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Musical Arab-Jewish youth seek the key to coexistence
Christian Science Monitor

May 22, 2013 / No Comments

A Yale University alumnus and veteran of the school’s famed a capella groups has brought his talents to Jerusalem, where he launched an Arab-Jewish youth chorus.

JERUSALEM | The Harlem Shake craze has hit Jerusalem and the Arab and Jewish teens in Micah Hendler’s Jerusalem Youth Chorus want to make their own video. It’s not Mr. Hendler’s preferred music, but the students’ exuberance leaves him little choice.

“All right, if we’re going to make this video we’re going to have to get moving,” he says.

There are plenty of expats living in Jerusalem but Hendler is the only one who started an Arab-Jewish youth chorus five months after graduating college.

Hendler is a former counselor at the Seeds of Peace coexistence camp in Maine, proud alumnus of two a capella groups at Yale – the Duke’s Men and Whiffenpoofs – and a firm believer in the power of music to create communities and empower youth.

Supported by grants from Yale and the Jerusalem Foundation, Hendler moved to Jerusalem after graduating in 2012 to put his ideas into practice – he wrote his senior thesis on the successes and failures of other music-for-peace programs in Israel.

He selected 14 Arab and 14 Jewish students from 80 applicants; together they performed to a packed house at the Jerusalem YMCA Christmas concert two months after their first practice.

He’s trying to avoid two pitfalls of other programs he studied: enabling students to remain negative toward the group as a whole, even as they make friends with representatives of “the other,” or focusing so much on broad dialogue that the students don’t form any close friendships.

Hendler’s three-hour weekly practice includes time for bonding – the Harlem Shake video was preceded by collective giggles – and a 45-minute dialogue run by trained facilitators. The dialogue is strategically placed in the middle of the rehearsal so students don’t come late and miss it, as they did in other programs he studied.

Rudinah, an Arab girl from East Jerusalem, says she didn’t know there would be a dialogue portion before she joined the chorus, but that it’s one of her favorite parts. “The Jewish people here are so cool and friendly,” she says.

Likewise Shifa Woodbridge, a Jew who had never met an Arab before joining the chorus, is equally exuberant.

“It’s my favorite part,” she exclaimed when asked about the dialogue. “I love talking about it. It’s not weird,” she says.

Hendler recognizes that some doubt whether programs like his can make a difference or are simply invigorating those already in support of peace, but points to the first free time the students were given at their second rehearsal when Arabs and Jews spontaneously mingled without prompting as evidence that the program is useful.

“People were hanging out across every possible line, of their own free will. There aren’t that many places in the city, or country, or world really where that happens.”

Read Chelsea B. Sheasley’s article at The Christian Science Monitor ››

What We’re Reading: Pride Month

Jun 25, 2019 / No Comments

Fifty years ago this month, police raided the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York City. The landmark moment ignited long-simmering tensions that would soon spread to demonstrations throughout the country, marking the beginning of the modern gay rights movement in the United States.

June is Pride Month in the United States, commemorating Stonewall and celebrating the contributions of LGBTQIA+ people to society, not just in the US, but around the world. So this month, we are highlighting works that explore and build understanding toward issues related to this community. Here’s what our staff have been reading:

Sister Outsider, by Audre Lorde
At the heart of this collection of Lorde’s most powerful essays and speeches is her identity and experiences as a black queer woman. She was one of the first activists and writers to engage with the subject of intersectionality, and the theme plays a major role in Sister Outsider. Through a blend of personal stories and her unique version of activism, Lorde tackles the issues of sexism, homophobia, classism, and ageism, arguing for a society that not only is inclusive, but also celebrates individual differences. What I personally find most inspiring about Sister Outsider is Lorde’s refusal to apologize—for her identity, for her beliefs, for her anger at the status quo. This beautifully written collection of shorter pieces makes for a relatively quick and easy read, but if you only have time for one or two, I suggest “The Master’s Tools Will Never Dismantle the Master’s House” and “Age, Race, Class, and Sex: Women Redefining Difference.” — Molly Gump, Development Intern

Sister Outsider is a great book for many reasons, but one of my favorites is how relevant it is to dialogue. It engages with power, anger, identity, and emotion, and not only does Lorde tell her story as a queer women of color—that in and of itself is a radical act—but it addresses how we navigate power in dialogue. — Kiran Thadhani, Director of Global Programs

The Great Believers, by Rebecca Makkai
This time machine of a book, which chronicles the outbreak of the AIDS epidemic in Chicago, brought back memories that were somewhat at a distance from the life I led in the mid-to-late 80s. I didn’t know anybody who was gay when I was in high school. Not that homosexuality didn’t exist amongst teens in Miami. Rather, people were still closeted. I look at schools today, at my own kids’ peers and their understanding of what it means to be human, and I’m left thinking that we’ve progressed so much in 30 years. Yes, there are still shameful things happening today, but they stand out as shameful against a society that has become infinitely more accepting of the many ways people love and live. And that gives me hope for what can be 30 years from now, for the LGBT community, as well as other groups that are still marginalized and underrepresented, undervalued. The arc of justice … keep bending. — Deb Levy, Director of Communications

Against Equality: Queer Revolution, Not Mere Inclusion, edited by Ryan Conrad
Against Equality is a collection of essays and articles written by queer activists and scholars that challenges us to think about what queer liberation actually looks like. Is it marriage and military service and hate crime laws? These authors say no. Instead, they point to the ways in which these goals reinforce the power of marriage, the military, and the prison system, when what we ought to be doing is removing these oppressive structures from our lives. This collection is split into three sections which deal with these exact goals of the gay rights movement. The authors in this book are not interested in a straight world where we are included. They are interested in a queer world, a free world, where people do no have to look or act straight in order to be free. This is an excellent introduction to leftist queer thought and offers some history of how the radical queer liberation movement became the assimilationist gay rights movement in the US. The authors in this book are courageous in their rejection of what straight society has deemed good and respectable, and deeply inspiring in their commitment to the freedom of our community. — Greg Barker, Manager of Facilitation Programs

Jughead Vol. 1-2, by Chip Zdarsky and Erica Henderson; Ryan North and Derek Charm
In 2015, the entire Archie Comics line was rebooted. Jughead, best friend of the eponymous Archie, was revealed to be asexual. One year later, the character received his own spinoff, which explored something truly remarkable about this development: the radical normalcy of it all. In these stories, Jughead is an ordinary teenager doing ordinary things (well, for the world of Riverdale, at least). His asexuality, as with the sexual orientation of his gay classmate Kevin, is beyond simply being accepted by his peers—to them, it’s a complete non-issue. Even more, Jughead is laconic and detached … he’s the cool kid of Riverdale High. Many kids don’t know what asexuality is or that it could be a possibility for them, much less that it’s an entire queer identity of its own. What makes Jughead a milestone is how it extends that representation to an all-ages title, where it’s even more important that readers can see themselves in what they’re reading. — Chris Luggiero, Communications Associate

The Argonauts, by Maggie Nelson
Like the people it portrays, The Argonauts defies easy classification. Part memoir, part work of literary criticism—Maggie Nelson calls her writing “autotheory” early in the book—this genre-bending story “is an intimate portrayal of the complexities and joys of (queer) family making.” At its core is the author’s love for, and relationship with, a genderfluid person. As Nelson’s pregnancy and the process of motherhood brings her on a journey of self-discovery, her partner embarks on his own, undergoing testosterone therapy and eventually gender confirmation surgery. In her review for The Los Angeles Times, Sara Marcus writes that The Argonauts comes “away and back again to central questions about deviance and normalcy, family-making and love,” asking, “How does anyone decide what’s normal and what’s radical? What kinds of experience do we close ourselves off to when we think we already know?” — Mirna Ansari, Middle East Programs Coordinator

Tomorrow Will Be Different, by Sarah McBride
At 22, Sarah McBride came out as trans in her college’s student newspaper. One year later, she successfully fought against employment and housing discrimination based on gender identity in Delaware, advocating in the face of national hostility. Upon signing the Gender Identity Nondiscrimination Act of 2013 into law, the governor thanked her personally for her efforts. In Tomorrow Will Be Different, McBride tells her entire story, from getting engaged in politics years before her transition to becoming the first openly trans woman to speak at a major US political convention in 2016. She speaks on both the progress of, and challenges faced by, the trans community with a clear-eyed optimism and enthusiasm many of our leaders could learn from. Even the death of her husband from cancer four days after their marriage—a saga she covers in heartbreaking detail—fails to bring her down into the cynicism that marks our politics today. Tomorrow Will Be Different is also remarkable for its portrait of youth activism, and I hope her story provides a roadmap for other young leaders looking to get involved in the issues they care about. — Eliza O’Neil, US/UK Programs Manager

What would you add to this list? Any recommendations for future editions of What We’re Reading? Let us know in the comments below, or send your picks to lori@seedsofpeace.org.

‘Women want sexual health advice’
Express Tribune (Pakistan)

Dec 4, 2011 / No Comments

LAHORE | Women made up the bulk of visitors at a free medical camp. According to Dr Mahak Mansoor – a gynaecologist who works at Mayo Hospital and was one of the four doctors who volunteered at the camp – said most of them sought advice about reproductive health.

Around 300 people came to the camp, according to the organisers. Free of charge tests for diabetes, calcium and cholesterol levels were also provided.

The camp was set up by the Seeds of Peace, as part of their ‘Change Maker’ programme, in collaboration with the Trust for Education and Development of Deserving Students at The Trust School in Green Town.

Dr Mansoor, said that the women’s interest had highlighted the need for counselling women from rural and impoverished areas about reproductive health. She said that such programmes were essential for incorporating a sense of social responsibility in the youth.

About 10 students from various educational institutes including Beaconhouse School System, Crescent Model School and FC College volunteered at the camp along with 15 members of Seeds of Peace. The young volunteers put up banners and distributed leaflets in the surrounding areas to help create awareness about personal hygiene. They also delivered lectures in Urdu and Punjabi at the camp.

Read Aroosa Shaukat’s article in The Express Tribune ››

VIDEO: “We will find a way to peace,” Secretary of State Albright Tells Mideast Teens

Aug 20, 1997 / No Comments

WASHINGTON | “We will succeed, we will find a way to peace” in the Middle East, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright assured Arab and Israeli youth who visited the State Department August 20 after a month-long stay at a summer camp in Maine, where they learned about coexistence.

The 175 youth included Palestinians and Israelis as well as others from Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco, Jordan and, for the first time, Qatar, which is scheduled to host the fourth Middle East Economic Summit in November.

The teenagers were part of the fifth annual “Seeds of Peace” program, a coexistence and conflict-resolution initiative that was started by John Wallach, an American author and journalist. The students were to attend a fund-raising concert later tonight in Washington. The program does not receive government funds.

Repeating that she will “soon” be traveling to the Middle East, Albright told the 13-to-15 year-olds that “perhaps the most important” part of peace-making is that the parties must remember that “peace is not just one option among many, it is the only path that offers security and the hope of prosperity; the only path that holds out the promise of a future better than the past.”

“The United States has worked for many years to help the Middle East peace process succeed. Diplomatically, politically and financially, we have supported those who have been willing to take risks for peace,” Albright reminded the teens.

She told the youngsters:

“Making the decision to build peace matters not because building peace is easy, but because it is hard. In any such effort there will be highs and lows, good times and bad. And I suspect that was the way it was at camp in Maine. It must have been hard, coping with the terrible bombing in Jerusalem. But I understand you all came together—that Palestinians, regardless of their own grievances, were there to comfort and console their Israeli friends, and that the Palestinian flag was lowered to half-mast, out of sorrow and respect. Upon this lesson, a common future may be built, that pain experienced by one is pain shared by all. An action that eases the burden of one will lighten the load for all.”

Albright was referring to the July 30 bombing in Jerusalem in which 14 Israelis were killed as well as the two suicide bombers.

The program, which was documented by various film crews and covered by the international press, started with four youngsters—two Palestinians and two Israelis—telling the secretary about their feelings during their various encounters and their hopes at the summer camp in Maine. The youngsters later sang their theme song—”I am a seed of peace”—and Secretary Albright joined them in the rendition.

Albright added:

“The time has come for neighbors to live as neighbors, and for all to understand that no one’s blood is less or more precious than another’s. President Clinton and I have pledged to do everything we can to help the parties revive and keep alive the momentum towards peace. Let me assure you now, we will keep that pledge.

“And as I look around the room, I have faith that we will succeed. Not overnight, not without additional setbacks; but we will succeed. We will find the way to peace. Those made free by the vision of a world in which historic enemies have joined hands will not allow themselves to be dragged back by those still paralyzed by prejudice.”

Albright’s Remarks to Middle East Seeds

SECRETARY ALBRIGHT: Thank you all. Thank you very much, John. I really am very pleased to be here with all of you on this afternoon. Welcome to the Department of State. I wish that all our guests could sing as well, and that I could join them.

I hope you all had a very good time in Maine. A lot of people have now heard about this program, thanks to some TV and a lot of wonderful things that you all have done.

I know that you had a hard time with the mosquitoes. I have been to Maine, myself, so I know they’re pretty hard to put up with. You could start wearing T-shirts that also said, “I Survived the Mosquitoes.”

I also understand that during your camp talent show, you had Prime Minister Netanyahu and Chairman Arafat settle their differences. Not only did they trade land for peace, but they exchanged wives and mothers-in-law.

Maybe I’ll try that out when I go there.

I’m not quite sure how I feel about all that, but I’m glad I wasn’t there. And I might have been part of the bargain, so …

Let me say how deeply I was moved by what Roy and Hani and Sarah and Noah said. Those were very moving statements. Don’t be surprised if some of them show up in my speeches. I think lighting a spark in your heart is terrific. And if I may steal that from you, I will.

I just gave my first, as Secretary of State, serious speech on the Middle East. And as people in the State Department know, it was a pretty tough speech and had a lot of hard parts in it. But I insisted that it have a spark of hope, and that was when I discussed your program because I believe that what you are doing is so important to what we’re all trying to achieve in the Middle East.

John—and I will call you John—as you know, I’m a great fan and a great fan of what you have done. I think you deserve all our thanks from all over. It’s a remarkable program.

I think it’s hard to believe that anybody who is 60 was ever young. But I was and the impressions that one forms when one is young stay with you forever. So I know that the feelings that you all expressed today and have lived through in the last weeks will stay with you.

I also believe deeply in the central premise of Seeds of Peace, which is that differences in outlook and culture and creed can be bridged by knowledge and understanding.

Seeds of Peace helps you learn enough about history to understand that there is more than one side to it; enough about your neighbors to know them as individuals; and enough about yourselves to know that your own happiness can never rest on the misery of others.

That is not only knowledge, but wisdom. And by applying that wisdom, each of you may become a true builder of peace.

So I thank you for the hope you strengthen in me, especially now. For one of the reasons I’m pleased to welcome you here—to my official home, that is—is because soon I will be traveling to the Middle East for the first time as Secretary of State.

While there, I will be talking to your leaders—Roy, I will—about the need to get the peace process back on track. I hope to have a chance to meet with students and non-governmental organizations, as well. If we can arrange it, I would love to meet with as many of you there as we can put together.

The United States has worked for many years to help the Middle East peace process succeed. Diplomatically, politically and financially, we have supported those who have been willing to take risks for peace. And we have endorsed the vision of a future in which Israelis, Arabs and Palestinians would live and work together without terror or violence and with an end to hatred and distrust. And much progress has been made. I fully do believe that the people that live in the region do want peace.

Unfortunately, in recent months, that progress has stalled. A crisis of confidence has arisen between Israeli and Palestinian leaders. Israelis say that the Palestinians are not doing enough to stop terror. Palestinians object to unilateral Israeli measures that seem to prejudge the outcome of negotiations. The United States cannot impose peace. But we are encouraging the two sides to resume their partnership for peace.

Security must be seen not simply as a goal to be achieved once the journey to a final peace has been completed. There must be security every step of the way. There must also be a true commitment to peace. Differences should be settled at the bargaining table, and unilateral steps that sow suspicion should be avoided.

Perhaps most important, the parties must remember why they came together to pursue peace in the first place. For peace is not just one option among many. It is the only path that offers security and the hope of prosperity; the only path that holds out the promise of a future better than the past.

There have been too many wars, too many acts of violence, too many dead, too much suffering, uncertainty and fear. The time has come for neighbors to live as neighbors and for all to understand that no one’s blood is less or more precious than another’s.

President Clinton and I have pledged to do everything we can to help the parties revive and keep alive the momentum towards peace. Let me assure you now, we will keep that pledge.

As I look around the room, I have faith that we will succeed—not overnight, not without additional setbacks. But we will succeed. We will find the way to peace.

Those made free by the vision of a world in which historic enemies have joined hands will not allow themselves to be dragged back by those still paralyzed by prejudice.

Making the decision to build peace matters not because building peace is easy, but because it is hard. In any such effort, there will be highs and lows, good times and bad. And I suspect that was the way it was at camp in Maine. It must have been hard coping with the terrible bombing in Jerusalem. But I understand you all came together; that Palestinians, regardless of their own grievances, were there to comfort and console their Israeli friends; and that the Palestinian flag was lowered to half-mast out of sorrow and respect.

Upon this lesson, a common future may be built—that pain experienced by one is pain shared by all. An action that eased the burden of one will lighten the load for all.

No one has a greater stake in the future of the Middle East than you, for you are the region’s future. It will be your actions and your aspirations, your choices and your bravery that will determine whether and how the next half-century will differ from the last.

As Seeds of Peace, know that you are on the right path. Look around at your new friends in this room and know that you are not alone. And look to the United States of America and know that the builders of peace have an unshakable ally.

It has been said that all work that is worth anything is done in faith. This afternoon, as you prepare to return home, let us each embrace the faith that your courage and your actions can make a difference. And that every mind opened by your insights, every friend touched by your affection, every soul inspired by your passion, every injustice prevented by your integrity, and every barrier to peace brought down by your determination will ennoble your own life, inspire others, and expand outward the boundaries of what is achievable in your region and on Earth.

Thank you all very much, and keep it up.

International summer camp in Otisfield hosts only Maine kids for the first time | Portland Press Herald

Aug 2, 2021 / No Comments

By Gillian Graham

OTISFIELD | On their first morning of camp, 70 teenagers wearing matching blue and green Seeds of Peace sweatshirts gathered on the field where more than 7,000 campers before them have come from across the globe to talk about deep divides and how to find common ground.

But this summer, for the first time in its 28-year history, the camp is devoting a session exclusively to teens from Maine.

Originally created to bring together Palestinian and Israeli teenagers to seek common ground, Seeds of Peace has expanded over the years to include other Middle Eastern countries and teenagers from the United States. But the pandemic kept the camp in Otisfield closed last year, and it’s still not possible for international students to travel to Maine because of COVID travel restrictions.

Campers and counselors at Seeds of Peace approach the field for opening ceremonies on Monday. Campers will explore the deep divides in American society, including race, religion and political differences, while developing the skills and confidence to address conflicts in their own schools and communities. Shawn Patrick Ouellette/Staff Photographer

“They come from across the state, from urban and rural areas, and a variety of backgrounds. We have New Mainers and people whose families have been here for generations,” said Josh Thomas, the executive director. “We’re bringing young leaders together across deep divides. This a chance to have the conversations that are hard to have in everyday life.”

Read the rest of Gillian Graham’s story and view Shawn Patrick Ouellette’s photos at The Portland Press Herald ››

Seeds of Peace opens its 14th season

Jun 20, 2006 / No Comments

OTISFIELD, MAINE | Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian, Egyptian, Indian, Pakistani, Afghan and American youth will once again meet as Seeds of Peace opens its 14th season with a unifying flagraising ceremony at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, June 28, at the Seeds of Peace Camp in Otisfield, Maine. Over 150 campers along with their adult Delegation Leaders will be attending the first session which will include refugee and non-refugee Palestinians from Gaza and the West Bank. Additionally, for the first time, many of the Camp’s trained facilitators will be Seeds alumni who graduated from a professional mediation and conflict management course run through the Seeds of Peace Center for Coexistence in Jerusalem.

Despite the Israeli and Palestinian governments refusal to engage with one another, Seeds of Peace has once again proven its program’s strength and capabilities in bridging borders by having Israeli and Palestinian delegations. The organization has successfully accomplished this feat throughout the Intifada and the deterioration of Israeli-Palestinian peace talks.

During the opening ceremony, each delegation will sing their national anthem and the ceremony will conclude with the Seeds anthem and raising of the Seeds of Peace flag. Seeds of Peace President, Janet Wallach and Camp Director, Timothy Wilson, will speak at the opening ceremony as will returning “Peer Support” campers. Newly-appointed Chief Operating Officer for Seeds of Peace, Steven M. Flanders, will also be on hand to witness the ceremony.

This first Camp session runs from June 26 to July 18, 2006. A second session of the Camp with delegates from the Middle East and the Maine Seeds Program will run from July 24 to August 15, 2006. Both sessions will include trips to Washington D.C. for “Peer Support” Seeds to meet with political leaders on Capitol Hill.

Special events this summer include the annual “Play for Peace” basketball clinic with players from the NBA and WNBA. This year’s basketball clinic will be held Monday, July 31. Players’ names have not yet been announced.

This season also will mark the opening of a brand-new multi-purpose sports facility “field house” that was constructed to help alleviate scheduling limitations that result due to bad weather or flooding. The field house was made possible through the generosity of Ross Perot, Jr., Liener Temerlin, and the Peter Sharp Foundation and an official grand opening ceremony is planned for the Camp’s second session.

Since 1993, Seeds of Peace has graduated over 3,000 teenagers from four conflict regions from its internationally recognized leadership program. Through its Camp in Maine, its Center for Coexistence in Jerusalem, international youth conferences, regional workshops, educational and professional opportunities, and adult educator programs, participants develop empathy, respect, and confidence as well as leadership, communication and negotiation skills all critical components that will ensure peaceful coexistence for the next generation.

The Seeds of Peace Camp is located at 183 Powhatan Road in Otisfield, Maine. For press opportunities, call Rebecca Hankin, Director of Communications or Nassim Majidi.

Seeds of Peace | Newsletter

May 1, 2008 / No Comments

Graduate Seed leaders making an impact

Adi Blutner

Adi Blutner, Israeli Seed | Seeds of Peace has helped me discover the possibilities and importance of political and social action. I learned of different aspects of the Middle East conflict through friendships and found a whole new reality which I wasn’t aware of.

Through the years I have participated in a number of meaningful programs for older Seeds. One of them was a facilitation course for Israelis & Palestinians, through which I had a chance to work as a facilitator and re-experience from an adult perspective the uniqueness of the International Conflict Resolution Camp. These programs allowed me to establish real partnerships, friendships and collaboration with Palestinian colleagues and friends that have become an important part of my life today.

I currently study law at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and work as a facilitator inside the Jewish-Israeli society and with bi-national groups. A group of facilitators that I worked with helped me realize once more how dialogue can create change in people, how interaction influences people’s views of the conflict and of their role in it. Both my studies and my work are choices that were made following different SOP experiences and are tools for creating social and political change in this region.

Knowing that we are a whole group of professionals from both sides who have faith in this tool motivates me to continue working and learning in this field. I truly believe that by creating opportunities for more people to meet, interact, discuss their differences and break down cultural and political barriers we, stand a chance of influencing the current situation.

Lama Mashni

Lama Mashni, Palestinian Seed | Seeds of Peace has introduced me to wider opportunities in life; it has opened doors that otherwise I thought would have been closed. Through Seeds, I’ve learned more about our conflict, including how people around the world view it, and the common stereotypes associated with it.

Camp helped me realize that my work was not only limited to promoting peace in my society, but also portraying our cause to others, making it more personal for people to relate to. It has also helped me discover much about my own abilities and interests. In the past few years, I’ve worked for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees, a South African radio station project that is attempting the same reconciliation it helped achieve at the fall of Apartheid, and a Palestinian English-language newspaper.

I have been active in Seeds of Peace since 1999 and have participated in different programs designed for older Seeds. Among these was a course in Conflict Management & Mediation—my first experience in working in the field of coexistence. The course made me re-think my career options. After I realized I wanted to continue on this path, I joined the Facilitation Course offered by Seeds of Peace, and last year had the privilege of working with an Israeli partner to run two dialogue groups at the SOP camp in Maine.

For several reasons, it wasn’t always easy to keep in touch with Israelis from Seeds of Peace. Still, I have sustained friendships that I view as important in my life. The anathema of “normalization” in Palestinian society has made it difficult to explain my choice of maintaining relationships with Israelis to my fellow Palestinians. However, being convinced of the importance of coexistence, I was able to maintain friendships on both sides. I also work closely with Israeli facilitators, and I cherish those partnerships.

Seeds in Jordan partner for peace

Forty-four Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian and American Seeds arrived in Aqaba, Jordan, in April for a four-day summit to launch a new Seeds network for those who have graduated college and are moving ahead with professional careers. The summit opened with presentations from representatives of the Jordanian government as well as the Israeli and Palestinian Ambassadors to Jordan.

Several invited speakers presented their assessments of Jordanian-Palestinian-Israeli regional cooperation. Dr. Bilal Bashir, Deputy Chief Commissioner of the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority, welcomed Seeds of Peace to Aqaba. Dr. Bashir, who is also the Commissioner for Environmental Regulations and Enforcement, spoke about plans to join the Red and Dead Seas by canal as a means of saving the Dead Sea, where water levels have declined dramatically in recent years. He also addressed some of the environmental challenges this project poses for the region. Ambassador Jacob Rosen of Israel spoke about economic cooperation with Jordan and took a number of questions about visa issuance to Jordanians and Egyptians. Mr. Mohammed Abu Laban represented the Palestinian Ambassador to Jordan and spoke about the impediments that the Israeli occupation places in the way of Palestinian participation in regional projects.

Seed participant Adham shared his experience of the difficulties particular to Palestinian businessmen. Ha’aretz reporter Akiva Eldar and CNN producer Nidal Rafe shared their experience as professional journalists, addressing the question of how to interest the media in covering positive, peace-promoting events. Hagai Agmon-Snir of the Jerusalem Intercultural Center and Khaled Salim of Taaoun spoke about community organizing. They were followed by presentations from a group of Seeds speakers.

Seeds visit Capitol Hill

Seeds of Peace hosted a “Seeds Day” on Capitol Hill on April 30th during which they met with several Members of Congress to brief them about our current activities and express appreciation for their continued support. Seeds spoke about their experiences and current work with various members of the House and Senate including Congresswoman Nita Lowey (D-NY), Congressman Robert Wexler (D-FL), Congressman Tom Allen (R-ME), and Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME). They also met with senior staff from the offices of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Senator John Kerry (D-MA), and Congressman Frank Wolf (R-VA). The Senate unanimously passed S.Res.537 on April 28th. The House is expected to pass H.Con.Res.337 shortly.

In honor of SOP, Senator Susan Collins said: “Seeds of Peace is able to bridge borders and foster peace in the midst of longstanding global conflicts. Perhaps a decade from now, one of the thousands of Seeds of Peace alumni will be in a decision-making position in his or her home country, and they will remember their time at a special summer camp in Maine where the ‘seeds of peace’ blossom every year.”

To cap off the day, Seeds of Peace hosted a reception for supporters on Capitol Hill and was grateful for the attendance of several Members of Congress and officials from a number of federal agencies including the U.S Department of State.

Seeds bringing Jerusalem together

About fifty Israelis and Palestinians from Jerusalem gathered on April 13th for ‘Seeds Café,’ a monthly gathering hosted by Seeds of Peace through the support of the U.S State Department. Two speakers addressed the issue of Women and Leadership: Naomi Chazan, former member of the Israeli Knesset, and Lily Habash, founder and Chair of the Board of Directors of a nonprofit, PARTNERS. Both spoke about the leadership roles women now play in politics, the peace process and education in Israeli and Palestinian societies. They addressed the critical role Seeds of Peace plays in empowering young people, especially women, to play a leadership role in society.

Upcoming Gala

Please join us at the Annual Gala with UN Amb. Zalmay Khalilzad on May 15th at The Plaza Hotel in NYC. Featured guests will include peace activist Yoko Ono, CBS The Early Show’s Harry Smith, and Seeds leaders from around the world.
 
 
Donate

To make a tax-deductible contribution to Seeds of Peace, click here.

War and Peace … and Footy
United States Australian Football League

Jul 23, 2012 / No Comments

The mission of Seeds Of Peace summer camp is simply summarized as, “Treaties are made by governments; peace is made by people”. The camp seeks to open the paths for communication, and eventual understanding, between the sides of conflicted regions. On an unassuming Sunday morning in July, a handful of Boston Demons and Lady Demons hit the road up to Maine for what can only be described as a once in a lifetime kind of day.

A few weeks earlier, a young Israeli by the name of Yonatan Belik […] wrote the USAFL asking if there’s a footy team somewhere near Maine. Yonatan, it turns out, is a two-time member of the infamous Peace Team, a combined team of players from the conflicted nations of Palestine and Israel. In both 2008 and 2011’s International Cup, Yonatan and his Peace Team teammates proved to the world that sports can cross boundaries, military checkpoints, racial tensions and outright war. It seemed almost fitting that Yonatan and former Palestinian teammate Leith Jaber would be co-counselors at this incredible summer camp in Maine this summer. It seemed even more fitting that Australian Rules Football should be the sport that these trailblazers for peace and acceptance should bring to camp. It didn’t take Demons president Joe Connor very long to jump on the opportunity to bring some Demons up there for a day of footy, fun and education.

We arrived at the camp on a picturesque lake in rural Maine around 10 AM. Yonatan, known as Koda at camp, greeted an eager group of Demons and we set out to prepare for a full day’s activities. On the walk from the parking lot to the field, Koda explained that the little huts we were passing by were known as Dialogue Alley. In these huts, campers from different nationalities, or both sides so to speak, are put together to start the dialogue of peace and acceptance. One of the Demons remarked that it’s probably quite tense in those huts during the first few weeks of camp, as campers are literally faced with “the enemy”, often for the first time. As we walked through here, it started to settle in what we were really doing there that day, and the reality of what we were playing a role in, if even for a day.

We were here to conduct footy clinics with the campers of many different nationalities, including Israelis, Palestinians, Indians, Pakistanis, Jordanians and Egyptians with a handful of Americans thrown in for good measure. These campers are known as “seeds”, because they literally become the seeds for greater understanding in their respective worlds. Seeds of Peace works with regional governments to select seeds from a huge applicant pool for the 3 week summer conflict resolution program. In addition to their dialogue and conflict resolution programs, the seeds are exposed to arts and crafts, music and other creative programs, and yes, sports. On our walk to the field we passed a group of seeds learning probably the most popped-collar, preppy sport America has to offer, lacrosse, and they weren’t half bad.

However, we were here for footy. And what a day of footy it turned out to be. The Demons worked with about 70 seeds in our three dedicated footy clinics. Some of these seeds had chosen footy as their special activity after being introduced to the game by Koda in the first week of camp. Others had never even seen a footy, let alone had a kick or the inclination to pick up a ball. We started out showing the seeds how to perform a handpass, and yes, this Demon can honestly say the refresher crash course she received that morning has served her well in subsequent trainings. But I digress.After handpassing fundamentals we moved on to some kicking lane work, and with footies flying everywhere, the seeds were off to a great start. To really get the competitive juices flowing, we moved right into a bounce relay. Now, if you’ve ever tried to bounce an oblong ball, on a hard surface, while running at a full sprint, you know that this is not for the faint of heart. The seeds put up an admirable effort though and we had a blast. We wrapped up each hour long clinic with a bona fide touch footy game and sent the seeds to their next activity dusty, sweaty, but smiling from ear to ear.

The bounce races were very competitive, and fun!

Between sessions we were shown every hospitality, served a delicious lunch with the counselors and co-founder of the camp, and even given a tour including a stop in Koda’s group’s bunk where we signed autographs, took pictures with the seeds and even got to leave a little reminder that we were there. Throughout this entire time, we were taught more and more about the process, the mission, the seeds and their potential impact on the future. You know how beauty queens always answer that their number one wish is world peace? Well, these counselors and campers were living the solution to that wish every day, and for one day, we got to live it too.

Our day wrapped up with a half hour of full on touch footy with the group of seeds who selected footy as their special activity. We saw some amazing plays, some incredible fouls, some huge passes and even bigger goals. We saw a group of young men and women no older than high school age, unified despite their prejudices and deep-seated fears and focused only one thing, to get that footy through those posts. The conversation in each of the cars on the way home centered around the camp, the seeds, and the seeds planted in our own lives. If sports are a metaphor for life, then the Boston Demons Australian Rules Football Club truly came alive that Sunday in Maine.

Read Andrea Williams’ (Boston Demons) article at USAFL »

A tale of three cities: Burlington and her sisters, Bethlehem and Arad | Vermont Public

Jan 25, 2024 / No Comments

Burlington has sister cities all over the world. We explore Burlington’s relationship with two of its sisters: Bethlehem, in the West Bank, and Arad, in Israel.

Seeds of Peace

Talia Manning: I was really excited.

Josh Crane: This is Talia Manning. She grew up in Essex, Vermont. And she remembers the moment she was invited to attend a summer camp called Seeds of Peace.

Talia Manning: I was really excited to be asked to participate and to learn that Americans, you know, could be involved in that way.

Josh Crane: Seeds of Peace is an international nonprofit based in the United States. It was founded around bringing American kids together with kids from the Middle East at summer camp, so they could better understand the Israel-Palestine conflict, and each other. It was established in the ’90s, around the same time as the Burlington-Bethlehem-Arad sister city relationship. And both programs share a similar ethos: emphasizing person-to-person connection, and trying to move beyond the geographical and political boundaries that separate people.

That’s why in the late ’90s, Mousa Ishaq and other leaders of the sister city program wanted to sponsor a Vermonter to attend camp at Seeds of Peace. Talia, then age 15, was an obvious fit.

She’s Jewish, and her family has roots in the Middle East. It started with her great-grandfather, who was living in Germany in the 1930s.

Talia Manning: And the night that Hitler was elected, he said, “This is not going to be good, we need to leave.” And so they left Germany that night.

Josh Crane: After leaving Germany, Talia’s great-grandfather moved to Jerusalem. This was the 1930s, before Israel was created and when the city was still under British mandate. Even so, Talia says she’s always felt a connection to Israel, and what it represents for the Jewish people.

Talia Manning: And so for my family, Israel was the safe place that he was able to go and that he found refuge and was able to grow up.

Josh Crane: Talia learned about Seeds of Peace in social studies class in middle school. And the idea of meeting kids from the Middle East at summer camp — it was exciting. So, her rabbi recommended her for the program, and in 1999, she packed her bags for a special session of Seeds of Peace highlighting sister city relationships.

Talia met kids from Burlington’s sister cities in Bethlehem and Arad, specifically. Like Hilly Hirt.

Hilly Hirt: Usually Seeds of Peace didn’t come to the periphery. It would take people from Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa, you know, main cities.

Josh Crane: Hilly grew up in Arad. She says it was a tight-knit, progressive community when she was growing up. Lots of artists, like Bethlehem and Burlington. And she says it was not a common location for Seeds of Peace to find campers. It was beautiful — views of the Dead Sea, nice sunsets — but also, kinda out of the way, and very much the desert.

Hilly Hirt: And at night, porcupines, like the huge ones, just cross your, you know, kind of like your garden and it’s full of scorpions that bite you in the tush.

Josh Crane: While attending Seeds of Peace, Hilly met Talia.

Hilly Hirt: She was such an extrovert. You see her and you definitely automatically want to be her friend.

Talia Manning: This is a picture of Hilly. Hilly played piano. Well, here she is in black and white with with the song that she wrote.

Josh Crane: Seeds of Peace had all the normal summer camp activities: sing-alongs, campfires, talent shows. And there was also programming more specific to the Seeds of Peace model. Cultural shows, where campers got to present something important to their heritage. Which, for Talia …

Talia Manning: This is me, I dressed up in overalls and cow flannels to represent Vermont.

Josh Crane: Talia brought a few photo albums to our interview. And she’s pointing to a photo of herself on a stage in full “Vermont” regalia, holding a sign.

Talia Manning: The sign says, “Vermont, the Green Mountain State and home of Ben and Jerry.”

Josh Crane: In addition to these cultural displays, campers also participated in two hours of “coexistence sessions” each day. During this time, they would gather in small groups to discuss the state of the conflict, sharing their experiences and their family histories.

Talia says it worked, and that the difference in campers’ comfort level at the beginning versus the end of the summer was palpable.

Talia Manning: On the first day, people would say they were afraid to go to sleep, because they were worried that the enemy was sleeping right in the bed next to them, and what would they do to them that day?

By the end, we, you know, we had the strength and bond of anyone who has attended summer camp and just, you know, falls in love with their bunk mates and their, their friends there.

Josh Crane: Hilly Hirt, from Arad, remembers her time at camp like this:

Hilly Hirt: For the first week, I probably cried that I wanted home. And then by the second week, all I was thinking was crying that I didn’t want to go home.

The older you get, the more of the complexities you understand. But the simple truth of “We’re people who want to get along” stays as the base value of any complexity that comes along.

Like, I think everything that I believe today, all my understandings, the values, are due to the fact that as a child, a 12-year-old kid, I was like, “Hey, I have a crush on this Jordanian Arab named Eyad. And he’s gorgeous and sweet and a person.” And, forever, every Jordanian will be somebody who wants peace for me.

Josh Crane: One of the people Talia remembers most from her camp experience was a boy named Asel Asleh.

Talia Manning: We referred to him as the boy with the 1,000-watt smile, because he was always beaming. He just had a joy and a character. And in this photo here, he’s leading, like, one of the chants.

Josh Crane: Talia’s pointing to a photo of Asel in full camp mode — mouth open, leading some sort of song as his fellow campers swarm around him. They stayed in touch even after Talia returned to Vermont and Asel returned to Israel.

Talia Manning: And he actually was my first instant message on AOL. It was just so cool to be able to talk with him, you know, across the world, just spontaneously like that.

Josh Crane: They talked a lot about identity: Talia, a Jewish-American; Asel, an Arab-Israeli — ethnically Palestinian, but a citizen of Israel.

Talia Manning: And he talked a lot about how he felt like he didn’t fit anywhere. Because he was a proud Palestinian. He also felt a strong connection to Israel, which was his home.

Josh Crane: Around this time, Talia also started participating more actively in the Burlington, Bethlehem and Arad Sister City Program. She helped Mousa and other program leaders make a push for Bethlehem and Arad to formalize a sister city pact with each other. To that point, both cities only had direct agreements with Burlington.

Talia Manning: This is the speech that I gave—

Josh Crane: As we talk, she points to a copy of a speech she made in 1999, in Burlington. It’s a joint statement from Talia, a camper from Bethlehem and Hilly, the camper from Arad.

Talia Manning: “We hope that the direct contact between the mayors and eventually the citizens of our sister cities — Bethlehem, Arad and Burlington — will have the same wonderful results that we experienced at camp.”

Josh Crane: The direct agreement between Bethlehem and Arad never came to pass. As best anyone can remember, politics got in the way. But, Talia remained involved by attending meetings for the sister city program.

Talia Manning: I think we had monthly meetings at the Burlington police station.

Josh Crane: In the backdrop of those conversations, as well as the conversations Talia and Asel were having over AOL Instant Messenger, tensions in the Middle East were starting to rise again. The year 2000 marked the beginning of the Second Intifada, or Palestinian uprising.

And then she got a call from a Seeds of Peace friend who lived in that area.

Talia Manning: And, um, he just, you know, he just said, “Asel is dead.”

Josh Crane: Asel was killed by Israeli police.

Talia Manning: When he was killed, he was wearing his Seeds of Peace t-shirt. And the reporting is that he was there observing the protest in his town. And that he was chased and beaten and shot at point-blank range in the neck by the Israeli police, who were there responding to the protest.

Josh Crane: Asel was one of 13 Arab citizens of Israel killed at that protest.

Josh Crane: How did you react?

Talia Manning: Um, I think I was in shock for a little while. I remember just kind of getting off the phone. I was up in my room, I went downstairs. And I told my mom, and my mom started crying. And I remember that sort of — it scared me, because she doesn’t normally cry. She’s not a crier.

I think for a while I questioned a lot of my love of Israel, and my support of Israel, because it had been Israeli police officers who brutally killed my friend. And the death of Asel was a catalyst for me to becoming more of an activist and more outspoken.

Josh Crane: Talia says that camp alumni rallied together in the years after Asel’s death. They even protested Israel’s Ministry of Justice after it announced that none of the police officers involved in the fatal shootings of Asel or the 12 other Palestinian citizens of Israel would face criminal indictment.

Talia’s been holding onto these experiences since Oct. 7, and the beginning of the latest Israel-Hamas war. Though she says the bonds of summer camp, and their shared experiences, haven’t been enough recently to hold the Seeds of Peace community together.

Talia Manning: And in this latest outbreak, that has also been really hard to watch. I think everyone is being pushed to take a side and I feel like you are either expected to stand with Israel or to free Palestine. And I have trouble with that limited view.

Josh Crane: She says that even some of the group chats and other lines of communication with her fellow Seeds of Peace alumni have felt challenging and unproductive. Some have been put on hiatus entirely.

So, in thinking about our guiding question with this episode: What relationships are possible right now?

Well, Talia and Hilly attended Seeds of Peace in the ’90s. It was a time of optimism and momentum for building consensus, and finding peace in the Middle East. That’s certainly something Hilly felt coming out of camp.

Hilly Hirt: I remember coming out and saying, “This is going to be my future career. Like, this is what I’m going to do. I am going to be in the peace-making business forever.”

Josh Crane: Hilly hasn’t lived in Arad, or been involved with Seeds of Peace, for a long time. She’s still grateful for the role camp had in her life for the three summers she attended.

But these days, she says it’s much harder to be optimistic.

Hilly Hirt: I’d say the situation today is the opposite. On all sides. You talk to Jordanians, and you talk to Egyptians and to Palestinians. There is a — what’s the word for “kituv” in English? A polarization.

Josh Crane: And so, do those same programs that were created in this moment that felt completely different, do they still seem useful to you now?

Hilly Hirt: Um, that’s kind of like asking Xerox if their camera is still relevant in the digital age. The answer is yes. But, but it’s, it’s really contingent on how innovative you are.

Josh Crane: She says she needed more support from Seeds of Peace in the years after she was a camper, like when she started her mandatory military service.

Hilly Hirt: When it comes to continuing the connection with Palestinians and the Arab world when I’m a grown-up, with what happens when we’re at war, when what happens when there is conflict … and I felt that when things got tough, they weren’t there enough for me.

Josh Crane: Talia goes back to Asel, and one of his favorite passages, in times like these. It’s from the 13th century poet Rumi, and it goes like this:

“Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
There is a field. I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
The world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase “each other”
Doesn’t make any sense.”

Talia Manning: And so Asel always said, “I’ll meet you there in that field.”

Listen to Josh Crane’s interview atVermont Public ››

Seed Stories: Redefining the “truth”

Jul 19, 2019 / No Comments

I’ve been a writer all my life. Since as long as I could remember, I’ve always turned to putting pen to paper when I want to make sense of things, or to capture a memory.

It wasn’t a surprise, then, when I found myself on the staff for our school magazine. I was assigned covering politics, and very early on in my research, would already form opinions. These were important ideas that I was putting forward, and I took on the role of the vigilante, seemingly educating my classmates on issues I had only just begun to comprehend. It was at Seeds of Peace where it dawned on me that the true essence of journalism is to tell a story, one in which there are always two sides. For years what I’d been writing was merely an opinion, but it wasn’t up to me to control the narrative. It was simply to show both sides for what they truly are.

I know we’re more inclined to believe what we see, than what we read or hear about. I wish you could have seen what I saw—an Israeli and a Palestinian compromise to split the last brownie, Pakistanis carry an American on their shoulders after he won his soccer game, an entire tricontinental army of girls band together to help me figure out how to wear a sari.

I witnessed dialogues get out of hand, with raw anger, bitterness and exasperation bubbling to the surface daily. Accusations were hurled from teenagers who demanded answerability for losses and deaths they should never have had to face; from the teenagers sitting across from them also posing the same questions.

But amidst the pain and confusion, I also witnessed something miraculous: understanding dawned in the place of ignorance, belief systems shattered and rebuilt anew, redefinitions of national pride.

It was a change perceivable in the smallest of instances—in the awe of Indians and Pakistanis realizing they could flawlessly converse in two separate national languages, in an American’s love for Bollywood, and a Palestinian’s passion for football.

There is a moment at Camp where every Seed realizes that the issues we face are not so black and white. There is no right and wrong side in this messy equation, and there are more factors and elements at play than either side could ever fathom.

It’s just about the same time when they discover that at the crux of the situation, there lies a humanity to which we all relate. They find a piece of themselves in the “enemy,” a reflection of their own deepest fears, anger, and sadness, looking back at them from the “other side.”

They realize the echoes of generations past which rang through their mind should be honored, but also challenged. Change begins with a change in mindset, not a change in policy. At Seeds of Peace we say, “Governments negotiate treaties; people negotiate peace.”

There are some out there still resistant to this message. They haven’t seen what I’ve seen, and haven’t had the privilege of glimpsing the utopia in which I lived for one month, all those 8 years ago. I had one particularly persistent friend who insisted that he knew “the truth.” He threw statistics and history my way, backing up his claims that I’d fraternized with the enemy, and that what I’d seen was merely an illusion of peace. He tried to convince me that what I witnessed was merely a group of teenagers playing pretend, disregarding and manipulating the reality of the matter.

He couldn’t change my mind, and I couldn’t change his. But I did make him question the narrative that was ingrained in us both growing up in India. I instilled a seed of doubt, and I watched it grow within him. He still doesn’t believe that peace between our two countries is ever a possibility, but he understands that distinction between the citizens and their government. He no longer propagates the agenda that all Pakistanis are extremists or terrorists. He feels empathy for Pakistanis, for the poverty and plights that third world countries face, just like the ones he sees on our streets every day.

Seeds of Peace is more than a community. It’s a family that discovered The Way Life Could Be. Seeds are strangers turned brothers and sisters, generations of people who broke the cycle of blind hatred, learned to distinguish stereotypes from truths, and forged relationships with the unlikeliest of peers. To be a Seed is to be a changemaker, and none of us can do that alone. Every time I faltered in my belief, or felt the shadow of hesitation creep in, it has always been met with a roaring enthusiasm from Seeds around the world, both who had come to Camp with me, and from the generations before and after, that brought me back home.

At Seeds of Peace, we have the Field—which exists “beyond the ideas of wrong-doing and right-doing”—where people from all across the world, who’ve lived vastly different lives and known different truths, come together. It was on this field where I walked with my Pakistani best friend, our arms linked, as we said goodbye on our last night at Camp. I haven’t seen her since then, all those years ago, but I still know who she is. I’ve known the “enemy,” understood and loved her in what was both the best and worst of times, and that changed my life.