Last year when the conflict between Israel and Hizbullah was at its most firey and tragic, blogs and comment threads similarly flamed with accusations, despair, and fury.
In the midst of all this was "Shai" and Israel 2046, a blog that imagined a middle east 40 years in the future, an era of peace where conflict had been resolved and humanity and empathy had prevailed.
It read more sci-fi than utopian. In his future, tourism between Jerusalem and Beirut flourished via a train called "the pilgrim express". There is a Club Med in Gaza. In the future, our grandchildren are friends, but amusingly lacking their elders' patience. It was an impossibly beautiful vision that made you giddy to read.
I knew from Lisa, who introduced me to his blog, that Shai had cancer, and I was incredibly sad to hear that he died today at 28. She had the good fortune to get to know him and she spoke so glowingly about his optimism, intelligence, and heart.
For Shai, who I never met, today I will imagine a world 40 years from now we live every day aware of our own mortality; massive, oversized hope is in fashion; peace has been established in the middle east and this lovely man is still alive, driving the scenic route to Beirut with a car full of his grandchildren.
