At Neve Shalom High, two students meet and cultivate a friendship inspired by their mutual love for opera. Two adults in their lives, a Neve Shalom instructor and a Tel Aviv voice professor, nurture a belief that their artistic contributions could play an unexpected and important role in reactivating the peace talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis. The Ministry of Education even provides funding for the effort; however, family mistrusts from both sides are frequently plagued by cultural prejudices related to decades of territorial and religious disputes. Eventually, as adults, the two students find themselves back where they started, but in a place they could never have imagined because it gives them hope.
Educated in Lebanon, Iraq, and the United States, author Jemil Metti has taught international relations at the college level, focusing on Middle Eastern conflicts. Operation Olive Tree is his fictional exploration of something important to all of us: the power of dialogue until a peace accord is reached.
