JewishGentileCouples.com

For many, the concept of reconciliation conjures up feelings of hopelessness. We talked to three people, a Palestinian, a German and an African Muslim, who all professed a love for the Jewish people. As we spoke with them about the steps they took to overcome histories of hatred and issues that seem irreconcilable, we realized that perhaps there is hope for peace after all...

Maha McDiarmid's father was born in the West Bank, and her mother is Egyptian. Maha is married to Dean, a Jewish believer in Jesus. She told her story to Naomi Rose.

My dad was everything to me. He was my world. More than anyone else, he was the one who shaped my Jewish identity. He'd come from a very religious family in Baltimore, and keeping our faith and traditions was very important to him. I remember that I and my brothers and sisters always had to be home for the first two nights of Passover, and how Dad made it such a special time for all of us. He was the one who took me to synagogue and instilled in me a respect for our heritage.

That's why my later discovery about my father was such a shock...

Baruch habah! May he who cometh be blessed! Mi adir al hakol, mi baruch al hakol, y'vorech chatan v'kalah. He who is supremely mighty; He who is supremely praised; He who is supremely great; May he bless this bridegroom and bride…

Beneath the embroidered velvet chupah we listened to the words of this ancient benediction, unaware of all but the clergyman and the cantor before us. The royal blue wedding canopy moved gently in the early evening breeze. We stood on a grassy knoll by a peaceful lake, a setting much like those described in fairy tales. And though my "prince" and I had met and fallen in love in storybook fashion, we had come to the chupah out of a serious commitment born of something greater than even the greatest of human loves.