Local Israeli, Palestinian share unique friendship

Sareet Frazier and Hussein Abukhdeir dine together at Abukhedeir’s Heart of Jerusalem Cafe in Colorado Springs.

Frazier, an Israeli, Abukhdeir, a Palestinian, share a monthly lunch date together.

When the two first met, Frazier recognized her friend’s distinct accent.

“I said, ‘Where are you from, Hussein? What part of the Middle East?’ He said, Palestine. I said, ‘Really? I am, too. But, I call it Israel not Palestine.’ And we laughed. We’ve been friends ever since,” Frazier said.

They both regularly return to their homeland to see family. Abukhdeir spent seven months in Jerusalem last year.

“I had a good time,” Abukhdeir said. “I was in Tel Aviv almost every week. We love being together. It’s just that the governments, they can’t get along.”

Today, as the death toll in this latest war between the two sides surges past 500, these two can look past the violence and past the politics most of the time.

“She’s a nice, lovely lady,” Abukhdeir said. “We have a difference of opinions we can’t solve. Otherwise, we are good friends.”

We discuss things,” Frazier said. “There are things we don’t agree with but we’re adults. You have to talk, not through terror.”