Jerusalem Olive Tree- Olive trees have no nationality. They have no political allegiance. They don't want to be Israeli or Palestinian; they just are themselves. Where the soil and light and climate are suitable, they grow, independent of the political struggles which rage around them. They feed the people who nurture them and give pleasure to those who look at them.

I see them as a symbol of harmony and of the primacy of the land itself. Let Israelis and Palestinians derive benefit from the land that is theirs (both of theirs) and let them share in its bounty. The land itself is central to both of their claims to this region; the need to turn away from the destructive violence and renew their connection to the peaceful uses of the land as exemplified in olive trees.

Ellen Stutman, Cambridge Massachusetts USA