Well, again, I agree and disagree. As you say, the most important thing is to agree that we both want to see a viable solution.

Regarding your last point about tree planting. My training was in Soil Science - which is probably about as far as you can get from selling Palestinian textiles! It is undeniably true that Israelis have done amazing things with scarce natural resources. On the other hand, the agricultural systems that have developed are very dependent on irrigation. And, I am sorry to say that the evidence suggests that much of the irrigation water needed, particularly in the settlements, is taken at the expense of Palestinians.

Simply planting trees without considering the wider environmental and social context is no solution in itself. There must be justice and parity even in this.

Regarding the rest of your post, I would agree that we need the flexibility to hold loosely to our ideals. To be honest, it is not me you [ie pro-Israelis] need to convince. Palestinians have lost hope, when you speak to them often their eyes gloss over and they look dejectedly at the floor. They cannot cope with more fine words from their own leaders, the Israelis or the rest of the world. They just want to see their lives improving. This is why we started trading directly with Palestinian businesses, tried to do the things that others said was impossible or irresponsible.

Having only briefly been to Tel Aviv, I can't tell you what the feeling is there.