This project is a space for me to research, organize ideas, and write a series of articles about the humanitarian crisis in the West Bank. I am not a professional writer or activist. I am an American mother in Charlotte, North Carolina whose son is volunteering in the West Bank to help protect Palestinian families from violence and intimidation by Israeli settlers.

Through these articles, I want to share the experience of watching a child step into a dangerous place in order to defend the human rights of others. My perspective is deeply personal. I come from a family with Ashkenazi Jewish roots on my father’s side, and my family has long supported a two-state solution and the belief that both Jewish and Palestinian people deserve dignity, safety, and freedom.

The goal of this series is to speak honestly about the fears of a mother whose son is on the ground in the West Bank while also recognizing that the fear and danger faced by Palestinian families every day is far greater. I want to write with humility, compassion, and truth while avoiding hatred or disrespect toward Jewish or Christian Americans who believe they are supporting Israel out of faith or historical understanding.

A major purpose of these articles is to help readers understand that it is possible to support Jewish people and Jewish safety without supporting the political decisions of the Israeli government. I hope to explore the moral confusion many Americans feel as they reconcile the lessons of the Holocaust, the suffering of Palestinians today, and the complex politics surrounding Israel and the United States.

I also want to address misunderstandings that divide people in the United States — including confusion between antisemitism and criticism of Israeli government policies, as well as misunderstandings around Christian nationalism and the role of religion in politics.

Ultimately, this project is a call to the moral conscience of ordinary people. I want to encourage Americans — regardless of political party or religion — to see Palestinians as human beings whose lives and rights matter, while also affirming the dignity and safety of Jewish people everywhere.

The deeper goal of the series is to help families and communities rediscover a shared moral ground: the belief that caring about human life should come before political loyalty, ideology, or national identity.

This project will combine personal reflections, stories from my son’s experience in the West Bank, research about the situation on the ground, and conversations happening in media and podcasts. The intention is to reach ordinary Americans — especially those who may not normally engage with this issue — and invite them to think more deeply about humanity, justice, and compassion.