By Karen Vance
Enquirer contributor

Yehudit Keshet, Mai Nassar and Rawan Damen (Ernest Coleman photo)

Three women of different faiths will share their vision - peace in Israel and Palestine - with Cincinnati at events at two local universities today.

Yehudit Keshet, a Jewish Israeli, Rawan Damen, a Palestinian Muslim, and Mai Nassar, a Palestinian Christian, are on an 11-city, 19-day tour in the U.S. as part of Partners for Peace, a non-profit group which advocates a lasting, peaceful settlement to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Today, they make stops at the University of Cincinnati at noon and Xavier University at 7 p.m.

"To say harsh things about Israelis is not easy, but there is no symmetry between Israel and Palestinians, and Americans need to know that," said Keshet, 60. "Palestinians are a people in occupation. Injustice is at the basis of this conflict."

Nassar, 43, who lives in the Beit Jala in the West Bank, said the conflict has never been about religion.

"It's a political conflict, for sure. The Palestinians are more united than ever, Muslims and Christians," she said. "We are living together and supporting each other. We are neighbors."

She, like her Muslim counterpart Damen, a 24-year-old from Ramallah, is subjected to curfews, limited travel and military checkpoints. Damen, who teaches at Birzeit University in the West Bank, must pass through a checkpoint every day, stopping her car, walking two miles and then taking a cab to campus.

"The checkpoints are not for security. The soldiers do not check anything," she said. "It is for oppression and control. It is to give the message to Palestinians that you're not welcome."

Keshet has been working in Israel to observe the checkpoints as co-founder of Checkpoint Watch, a human rights monitoring group.

"Things have definitely deteriorated in recent years despite us," she said. "We see humiliation and arbitrary violence. It's a breeding ground for terror and has nothing to do with security."

She hopes Americans will hear the Partners for Peace talks and put pressure on the U.S. government to make aid to Israel contingent upon ending the occupation of Palestinian lands.

"The security of Israel is dear to all our hearts, but I don't think any security concern can justify the oppression and what we see on the ground as suppression of another people," she said. "The U.S. road maps and peace plans are wonderful. They are progress. With common sense and a lot of goodwill, this can be resolved."

Today's talks:

• UC: Noon to 2 p.m., Kade German Cultural Center, Old Chemistry, 7th floor, on the main campus.

• XU: 7 to 9 p.m. , Kelley Auditorium in Alter Hall.