A few weeks ago walking past the Hiroshima A-Bomb Dome, I came upon a candle-light ceremony for the Israel/Gaza war. A young couple — she Jewish and he Muslim — were chanting prayers in Hebrew and Arabic, holding hands and weeping openly. Seeing the depth of pain ‘leaders’ in our region have caused these young people filled me with anger and shame. We are tired of ruthless despots, tired of their obscurantism and small-mindedness, tired of seeing religion used and abused to unleash so much suffering. As Ettefagh taught me all those decades ago, everyone simply aspires to genuine respect, dignity and a fair and level playing field. That is all. The rest will work itself out. What is the use of thousands of years of culture and history, if we are not even able to grasp the wisdom of this simple and obvious truth?

Source: From Jewish school days in Tehran, to a wish and a prayer from Hiroshima – Pearls and Irritations