palestinians and Israelis who really understand and acknowledge their agency to do what our generation and previous generations could not fulfill,” Inon says. “They are fully engaged, knowledgeable, skillful and determined to make peace and overcome all the challenges.”

Abu Sara added that he’s particularly inspired by those who have suffered directly from the conflict yet remain committed to nonviolence. 

“For some reason, these voices maybe don’t get enough attention in the public sphere, but they’re definitely the voices that [Maoz and I] hear all the time because they’re around us,” he says.

“We hear people say, ‘Oh, we have no option but violence,’ but we know all these people who have suffered significantly and recently, and yet that’s not really their message. And that’s inspirational but also shows us the amount of work we need to do to make sure these are the voices that are in the public discourse.”

As they prepare for their upcoming conference, the duo continues to spread their message that “hope is an action” – not something to find or lose, but something to create together.