Israel and Palestine: what peace?
"The situation in Israel and Palestine is very complex, difficult, getting worse with each passing day. The war is spreading to the whole Middle East. We must strongly call for peace, for an immediate ceasefire," these were the first words of Father Ibrahim Faltas, vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land, speaking in Florence at an evening of reflection on the situation in the Middle East.
The meeting sponsored by Alessandro Tonelli, president of the Rotary Club of Fiesole and Andrea Bottinelli, president of the John Paul II Foundation was attended by many Rotary Clubs in the Florence area.
More than 200 people crowded the auditorium of the Innovation Center, built on the Florentine lungarni, reclaiming the former Granaio dell'Abbondanza, built in 1695 for Grand Duke Cosimo III dei Medici.
Participants in the evening included the secretary general of the Chamber of Commerce, Giuseppe Salvini, entrepreneur Giammarco Piacenti, the president of the Order of Journalists of Tuscany, Giampaolo Marchini, the director of the Cassa di Risparmio Foundation, Gabriele Gori, and the alderman of the City of Florence, Sara Funaro.
Father Faltas spoke about the situation in Israel and Palestine, expressing all his concern about a war situation that is killing especially children, women, the elderly and people with disabilities. Concern, shared with Pope Francis who has repeatedly, in recent weeks, made his own the words of the vicar of the Custody of the Holy Land.