Dear Editor: Thank you for your article, “Christians, Muslims In Israeli Village Feel ‘Second-Class’ After New Law Passed,” in the Aug. 25 issue of The Tablet.

It is of critical importance that all Americans know the facts about life in the “Holy Land” for all its residents, many of whom aren’t even recognized as citizens, despite being the indigenous people of the region. This new Israeli law is just one more nail in the coffin of the current Israeli government against non-Jews. It is not the will of a significant percentage of Jewish Israeli citizens, as your article reports, but it is the will of the majority who are legislating religious discrimination and ethnic cleansing.

When Americans visit the Holy Land, especially Catholics, it is vital that they make certain that their tours and pilgrimages include substantial time meeting with and listening to the Christian, Muslim, and Jewish people who are not the mouthpieces of the government, who are not controlling where they may go and how much time they may spend learning from each other. Don’t just spend an hour or two in Bethlehem to see the Church of the Nativity and to buy some olive wood souvenirs; spend a day or more. Arrange to meet with members of such groups as the Parents’ Circle, Combatants for Peace, Rabbis for Human Rights, and the Israeli Committee against Home Demolitions. Visit Neve Shalom/Wahat-al-Salam/Oasis of Peace, a fully intentional Jewish and Palestinian-Arab community founded by a Catholic priest over 50 years ago. It is only through meeting these “Living Stones” of this ancient land, that “the truth will set us all free” and finally bring peace to this tormented land.

I write this from first-hand experience. I visited the Holy Land with the Holy Land Christian Ecumenical Foundation in 2015. There are other groups that provide similar person-to-person opportunities. We cannot rely on governments to make peace in this tormented region. They are the problem, not the solution.

ROSEMARIE PACE
Middle Village