The Israeli Sangha wishes to raise funds for Issa Souf and his wife and four children to go to Plum Village this summer. The Israeli Sangha has interviewed him, and the interview can be read in full on the Mindfulness Bell website along with the details of how you can make a donation.

Issa is a Palestinian worker for peace who is confined to a wheelchair after being shot by the Israeli military as he walked into his home, having just rescued some children from the firing as they were playing in the street.

In the interview, Issa is asked, “How do you explain your lack of anger?”

He replies, “That’s hard to say. I feel something extraordinary. I live my life in happiness. I know it’s hard for people to understand but I hate violence, both towards people and towards nature. What I learned at Plum Village was not strange for me. It was alive in me already. But it gave me strength to realise that I am going in the right direction.”

If Issa and his family can go to Plum Village they will continue to feel the support of the worldwide Sangha (including the Israeli Sangha) in working for peace and the well-being of the Palestinian people. (Issa is local chairman in the village.) This support is something they very much need considering the many difficulties they have to face, including poverty in the Palestinian villages and the difficulties with the Israeli military and government.

To read Issa Souf’s article, visit www.mindfulnessbell.org. To inquire about supporting Issa’s travel fund, email mindfulness@gmx.us.