News Post

On Thursday, November 6, PeaceWorks Foundation brought together the perspectives of two people with very different backgrounds - an Israeli and a Palestinian from Gaza - to the Nolan Center stage to share how they are working towards peace in the midst of conflict. Grounded in the principles of Salesian dialogue that our students are exploring this year, the conversation

allowed each person to share his story and what led him to choose peace, love, and connection over fear and hate. Sponsored by the St. Jane de Chantal Salesian Center, this was the first Fides et Scientia - faith and knowledge - talk of the 2025-2026 school year, which encourages students to put both into action to “become catalysts for positive change” - one of the goals of a Visitation education.

Georgetown Visitation was the first high school to experience a PeaceWorks discussion; they have previously worked with 150 different college campuses to bring peacebuilding to their students. 

Salesian Center Director Kati Krueger ‘99 shared with the audience that she hoped the event would help answer “how we are called to bring Christ to others, even in the most difficult of circumstances.”

The Middle Eastern Affinity Club introduced the event and assisted with questions; co-president Mia ‘26 shared that the conflict the speakers would cover “deserves your attention and dialogue,” and that though the topic is a difficult one, “growth and empathy begin in discomfort.”

Director of the PeaceWorks Foundation Emerging Leaders Program Jonathan Kessler said in his introduction, “Love is hard, but so is hate, so choose your heart … Open your mind and heart to what you can learn from the outside. That is where personal growth can begin to blossom.”

“In Salesian Spiritualty, the starting point is that God is love and that we can choose to love Him and other people in return,” said Krueger of Kessler’s message. “Throughout the entire presentation and engagement, our speakers demonstrated enormous honesty, vulnerability, open listening, and hope. These are the same principles that our GRACE mnemonic helps students to learn: Gentle Strength, Respect, Awareness, Clarity, and Encounter.”

Jaser Abu Mousa grew up in Gaza, and felt he had a “perfect life.” He lost his wife, eldest son, and

youngest son when their house was bombed in October 2023. With his two surviving children in tow, Jaser shared how he traveled to the Emirates and began to try to rebuild his life, but found himself unable to find a job or support when companies learned of his background and immigration status. He found a fellowship at Yale University and moved to the United States, unsure of his future. 

“I realized,” said Mousa, “I had never met an Israeli before.” He recalled meeting an Israeli at Yale for the first time: “I hear the other side, I realize they have something to say. … It was a profound moment.”

He told students, “We are here because you are an elite school in D.C. You will have influence someday … to make things, and change things.”

Kobi Skolnick grew up in Israel and shared as a child, everyone in his community believed that, when face-to-face with a Palestinian, one must “be careful.” As a teenager, he chose hate - throwing stones, getting in fights with Palestinians. As a young man, when those stones were being thrown back at him, he said, “I had a heart full of hate. I decided to stop it.”

He saw that both sides were “getting sucked into something,” and he made the choice to leave Israel. Twenty-four hours later, as a dual citizen of Israel and the United States, he found himself in New York City, without a word of English. It was in an ESL class that he became friends with a Palestinian, a relationship that has lasted 25 years.

“We need to share different ways to not default to fear,” said Skolnick. He advised students, “Every day, do one thing - compassion. … You can transform things.”

Students asked questions about undoing the cultivation of hatred and creating love. Skolnick shared, “Trauma fuels hatred, but the trauma is real … Fear creates blindness to the people who want peace.” Mousa added that in isolation, you don’t see the other side, and that dialogue is needed to understand feelings and fears.

Both encouraged students to put their knowledge into action when evaluating media and social media sources, as conflict - whether in a country, or between friends - is not black and white. 

“It’s so important, as students, that we stay updated on current events, but ensure it is both accurate and non-biased. If we want to make changes in the world and help those struggling, we have to create opinions built off of credible sources,” said co-president of the Middle Eastern Affinity Club Rania ‘26.

Kessler shared, for additional context, that Mousa and Skolnick had only met two hours before the assembly. “Conversations have beginnings, but they don’t have to have an end,” he noted. “PeaceWorks invites people to continue the conversation.” 

Students then headed into small group conversations in advisories and theology classes to discuss how principles of Salesian dialogue can be an entry point to peacebuilding. 

“I want people to take away resilience and commitment to building peace,” said Mimi ‘26, co-president of the Middle Eastern Affinity Club. “There are going to be many people who won’t agree or try to tear you down, however, you have to recenter yourself and remember why you are building peace.”

“Meeting these two men was life-changing. It opened my mind and gave me a new worldview. Today I learned that some stories aren’t meant to be split into heroes and villains or black and white. In the spaces between the headlines, politics, and debates, there are people on both sides being stripped of their human dignity. And somewhere, even in the midst of a humanitarian crisis, there is a middle ground, where we can hold compassion for more than one truth at a time,” said Maeve ‘27. “I was lucky to have a conversation with Jonathan Kessler in which he talked about the importance of using our words to inspire a community of love and justice, over fear and suffering.” 

“Salesian Spirituality's universality in its ability to transcend the human experience was on full display. Kobi Skolnick told the girls that you start with personal engagement with other people; you will never forget a human encounter. Jaser Abu Mousa spoke about the tremendous pain he continues to experience by losing many of his family members, and yet he makes the choice to seek the best in others and to encourage understanding and dialogue,” shared Krueger. “These men have walked enormously difficult paths, filled with voices calling for hate and violence, and yet they have chosen the hard work of loving others, striving for peace, and allowing grace to enter our world through their choices to build community at local, national, and global levels.”