Amid the escalating violence, an Israeli soldier has reminded us that compassion can cut through almost any conflict.
In recent weeks, eight Israelis were slain in a spate of stabbing, shooting and stoning incidents. And 30 Palestinians -- 13 of them identified by Israel as attackers and the rest involved in stone-throwing clashes –- were killed, according to the Associated Press.
But when an IDF soldier was faced with an Arab girl desperate for something to eat, he put the current situation aside in order to give the child some hope.
The image, posted by Stand With Us -- a pro-Israel group that educates about the Arab-Israeli conflict -- shows IDF soldier Evyatar Ofri handing a box of cereal to a 10-year-old girl named Ranin.
Ofri explained in the Facebook post that he encountered Ranin, “one of the most beautiful little girls” he’s ever seen, near his base in the desert rummaging through the garbage for food.
Though there was a language barrier, Ofri was able to communicate to the girl that he had something for her and quickly raced back to his base to bring her food from his personal stash.
"In that moment, this little girl reminded me that behind every religion, race or gender there are people, and human beings that just want to be happy and live peacefully," Ofri wrote, "and we should never forget that being human comes before every conflict."
