A place of encounter between Arab and Jew ... a home, that becomes an Open House.

Palestine, Spring, 1936. A family built and created a home. A lemon tree grows. A young Palestinian man, Bashir Al-Khairi, and his family are forced to flee, becoming refugees.

In Ramla, Palestine, a Jewish family--Holocaust survivors from Bulgaria--find an abandoned home. It becomes their new home. A lemon tree grows in the garden. For nineteen years, the young woman, Dalia Eshkenazi Landaunew, wonders, "Who had lived here?" During the same time, Bashir wonders, "Who is living in our house?"

In the aftermath of the six day war, Bashir travels to Ramla in hopes of visiting the home his father built. "He ran the bell at the house his father built in 1936..." Dalia shares, "I've been waiting for them all my life..."

Through their encounter, Dalia shares her dream of the home. A school, Open House, is created, becoming a place of encounter between Arab and Jew.

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Watch this true TIME photo essay based on the book, "The Lemon Tree: An Arab, a Jew, and the Heart of the Middle East" by Sandy Tolan. See compassion in action, be inspired by people who ultivate compassion. Allow their story to influence you.

Please offer a prayer for the Spiritual Directors International Interfaith Pilgrimage to Israel and Palestine October 27-November 5, 2010. Pilgrims will meet Dalia Landau and hear her speak at St. George’s College in Jerusalem.

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