Although I am neither Jewish or Palestinian, nor have I visited the Middle East, I do listen to the news, and the suffering in that region is too much to bear.

I won't pretend to know how to solve the problem of war, but I do know that war is a barbaric, outdated, expensive, temporary solution to a problem.

The enemy is war, not Israel or Gaza.

We teach our children to use words, conflict resolution skills, and we certainly do not finance their fights.

I contact my congressional representatives regularly to demand a stop to the billions of dollars of military aid and munitions that the U.S. supplies to Israel. More weapons only exacerbate and prolong the agony.

“May peace prevail on earth and let it begin with me” is an apt mantra.

Now is a good time to read Jimmy Carter's book, “Palestine: Peace Not Apartheid.”

Barbara Christwitz lives in Clearlake, California.