 I am going to take a personal approach here because I was dramatically changed by the experience. I went on the trip with my own notions about how things were. My knowledge of the history and issues in the region was limited, but I felt like my understanding of it was fairly easy and simplistic. There was Palestine in Israel, the oppressed and the oppressor, victims and villains. These people were worthy of my compassion and these people were not. In my mind it seemed that easy and to tell them apart was an easy thing. But so much of what we heard and what we saw was so much more than I could have expected. The stories from the Palestinians were more heartbreaking. The history is so much more complex. The tension more palpable and the occupation itself more brutal than I could have imagined. My simplistic view of things crumbled with each visit that we made to the women's groups, the refugee camps, the hospital, the water projects and the offices of diplomats, Palestinian peace workers and of the various church leaders. But it fell apart completely when we visited with the Israeli peace activists and human rights defenders. This is where my most profound learning and opening took place. We visited with Coalition of Women for Peace, which brings together Israeli and Palestinian women to work together in nonviolent activism. We visited Bethlehem, an Israeli human rights organization and information center that works specifically to end the occupation. And Zecrot, which is also an Israeli organization that seeks to ensure that the history of the Palestinian exodus in 1948, the Nakba, and the subsequent and ongoing erasure of Palestinian communities is documented and shared in particular with Israelis. We met with Amos Gvertz, who founded Israelis and Palestinians for Peace. And we had a wonderful conversation with Rabbi Jeremy Milgram, who works with rabbis for human rights. All of these people work within their Israeli communities. They're working for peace and the recognition of human rights for Palestinians. They work to end the occupation. The security measures that we saw that were needed to protect these people in their own country was astonishing. It rivaled certainly what we saw at the Canadian Embassy when we were there. And all of these workers told us stories personally of being shunned by family and friends, being blacklisted for employment opportunities, and being harassed, victimized, and criminalized as citizens in their own communities, in their own country. These were Israelis defending the rights of Palestinians, working to educate other Israelis and communities at large to change minds and open hearts. These Israelis are building relationships and community where there was brokenness and fear. Their losses in doing so were evident and devastating. It's one thing for the oppressed communities and marginalized communities to struggle for justice for themselves. And certainly it is they who must be at the forefront of those struggles and lead the way for the rest of us to come along. It's another thing to be an ally, to stand often in opposition to your own family, to your own community, and your own government to fight for justice and the human rights of others. There must be a call to support and protect those who stand up for human rights. We see that many of them who risk their lives and livelihoods are often made targets themselves. The Canadian government has made a commitment to protect those who are human rights defenders here and abroad. And this commitment requires action urgently right now in Palestine and Israel. Personally, I have come to see that my idea of victims and villains has no place in the seeking of justice or peace. The idea that some are spared the pain and suffering of the occupation by virtue of their identity as Israeli has been replaced with the understanding that none escaped the suffering that the occupation levels. Certainly Palestinians suffer and have suffered unimaginably. It is also true that Israelis suffer in different ways and for different reasons. But I am convinced that none escaped the prison that is the occupation. Continued annexation will only spread the suffering and it must end. Thank you.