Palestinian and Israeli Seeds to receive joint award by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children
NEW YORK | Two Seeds of Peace program participants, Bushra Jawabri, 20, a Palestinian, and Julia Resnitsky, 16, an Israeli, will together receive the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children’s 2002 Voices of Courage Award on Wednesday, May 15, 2002.
“We are extremely proud of these two “Seeds”, Bushra and Julia, and thrilled that the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children chose to recognize them for their passionate, courageous, and dedicated work toward coexistence,“ said John Wallach, Founder and President of Seeds of Peace. “Bushra and Julia are well on their way to becoming tomorrow’s leaders which is the path we hope all our program graduates will take.”
Bushra and Julia were chosen for their courage and work toward lasting peace as well as their support and dedication to ethnic diversity, peace building and non-violent conflict resolution activities. As adolescents caught in the midst of a decades-long conflict, Julia and Bushra’s hope to break the cycle of violence and war is a brave vision of combating the climate of fear, mistrust and prejudice that pervades their lives.
Bushra, who grew up in the Arroub Refugee Camp in the West Bank, first attended the Seeds of Peace camp in 1997. Since then, she has inspired many through presentations to religious institutions, schools and community groups through the United States while she attends Manhattanville College in New York on scholarship.
Julia left Russia at age 7 with her family as refugees to Jerusalem. She attended Seeds of Peace in 2000 and 2001. Her leadership in peace issues is challenged by her community, friends and family, who do not support her beliefs, yet she continues to volunteer with underprivileged Palestinian and Israeli youth and mentor friends to work toward peaceful coexistence regardless of the obstacles.
Participation in the Seeds of Peace program has helped to empower Julia and Bushra to act on their core beliefs of coexistence and non-violence. “Seeds of Peace allowed me to feel comfortable with my beliefs and be true to myself,” said Julia. “When I first went to camp, I was fearful and hesitated because I was afraid to meet people from Israel. Seeds of Peace offered me the opportunity to meet those I always considered as the ‘enemy’ and instead see that there are some Israelis who are also searching for peace,” said Bushra.
Since 1993, Seeds of Peace has graduated more than 2,000 teenagers representing 22 nations from its internationally recognized conflict-resolution program. The Seeds of Peace program brings hundreds of youth identified by their governments as among the best and brightest to live together at three consecutive month-long summer programs. Through the summer-long programs, participants develop empathy, respect, communication/negotiation skills, confidence, and hope – the building blocks for peaceful coexistence.
The Voices of Courage Award ceremony will be held at 12:00pm on May 15, 2002 at the Roosevelt Hotel, Madison Avenue at 45th Street in New York. Pulitzer-prize winning novelist and columnist, Anna Quindlen, will deliver the keynote speech at the luncheon.
To schedule an interview with Bushra Jawabri and Julia Resnitsky or for more information about Seeds of Peace, please call Rebecca Hankin at (212) 573-8040 ext. 31. For information on the event, please contact Diana Quick at the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children at (212) 551-3087.