BY LORE JAMUL | Is there anything in this world that the governments of Israel, Egypt, Jordan and Palestinian sector can agree on?
Indeed there is. It is the value of an organization of Mideast teenagers named Seeds of Peace, an internationally recognized conflict-resolution program. Yasser Arafat called it “the hope and aim which we are working to realize, namely just peace in the land of peace.” Benjamin Netanyahu said, “I wholeheartedly support your efforts,” and President Clinton agreed by saying, “I know Seeds of Peace will be remembered by an entire generation of children who have grown up in the shadow of conflict in the Middle East. The success of Seeds of Peace will mean a brighter future for the region and the world.”
Founder Speaks
Members of the Jewish Federation of Greater Waterbury and Northwest Connecticut learned about Seeds of Peace from its founder and president, John Wallach, when he spoke at the Federation’s 59th annual meeting on June 7. Wallach spent most of his career as a journalist and author. He served as foreign editor for the Hearst newspapers and appeared on the PBS program Washington Week in Review for many years. His books include Arafat: In the Eyes of the Beholder, Still Small Voices, and the The New Palestinians. He has been honored by UNESCO, B’nai B’rith, and the National Press Club, and received the Medal of Friendship from Mikhail Gorbachev and the Legion of Honor from King Hussein of Jordan.
In 1993, around the time of his 50th birthday, Wallach decided that he did not just want to record history, he wanted to help make it. It was shortly after the World Trade Center bombing, and Wallach felt a need to extend a message of hope to counteract the fear the bombing had created. He asked the men then heading the governments of Israel, Egypt and the Palestinians—Rabin, Mubarak and Arafat—to permit a group of teenagers from their countries to come together for three weeks at a camp in Maine. His theory was that if you get the kids to a neutral scene and permit them to coexist in an atmosphere of love and understanding, of getting to know each other as people, that they could learn to overcome the hate which is endemic in their home countries.
Alumni Gather
Wallach’s program has been enormously successful. This May, 72 alumni of the program got together for a week in Switzerland with the mission to negotiate a peace treaty. It was a time when the peace talks between the Israelis and Palestinians were at a standstill, and the young delegates faced a daunting task. But they found points of agreement on each of the issues, and managed to come up with a 50-page peace agreement, copies of which have been sent to leaders of the countries concerned with resolving the conflict.
Wallach explained that the participants in the Seeds of Peace program each summer are chosen by the governments of their home countries. The guidelines are that the youngsters must know English, and submit an essay on “Why I want to make peace with the enemy.” At least a quarter of the places are reserved for kids from poor homes. This year there were 2,200 applications for 300 spots.
The participants spend three weeks together at the Maine camp, where they share all the usual camp activities as well as regular coexistence groups, which help them learn about each other and about conflict resolution.
“At first they have trouble listening to each other, each side thinking of itself as victims. But before the three weeks are up they bare their souls to each other and begin to understand their common humanity,” Wallach said.
Follow-Up
There is an emphasis on follow-up programs as well, so that the feeling of friendship is not dissipated. A newspaper published by the youngsters called The Olive Branch tells of visits across the border. Israeli youngsters visited friends in Bethlehem and in Jordan, while Palestinians came to a Purim party in Israel. Many of the young people stay in touch by email.
The program has been praised by many government officials, but nothing they said can equal the impact of a story told by Saeb Erekat, the lead Palestinian negotiator in the peace talks, which is quoted in the Wall Street Journal of January 22, 1998.
“My daughter attended an Israeli-Palestinian peace camp last year in Maine,” he says. “After the flood hit Jericho, not one of my Israeli friends or counterparts in the Peace Talks called to ask me about my family or how I was doing. But 21 Israeli kids, 13 to 15 years old, called her. Every single one of the kids from that camp called Dalal to ask if she was OK—to see if we were OK. This is the future. This is what I am working to build, the culture of peace.”