Dear Friend,

At the darkest time of winter, Jews celebrate Chanukah, adding one candle each night to increase the light. Many of us place our menorah in a window in fulfillment of the mitzvah to “publicize the miracle” of the small cruse of oil that contained only enough for one day but lasted for eight.

This particular winter is an especially dark time for those of us who have been working for decades to support a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. There’s no denying that the peace process has stalled. The parties are not talking to one another. The Occupation continues unabated. We read of growing violence. Some people have even begun to question the possibility of a two-state solution.

Recently, many were dismayed to discover (as reported in the Forward and +972) that the iconic photo of two young boys, seemingly an Israeli-Jewish child and a Palestinian-Muslim child, was a posed photo taken for the Canadian magazine Maclean’s.

Yes, that photo was staged, but there's no need to indulge in the despairing laments echoing around the internet: there are plenty of real pictures, of real people - Palestinian and Israeli (and two Jewish-Americans, in  day five's picture - APN's own Lara Friedman, and in day seven's picture, APN Founder Mark Rosenblum), Jewish, Christian, and Muslim - working for a brighter future. In the spirit of Chanukah, we shared a picture a day on Facebook and twitter for each of the eight days of  Chanukah - - of real, genuine partners for peace.

Well, the internet exploded: hundreds of shares, thousands of likes. It seems that there is a hunger for hope. And, with your help, we can provide that hope.

This is the work we do
These people are real, these pictures are real
Share them and join us in building a peaceful future.