Camus once said we must be neither “victims nor executioners”. Good advice, but what does it mean when peoples become both victims and executioners?

What happens to them when they are unable to free themselves from that deadly trap?

What has happened to both Israelis and Palestineans over time: the rise of religious fundamentalist extremism, the growth of corrupt rightwing politics, and the casual acceptance of the most extreme forms of violence.

I haven’t lost hope. The Israelis who serve as counselors at my son’s Jewish summer camp can still sing songs of peace and reconciliation and mean it...even those who have served in the IDF in the Territories.

I had a Palestinean student named Hana who was overjoyed at the birth of our daughter and our choice of a middle name “Tamar”, which means palm tree in both Arabic and Hebrew. This despite the fact that our daughter would someday be able to assume Israeli citizenship if she chooses and live on the land that is denied to Hana’s family.

But let’s not kid ourselves, most people do not live according to the moral standards of such people as the counselors from Habonim Dror or the human values that are so important to Hana.

I suspect most Israelis and Palestineans would view them as fools at best and traitors at worst.

When asked if there would be singing in the dark times of fascism, Brecht answered,"Yes, there will be singing. We will sing of the dark times."

Get out your songbooks for the dark times. We will have plenty of opportunities to sing of them.