Israeli and Palestinian Authors Discuss 'The Future is Peace' in Aptos

Peace activists Aziz Abu Sarah and Maoz Inon share their personal stories and vision for Middle East conflict resolution.

Apr. 15, 2026 at 6:51am

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A serene, painterly depiction of an old stone building in Jerusalem, with warm sunlight casting deep shadows across the facade, conveying a sense of timeless contemplation and the power of empathy to bridge divides.The vibrant weekend celebration of 'The Future is Peace' event in Aptos will bring a sense of hope and community connection to the Middle East conflict.Santa Cruz Today

Peace activists Aziz Abu Sarah, a Palestinian, and Maoz Inon, an Israeli, will present their new book 'The Future is Peace' at an event in Aptos, California on April 20. The book chronicles their shared journey across the Holy Land and personal stories of loss, as well as their radical optimism for achieving peace through empathy and dialogue.

Why it matters

The event highlights the power of personal connections and storytelling to bridge divides, at a time when violence in the Middle East has escalated. Abu Sarah and Inon's book offers a hopeful vision for the future, drawing on their own experiences of tragedy and their belief that each person has the agency to create positive change.

The details

Abu Sarah's older brother Tayseer died in 1990 after being tortured in an Israeli prison, while Inon's parents were killed by Hamas militants in 2023. Despite their personal losses, the co-CEOs of the nonprofit InterAct International are committed to nonviolent peacebuilding through travel and dialogue. The book event is co-sponsored by Bookshop Santa Cruz and the Humanities Institute at UC Santa Cruz.

  • The book event will take place on Monday, April 20, 2026 at 7pm.
  • Tayseer Abu Sarah died in 1990 after sustaining injuries from torture in an Israeli prison.
  • Maoz Inon's parents were killed by Hamas militants on October 7, 2023.

The players

Aziz Abu Sarah

A Palestinian peace activist and co-CEO of InterAct International, a nonprofit dedicated to Middle East peace.

Maoz Inon

An Israeli peace activist and co-CEO of InterAct International, who lost his parents in a Hamas attack in 2023.

Douglas Abrams

A book agent who helped put together 'The Future is Peace' after seeing Aziz and Maoz's TED talk.

Rabbi Paula Marcus

A Santa Cruz-based rabbi who traveled with Maoz's tour company and connected him with Douglas Abrams.

Albert Einstein

A renowned Jewish scientist who did not support the creation of a Jewish state in 1946, saying 'The state idea is not according to my heart.'

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What they’re saying

“Empathy is endless. You never run out of empathy. I believe that when you don't express empathy towards the other – not in the long run, but in the in the near future – you lose empathy towards yourself.”

— Maoz Inon, Co-CEO, InterAct International

“The more empathetic you are, the more at peace you are with yourself. You cannot be empathetic to expect a reward. As Maoz said, 'It's not a strategy.' It's something that has to come from your heart.”

— Aziz Abu Sarah, Co-CEO, InterAct International

What’s next

The judge in the case will decide on Tuesday whether or not to allow Walker Reed Quinn out on bail.

The takeaway

This event highlights the power of personal connections and storytelling to bridge divides in the Middle East conflict, offering a hopeful vision for the future through empathy and dialogue.