This past July, I was flying home from visiting family back East and was about to board the final leg from Atlanta to Albuquerque. In the gangway leading to our aircraft, I noticed a gaggle of teenage girls talking loudly and enthusiastically, waving their arms this way and that. Naturally, I assumed it was my fellow New Mexicans heading home.

As it happened, these young ladies occupied the rows directly in front of me where I noticed their dark complexions and a language I didn’t comprehend. At first I concluded they were Syrian refugees speaking Arabic. Overcome by curiosity, I introduced myself and discovered that they were, in fact, Israeli teens speaking Hebrew. That I could confuse Israelis speaking Hebrew with Syrians speaking Arabic tells you something about the Middle East.

Through further conversation, I learned that they and their Palestinian compatriots were heading to Santa Fe to participate in a three-week workshop that encourages peacemaking and women’s empowerment skills through a program called “Tomorrow’s Women.” I was truly impressed and after a lame joke on my part about our law requiring the ingestion of green chile cheeseburgers, blessed them for their youthful passion and dedication to a worthy cause.

I bet they had one heck of a great time during their three-week event. Who hasn’t as a teenager spent a week or a weekend at some youth rally or conference with a group of like-minded kids, doing something inspiring to improve themselves and the world at large (Rowe Camp comes to mind, among others.) No doubt, they left for home fired up with hope, enthusiasm and the desire to share with others all the skills they had learned. Maybe after so many bloody decades, these young leaders could finally bring their respective peoples to join together in mutual peace and understanding.

I wonder what they are feeling now.

How many of the Israeli girls have lost friends and loved ones to Hamas’ barbaric assault, where they committed atrocities that have shocked and repelled the global community? How many of the Palestinian girls lost friends and family members to Israeli airstrikes or from Israel’s demand that millions of them flee their homes in Gaza or suffer utter destruction?

We progressive American Jews are currently torn in twain. While we unequivocally support Israel and its right to defend itself from those who have always wished to eradicate its existence, the moral code of Judaism is appalled by the severity of the Israeli response currently underway in Gaza. From reading comments on the Jerusalem Post online site, I’ve observed how each side routinely dehumanizes the other and justifies cruelty.

Ironically, both the Israelis and the Palestinians mimic themselves in their embrace of victimhood and righteous entitlement. Both believe God is on their side.

It would take more than an essay to give the background of this never-ending Gordian Knot. I’ve written extensively in the past for this newspaper about the Palestinian-Israel conflict, especially since the Pioneer Valley has a sizable amount of sympathy for the former. Being a Jew, I understand the Israeli mindset while condemning Israeli actions. I am, however, shocked and appalled by so-called “progressives” cheering Hamas, a group of religious extremists who would happily execute most of those supporting them for their liberal views on gays and women’s rights.

Otherwise, I have no realistic solutions and have no doubt that after the inevitable cease-fire is called and the bodies buried, that the same conflagration will erupt again five to 10 years from now. And, as always, neither the Israelis nor the Palestinians give a hoot what any of us believes. They are locked in a fratricidal death-grip that only they can break free of.

And what of those hopeful teenage Palestinian and Israeli girls who came to my town with visions of a better world in their hearts and minds? Have they been betrayed by men who have channeled violence into national policy or through the barrel of an AK-47? Will they now give up their dreams and fall back into their traditional tribal identities? Will they decide in turn to hate and fear those with whom they once hugged, sang songs and ate meals with while joyfully sharing cellphone pictures of their families?

We owe these girls something more. We owe them the future they once dared to envision.

Daniel A. Brown lived in Franklin County for 44 years and is a frequent contributor to the Recorder. He lives outside of Santa Fe, New Mexico with his wife, Lisa and dog, Cody.