Couldn’t have said it better. Exactly.
I was at work a few days ago (building) and the man who lived next door came wondering in for a look.I asked him about his accent and he replied he was an Israeli.I climbed down off the ladder,walked over to him,shook him by the hand,looked him in the eye and said "shalom".The look on his face was priceless!He was so shocked at first and then was absolutely beaming.
He's actually the first Jew I've ever met AFAIK.For the ten odd minutes he was there he never stopped smiling.He said he'd not had such a greeting from a total stranger before.I don't really care what anyone says,I felt humbling to finally meet one of those from that nation that has been in my thoughts for close to 30 years.I took it as a wonderfull blessing.
BTW,the Pope is spot on here.