But the chasm of mistrust runs deep, in the same way that the Grand Canyon is more than a hole in the ground. When Sorensen visited in 1998, Israel celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding. Palestinians mark the same occasion. The girl was 12 when Sorensen met her. He s reluctant to give out a lot of information, particularly her name.
Children make excellent martyrs in the eyes of extremists.
She s 15, a violinist. She s a wonderful, sweet girl. Her parents work for peace. They could have sent her away to school, but they say that would be giving in. So, instead of looking both ways for cars when she crosses the street, the child looks to her left for incoming fire from Palestinian radicals and then to her right for return fire from the Israeli position.