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As a person who has been involved in the interreligious effort for peace in the Middle East, I was very pleased to learn that U.S. Rep. Donna Edwards (D-Dist. 4.) had decided to travel with a congressional delegation to Israel, the West Bank and Gaza.

Curious by what she had to say about this trip, I attended her recent town hall meeting. Rep. Edwards spoke about the nuanced perspective that she had gained through her dialogue with Israelis and Palestinians and seeing the situation on the ground firsthand.

I was also impressed by her deep commitment to supporting President Obama's effort to bring about a just and lasting peace in the Holy Land. Unlike those who are trapped in a dead-end framework, which labels others as being either pro-Israeli or pro-Palestinian, Rep. Edwards transcends this inaccurate zero-sum mentality.

At the town hall meeting, there were some individuals who responded to Rep. Edwards' compassionate, pro-Israeli, pro-Palestinian, pro-peace position with suspicion or even hostility ("Edwards' Israeli stand questioned," July 3 letter). However, I was encouraged to see the vast majority of the crowd — Jews, Christians and Muslims — applauding her for her courage, compassion, level-headed realism and audacity of hope that "yes, we can" pave a way to a more just, secure and peaceful future in the land that considered holy by Jews, Christians and Muslims.

Fr. Jacek Orzechowski, Silver Spring

The writer is a Franciscan priest at St. Camillus Church in Silver Spring, and co-chair of the Justice and Peace Committee of his Franciscan province.