BY LISA SINGHANIA | OTISFIELD The news of a deadly terrorist bombing in Israel left 14-year-old Keren Klein in tears. The Jerusalem resident had come to Maine to attend a camp geared at improving relationships between Arabs and Israelis, but the Wednesday bombing jeopardized that.
“My first thought was my family,” Klein said Wednesday afternoon, her voice still shaking. After a call home confirmed they were safe, she turned to her fellow Seeds of Peace campers for support, including those who might have been adversaries in her homeland.
“We were with Arab kids and they were very comforting,” she said after a prayer service to honor the 15 people killed Wednesday in the explosion at a Jerusalem marketplace. “It meant a lot to me.”
The bombing came on the eve of the talks designed to jump-start peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis. The bombing postponed the talks, but the 160 teenagers at this lakeside camp were adamant they should continue.
“We’re here to make peace,” said Numan Zourob, a 15-year-old Palestinian.
John Wallach, a former journalist, founded the Seeds of Peace International Camp, after deciding the best way to stop terrorism was to prevent hatred from taking root in the first place.
Five years later, the camp is internationally recognized for the innovative way it brings together Israelis and Arabs. The teenagers canoe and play tennis and soccer, while learning how to resolve their differences. On Wednesday, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright faxed the group a note, urging them not to lose hope.
“Today’s a tough day for them,” Wallach said. “But this has to continue. This is the only hope left for peace.”
At the prayer service, representatives of Palestinian, Egyptian and other Arab campers stood up to denounce the bombing and to console Israeli campers, many of whom wept.
“We want you to know that we will never live in peace until both sides stop the killing,” a Palestinian girl said. “We’d like to shake hands and work together so we have more peace for coming generations.”
“We explain to them we are not to blame,” said Amer Kamal, a 15-year-old Palestinian who lives in East Jerusalem. “These are terrorists. Islam does not teach us to kill women, the elderly and the children.”
The words gave Shirly Errany, 14, of Ahdod, Israel, the ability to look beyond the bombing.
“If we were home, we’d just be mad,” she said. “Here we saw the other side … their sympathy made us strong.”