7 November 2023
(See also statement on Facebook)

Dear friends, dear friends of the Jerusalem Way

The current events in Israel and Palestine shock us!! The images of children's corpses and traumatized parents and relatives on both sides hurt. We feel for everyone who has lost people, who are frozen in fear, who either fall silent or rise up in anger because of injustice.

The global community is more than ever obliged to take a look and find solutions. History has taught us one thing; With a weapon in your hand, no matter which side you fight for, you cannot create peace. With this in mind, we appeal to those responsible to work for a ceasefire.

We have decided not to make any political statements on our channels. We will not post pro-Palestine or pro-Israel. The history is too complex. Committed to the creed of the Jerusalem Way to walk for peace, we do not stand for one side, we walk for the vision of a peaceful, intercultural, interreligious coexistence as a human family.

The JERUSALEM WAY community consists of almost six thousand people from more than a hundred nations and all continents. They are pilgrims, accommodation providers, patrons and religious representatives.

Pilgrimage is experience and metaphor. You set off and have determined your destination, but how the path takes shape and when you arrive only develops as you go. Like pilgrims carrying their luggage, people always carry their history with them. Ideally, he finds reconciliation and appreciation of his past within himself or with the help of witnesses. What countless pilgrims tell us: “When I arrived at my destination, I was a different, more forgiving, more confident person. Because I experienced so many miracles and humanity along the way.”

Like walking, we want to grow from not knowing into answers so that we and future generations have perspective. We would like to still believe in miracles, in the miracle of peace. And we want to cultivate a culture of appreciation, confidence and reaching out on our channels.

Peace & Ultreia

JERUSALEM WAY
International Peace Team

Communication team:
Johannes Aschauer
Rose-Marie Gasser
Orlando Berger
Samuel Häckel
Martin Rexeis

Author: Rose Marie / Tuesday, November 7, 2023

Photos: Jerusalem Way Peace Dove at Nadlingerhof in Austria (click for details)