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Seed Stories: Unraveling the mystery

Jun 27, 2019 / No Comments

Six years ago, I was an introverted teenager from Palestine who was flying to the United States for the first time to attend a summer camp deep in the woods of Otisfield, Maine. I was a 16-year-old who had taken on the challenge of stepping out of my comfort zone, leaving home, and questioning the beliefs and prejudices that I had learned growing up.

For the first time in my life, I was surrounded by a diverse group of people from multiple parts of the world. It would also be my first time being part of a community that fostered confidence and celebrated difference. By the end of those three weeks, I made special connections with people I never thought I would even have a conversation with, and most importantly, I had found a second home.

This year, I am a journalism major going into my senior year, and one of my graduation requirements was that I take part in an internship program over the summer. I am fortunate enough to have the privilege of returning to that same summer camp I went to in 2013, this time both as a counselor and as an intern of the organization’s communications team. Meaning that this summer, I will be providing you a look from inside at the different aspects of Camp that are usually kept a “mystery” until our campers arrive.

This dual role definitely brings with it a challenge: how do I offer this valuable insider’s view while also not revealing too much? I don’t want to take away from the magic that participants experience when they get here, which is one of the most special things about Seeds of Peace. That being said, I will be writing a series of blog posts throughout the summer that give an intimate view on what goes on during the time spent at Camp. A “behind the scenes” of the program, if you will.

These blog posts will range from describing the training that counselors go through during orientation before the campers arrive, sharing a conversation with the kitchen staff to learn what it takes to feed such an international and diverse group of people, discovering how the campsite is maintained throughout the year, revealing moments of transformation, and describing how Seeds of Peace manages to create an inclusive community that is very different from what teens usually experience, among other things.

A large number of our campers come from areas of conflict and war, and stepping into a safe space where they are accepted and supported is an unfamiliar feeling to many of them. Six years ago, Seeds gave me the self-confidence and courage to use my voice and speak about the injustices happening in the world, and this summer I’m looking forward to seeing the impact Camp has on our participants and to share it with you all!

Stay calm. Be kind. Dream big.
10 tips for grads from Seeds

May 30, 2019 / No Comments

The path to success is rarely a straight line, and the journey, as well as the destination, often looks vastly different than we thought it would when we first started mapping it out.

This spring, Seeds from the New York City area had a chance to hear from a few young alumni about their Seeds of Peace experience and how it has, and continues to, influence them in their professional lives.

The alumni included Alexa (2012 American Seed), a reporter at NBC; Billy (2002 American Seed), manager of creative development at Pearl Studio; Caroline (2011 American Seed), chief of constituent affairs for the City of Hoboken, New Jersey; and Sarika (2005 American Seed), who defends immigrant rights as a lawyer at the public defender’s office in Brooklyn.

Whether you’re heading to college, beginning your career, or contemplating the next chapter of your life, here are 10 lessons our alumni learned that helped them, and might help you, thrive in the working world.

1. Trust your instincts

Sometimes all it takes is one blow to make us question everything we’ve been working toward, but it’s often important to take rejection with a grain of salt. Alexa was crushed after a well-respected leader, whom she had asked to be an advisor on her college thesis, dismissed her ideas and refused to be associated with the project. But after speaking to other trusted advisors who helped her realize that the rejection probably had very little to do with her, she continued to pursue her thesis despite the notable naysayer. “There will be people who will not see the value in what you do. There may even be people really high up in positions of power who tell you you’re an idiot, but don’t let that dissuade you. In the end, I did receive an A, but more importantly, I learned to trust my gut.”

2. Your goals may change, but hold onto your dreams

When Sarika graduated college, she had two degrees: one in politics, and one in theater. “I wanted to be a human-rights actress, my dad joked that I was going to be unemployed,” Sarika said with a laugh. “When you graduate you have all these ideas, and that’s not wrong. Hold on to them because they will inform what you ultimately decide to do in the long run. It may take a while to get where you’re going, but every step of the way is going to have meaning when you look back on it.”

3. Your dream job might not be the one you’re pining to have—yet

Caroline spent most of her college years with her sights set on working for the Department of Housing and Urban Development. After graduation, she applied for job after job with HUD, until finally meeting someone who worked in the organization. “She basically told me that for what I wanted to do, HUD was not the answer, and suggested that I work for a senator,” Caroline said. “I had a misunderstanding not about what I wanted, but what I thought could facilitate what I wanted. It was the best counsel I could have gotten.”

4. Your career path may take a lot of twists and turns

Sarika applied to Teach for America after graduation, but when she received an offer, she panicked and turned it down. For the first time, she stepped off the path that she thought she was meant to follow, and instead worked at her university for a year. “It was completely unrelated to anything that I do now, but I made so many friendships and connections that I still draw from today, and it’s all come full circle. So even if it feels like it’s all headed for disaster, just stay calm. In the future it’s going to make sense ”

5. What you do and say today will matter tomorrow

It’s not wrong to have strong opinions or to disagree, but it’s important to present them in a way that you would want to be remembered for 10 years down the road. “It’s a small world and you’re going to meet people and engage with them now in ways you never thought you would. And you’re going to run into those people years later in places you never thought you would,” Caroline said.

6. Pay forward your empathy

Like going through any life-changing experience, many of our Seeds said they initially found it difficult to identify with people back home who hadn’t shared the same transformational experience. It takes some work, but this is an opportunity to practice your new-found skills. “It really helps to offer that same openness, respect, and empathy that you gave to your fellow campers to the people who haven’t had the opportunity to go through what you did,” Alexa said.

7. Invest in your relationships

Despite all the ways we have to stay connected, it’s can be incredibly difficult to maintain, and to begin, relationships with people in our lives. Building relationships like the ones Seeds build over three weeks at Camp can take years in the real world, but it’s worth the effort to try, bit by bit. “It’s a struggle because there are so many distractions today, but sometimes it’s just finding little moments where neither of you have your phones, and you’re working out, going to get coffee,” Alexa said. “It’s expressing openness, finding things you have in common and putting out your own vulnerabilities so that they feel safe to do the same.”

“Having patience is key,” Sarika added, “and being available to people—even in shallow ways—and being reliable will slowly gain their trust and ultimately break down that barrier.”

8. Success may take longer than you think—be patient with yourself

Some of the best advice Alexa received was to think of her career like rock climbing: While individual steps might not feel like much progress, each one is getting you closer to the top. The point, Billy added, is to keep going. “There won’t ever be an end to the things you should be doing or could be doing, and the thing that that most often causes us to back down is our own selves. You will at some point (or points) hit a wall, but don’t stop. It’s ok to try something new, see how it goes, and if you like it, keep going. If not, try something else. Know that this is a path that you’ll be on for the rest of your life, so be patient and kind to yourself.”

9. Turn frustration into fuel

“I remember coming back from Camp still really inspired by the people I met and conversations I had, and feeling the need to do something and see change in the world,” Billy said. “But the world is a complicated place, and I felt deflated that I couldn’t do more right away. Fifteen years after my Camp experience, some issues are better, some are not. You can’t let this frustrate you. Instead of feeling bad because things around you aren’t moving at the pace you want, try to look at it as fuel for what you’re going to do next, and why you’re going to remain engaged. It’s a lifelong thing.”

10. If you’re looking to change the world, start with kindness

When we think about making a difference or creating change, we often think big-picture: Ending poverty; saving the environment; transforming societies. We need to keep thinking about those things, but in the meantime, don’t overlook the power of simple acts of humanity.

For example, one of the younger Seeds, who is Jewish, said a fellow camper who was Muslim reached out to her after the shooting at a synagogue in Pittsburgh, and they continued to support one another when a mosque in New Zealand was attacked. The two girls hadn’t been very close before, but they just wanted to show kindness however they could, even if only a through a WhatsApp message.

“There’s something so profound about that, and people forget that kindness is just profound,” Sarika said to the Seed. “Patience and willingness to be understanding just doesn’t happen when people are busy and tired and focused on work. But taking time to reach out to someone who you may not speak to every day, that kind of is changing the world.”

From tolerance to appreciation: Inside the Indian Interfaith Camp

Apr 4, 2019 / No Comments

Every year, we host a program in India that brings the Seeds of Peace Camp experience to those who may otherwise never set foot in Maine.

For six days, 50 young leaders from different religious and cultural backgrounds build relationships with one another, engage in facilitated dialogue, and form alliances beyond traditional identities at our annual Interfaith Camp, located 150 miles outside of Mumbai.

At the core of the camp is a deepening of one’s self-awareness about their faith. It provides a space where teens can ask themselves a range of questions: What does my faith mean to me? How much of my faith is mine, and how much of it is imposed or borrowed? How much does it defines me? How much is it expressed in my actions? When am I in conflict with my religious identity? What are my prejudices against other religions?

Early in the week, we did a dialogue activity that brought up a well of emotions. Like dominos, each participant’s guard fell one after another, yielding to vulnerability and deep sharing. You could see the release of tension in their bodies—it was physically therapeutic for them. The kind of trust that was built by the bonding they experienced in just one hour was magical.

During this activity, one girl who started weeping said it was the first time she had shed tears in over four years. For so long, she told us, she had this toxic idea that to be “strong” meant burying her emotions, telling herself, “I won’t cry, I won’t cry, I won’t cry.” Until that moment, she had not even processed how much she had closed herself off to life—of how little faith she had in her inner strength, or in the richness and complexity of her own feelings.

At first, she thought she was crying out of a feeling of helplessness. But as she continued to share and explore over the course of the camp, she realized she was feeling overwhelmed by the fact that she felt more comfortable and safe crying in front of people she had met only six days before than with some of her closest friends back home. She had never expected to be able to trust and become so attached to people that she had just met.

To me, this reinforced the need for empathetic spaces where young people can share bravely, and the special power that they hold. There’s such a lack of these spaces in society, places where people can go deeper and explore their identities in ways they can’t elsewhere, without fear of judgment or shame.

If there is just one thing that these incredible teens take away from the camp, I hope it’s a widening of their understanding of the term “faith.” When they arrive, participants think faith is interchangeable with religion. But while religion is cultural and shared, faith is uniquely personal. You can express yourself and your faith in a sport that you play, in the skills you have, in the life choices you make, the clothes you wear, the food that you eat. To explore the totality of your faith is to explore the totality of yourself.

I also hope participants leave with an understanding of the asks each person has of other faiths. If I practice Jainism, for example, rather than try to impose my belief or lifestyle on a meat-eater, I can learn to appreciate that what works for me, works for me. Rather than being mad at someone else for eating meat, I recognize that we are different people, with unique histories, religions, experiences. There are reasons why people have a certain kind of diet different from mine.

In that sense, the entire camp is about moving from tolerance to appreciation: appreciating why a diversity of beliefs is needed to create a strong, engaged community of changemakers, and celebrating that diversity even if you don’t agree with every part of another’s beliefs.

I will always be grateful that, through my role in the Interfaith Camp, I can provide this much-needed space for growth and reflection.

#DialogueIRL: 5 tips for when a conversation goes south

Apr 2, 2019 / No Comments

This is the first in a new series that takes Dialogue lessons beyond Camp and applies them to the conversations that happen around school, work, or the dinner table. It’s Dialogue In Real Life.

Perhaps it was the offhand remark about a political rivalry, a joke about the past that reopened a wound, or a casual comment on oversalting a homemade dinner. Sometimes it’s difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when things go sour, but we’ve all been there—when a mild conversation suddenly reaches the boiling point before we even knew the temperature was rising.

Though often uncomfortable, when we face conflict head on and work through differences we can strengthen our relationships. It is a tenet that make the Seeds of Peace Camp dialogue sessions so effective for bringing together people from across lines of conflict, and with a little practice, it can also work for disagreements in our personal and professional lives, too.

As Seeds of Peace facilitators Greg Barker and Eliza O’Neil are well versed in the art of navigating conflict. Here are a few tools they use in and outside of dialogue sessions to get careening conversations back on productive paths.

1. Restate and check for understanding. When a conversation gets heated, it can feel like things are speeding up, and we inevitably say things that we don’t mean, or that aren’t as nuanced or empathetic as they could have been. By restating what the other person said and checking for understanding, you can 1) slow down the conversation and give everyone a chance to take a breath, 2) let the other person know that you are really listening to what they are saying, 3) give them a chance to correct a misunderstanding, realize how hurtful their words sounded, or confirm the statement.

Examples: “What I heard is this. I just want to make sure that’s what you meant.” Or when a situation is extra sensitive, “Can I repeat to you what you just said so I can make sure I heard you correctly?”

2. Ask the obvious questions. We often hold assumptions about people we know, especially family and those we’ve had relationships with for many years. You may think that you know why a person feels a certain way about something, but giving them the chance to say it themselves might reveal information that one, or both, of you didn’t realize before.

Try one of these: “Can you tell me more about why this issue matters to you?” “Why do you think you’ve come to believe that?” “What’s at the core of the issue for you?” “How do you know that’s true?” “How did we get here? I thought things were going O.K.”

3. Look for common ground, and push from there. Once you’ve asked the obvious questions to better understand what the other person is truly concerned about, look for the good in what they’re saying; you’re likely to find something on which you both can agree, and once you have that common ground, it’s easier to move forward with a meaningful conversation. For example, if asking Aunt Alice why she is so passionate about gun rights reveals that she is concerned about safety, you can probably both agree that safety is important. From there, you can ground your disagreement in that shared belief, which makes the disagreement more manageable. It is likely easier to have a conversation with Aunt Alice about why guns make her feel safe and why they make you feel unsafe (or vice versa) than whether guns should exist or not.

4. Speak from your experiences. Facts and figures rarely carry as much weight as personal stories. Telling someone why something matters to you or sharing an experience that informed your outlook takes the conversation from a hardened position of facts and figures, to a more vulnerable place where they can empathize with you. If you’re looking to persuade someone of a perspective that relies entirely on facts, it can be dismissed with two words: “fake news.” It’s a lot harder, however, to argue with or to dismiss a personal experience or feeling.

Example: “This is important to me because this thing happened to me/a friend I care about.”

5. Know when to step away—and when to not step in at all. We all have limits, or personal boundaries, that, once crossed, can leave us in a place where we can no longer continue with effective discourse. If it feels like you’re reaching a point where you’re losing your ability to hear the humanity in what the other person is saying, you’re wasting everyone’s time. It’s O.K. to step away when this happens, but if there’s still potential for a healthy discussion and you have a desire to press on, name the unwelcome behavior and give conditions to come back.

Example: “I want to have this conversation, but I can’t do it when I’m being yelled at. Can we take a break and come back in a few hours and see if we’re ready to try again?”

Also keep in mind that it takes mutual agency to make a conversation work. If you’re in a mindset where neither of you can have an effective conversation, save it for another day. And if you fear for your safety, remove yourself from that situation as quickly as possible.

Got a question for our facilitators? Send it to dialogueIRL@seedsofpeace.org.

Indian Seeds and peers develop dialogue facilitation skills

Oct 23, 2018 / No Comments

MUMBAI | Indian Seeds honed their dialogue facilitation skills during two weekend programs in September and October led by Zeenia, a 2009 Indian Seed and experienced dialogue facilitator.

The first training, held September 15 to 16 at The Bombay International School and The Studio. Zeenia took 13 Indian Seed through a series of workshops, role playing scenarios, case studies, and other activities.

“Through the facilitation workshop, Seeds are provided with basic tools of facilitation,” said Zeenia. “Seeds analyze these tools, reflect on their own dialogue experiences as well as get the opportunity to practice using these tools in real time. They leave feeling more capable, confident, and motivated to create more spaces for dialogue in their own schools and communities!”

“The tools given to us were useful in order to understand the group and the role as a facilitator better,” said one participant. “They helped me analyze myself, the process, and equipped me with ways to handle difficult conversations.”

Four Seeds who took part in this program joined seven of their non-Seed peers for a second training in October focused on more advanced dialogue facilitation.

This October 20 to 21 program, also led by Zeenia and hosted at the The Bombay International School, provided participants with a chance to facilitate a two-hour dialogue session for 25 students from five Seeds of Peace partner schools.

“We received a phenomenal response for the dialogue session,” said Sagar Gangurde, Seeds of Peace’s Director of Indian Programs. “Our facilitators did an amazing job. The principal, teachers, and parents were really happy and have requested to have such sessions on regular basis.”

“This itself proves the dire need for safe spaces, and also how transforming a two-hour dialogue session can be,” he added.

Seeds of Peace camp prepares for summer
The Advertiser Democrat (Maine)

May 29, 1997 / No Comments

BY KIM MARSHALL | OTISFIELD The painted rock by the driveway still says Camp Powhatan, but on the grounds work is progressing rapidly to ready the site for a different organization—Seeds of Peace—which hopes to preserve the memory of the former camp as it creates a new home of its own.

Recently, Seeds of Peace signed a 10-year lease on the Otisfield property, which hosted the initiative’s first two conflict-resolution programs for Arab and Israeli teenagers in the summers of 1993 and 1994. This summer will mark the first time since its founding that Seeds of Peace operates its own, month-long camp in Maine, rather than booking two weeks of time at an existing camp, like Powhatan.

The potential of a new, permanent camp is exciting to Seeds of Peace administrators, but at the same time represents a great deal of added effort. Arrangements must be made for services such as laundry and food preparation, and the property, which had become run-down in recent years, must be at least partially restored before campers arrive on July 20.

“Our biggest problem right now is to get the sewage system in,” said Tim Wilson, Seeds of Peace’s camp director, during this reporter’s recent visit to the property.

Although the 170 campers expected this summer won’t arrive for nearly two months, a typical morning at the camp finds Wilson working at top speed, fielding phone calls, wading through paperwork and attempting to nail down countless details concerning the camp’s operation. For the next few months, Wilson, currently a Pittsburgh resident with strong Maine ties, will live and work at the camp property—overseeing such projects as the sewage system repairs and the replacement of all of the camp’s kitchen equipment with the assistance of Glenn Pastore of Otisfield, the camp’s head of maintenance.

The work is daunting, and funding limited. Seeds of Peace had originally estimated that $75,000 would be needed for cosmetic improvements to the property, but that figure could be tripled by the time the work is completed, said Wilson. The initiative relies on donations and volunteer support to produce its programs each year, he said, with the bulk of funds received used to transport participants from the Middle East to the U.S. “Everything we do is based on no money,” said Wilson.

Fortunately, members of the community have begun to reach out to Seeds of Peace to lend a helping hand. Wilson cited the town office staff in Otisfield, Gene Benner of Bessey Motors, Oxford County Sheriff Lloyd “Skip” Herrick, and the staff at Norway Laundry as just some of those in the Oxford Hills who have helped him to make necessary arrangements. A donation of paint has been received from Wal Mart—all that will be needed to brighten up the property—and a boat for the waterfront area was recently contributed, as well. “Every day something new comes in that you least expect,” said Wilson.

That generosity also stretches beyond the Oxford Hills. A group from Youth Build in Portland is scheduled to help out at the camp this week, and a Job Corps group from Bangor is drafting a plan of the camp’s needed projects, said Wilson. But there will still be “labor intensive” tasks to complete—raking and general property clean-up, for example—and Wilson hopes that others will offer to assist.

The show of support has been greatly appreciated by Seeds of Peace directors, who want not only for the camp to be a “good neighbor,” but for “the community to feel this is theirs,” said Wilson.

“It’s the opening of something locally that will be known worldwide. It’s another piece of history in Maine,” he said.

Many of the initiative’s administrators have roots in Maine, such as Wilson and his wife, Jacquie, who oversees the camp’s food production, and consider the camp’s location to be a vital part of its success. The area is a safe haven for the Arab and Israeli youths, said Wilson, where there is peace and quiet, non-judgmental attitudes and “integrity of the people.”

For some, Seeds of Peace’s move into the former Camp Powhatan might have a bittersweet edge. For more than seven decades, beginning in 1921, Powhatan operated under the auspices of the Bloom family, who sold the property to Robert and Jane Toll in 1994. The camp holds a fond place in the memories of many, and Wilson, who was actually a counselor at Camp Powhatan years ago and co-director in 1993 with Dr. Joel Bloom, is no exception. He has “mixed emotions” about the closing of Powhatan, he said.

“But it’s a great legacy that Powhatan had something to do with Seeds of Peace’s beginning,” said Wilson.

Opinion: Gaza needs a peace stimulus
The Christian Science Monitor

Jan 14, 2009 / No Comments

History shows the power of people-to-people contact.

JERUSALEM | “We have failed, haven’t we?” our colleague from Gaza said over the phone, amid the sound of explosions.

For those of us engaged in “people to people” peace building, the latest violent chapter in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is both tragic and surreal. All around us, people remain convinced that the solution to the conflict depends on military fatigues, armored tanks, Qassam rockets, suicide bombers, stones, and F-16s. But violence will only prolong the conflict and inflict deeper wounds.

Israelis and Palestinians have a choice. They can continue business as usual: violence, separation, hatred, and fear. Or they can recognize that they must look for mutually beneficial ways to share their small corner of the world.

People-to-people diplomacy works on the assumption that if Israelis and Palestinians connect at a human level, they will build compassion and trust. They will change public opinion. Painfully, slowly, they will create cross-border movements to transform the cultural and political reality on the ground.

Many question the impact of people-to-people diplomacy. But it has hardly been tried. Researchers estimate that perhaps 5 percent of the Palestinian and Israeli populations have engaged in an organized “dialogue” or “encounter” program of any kind.

Since the beginning of the second intifada in 2000, an estimated 1 percent or less of Palestinian and Israeli youth have had such an opportunity. It’s unreasonable to dismiss people-to-people programs based on such a meager attempt.

When the conflict between Israel and Hamas took its latest ugly turn, Israeli and Palestinian graduates of the Seeds of Peace summer camp in Maine were at a citywide interfaith celebration in Haifa. While Hamas and the Israeli government communicated through violence, the “Seeds” communicated with words and affirmed their commitment to finding nonviolent ways to build a better future.

Participants of all ages in reconciliation programs such as Seeds of Peace go through profound personal transformations. They do not melt into soft consensus and sing “Kumbaya.” They struggle – intensely. They disagree radically about fundamental issues.

At the same time, they come to terms with the existence and the perspectives of the “other side.” They form deep, life-long relationships. They build trust.

But it is difficult for seeds to flourish when the ground is toxic. To cultivate a culture of peace, we need a critical mass.

Leading up to the Good Friday agreements in Northern Ireland in 1998, at least $650 million in mostly government funds was spent over five years to bring Catholics and Protestants together. This people-to-people diplomacy touched at least one-sixth of the population (250,000 people).

There are nearly 12 million people within the borders of Israel and the Palestinian territories. To reach roughly the same proportion of people there as in Northern Ireland, let’s assume we need to spend at least the same amount per capita. This would be about $5 billion over the course of five years – $1 billion a year.

This is pocket change. The war in Iraq has cost the American government almost $600 billion so far. The United States gives more than $2 billion annually to Israel for military aid.

Why not invest close to that amount in peace – $2 billion a year over the course of five years, just $10 billion for the first phase of a peace-building initiative worth its salt.

For such a “peace stimulus” to succeed:

1. The United States must lead an international campaign to bring together millions of Israelis and Palestinians for sustained people-to-people diplomacy.

2. The Israeli and Palestinian governments must make people-to-people diplomacy a public and vocal priority.

3. Programs need to be flexible. They must provide space for local initiative and local needs.

4. Resources must be devoted to programs that focus on community building, on dialogue within communities – on getting one’s own house in order.

5. Programs must be coordinated and sustained: Follow-up is essential. Individual organizations need to work together, to share resources, to have maximum impact. The Alliance For Middle East Peace is taking critical steps in this direction.

First, we have to navigate the geography of conflict: the enforced separation, through military and legal means; the emotional and psychological barriers, just as strong. We urge the international community to construct a chain of secure centers, safe havens, at the separation barriers, where Israelis, Palestinians and internationals can meet safely and interact as equals.

With war raging, with people dying, with pain, anger, and hatred intensifying, world citizens of conscience must take responsibility and realize our power to help transform this conflict.

A well-coordinated people-to-people initiative would do more than perhaps anything to ease the tensions in the greater Middle East and on the world scene.

‱ Daniel Noah Moses is the director of the Delegation Leaders Program at Seeds of Peace. Aaron Shneyer is the director of Heartbeat Jerusalem, the Israeli-Palestinian youth music project.

Read Daniel Noah Moses and Aaron Shneyer’s article at The Christian Science Monitor »

Sowing Seeds of Peace
Abroad View Magazine

Sep 1, 2000 / No Comments

BY MANDY TERC | One rainy rest hour at a summer camp in Maine, 15-year-old Noor from the Palestinian West Bank was learning to write her name.

She squinted her eyes in concentration and glanced back quickly at the example that 16-year-old Shirlee, a Jewish Israeli from a seaside town, had provided.

After a few more seconds of intense writing, Noor triumphantly handed the piece of paper to me, her bank counselor. Parading across the top of the paper in large, careful print were the Hebrew letters that spelled her Arabic name.

A spontaneous lesson on the Hebrew and Arabic alphabets probably does not dominate the rest hours at most summer camp banks. But the Seeds of Peace International Camp, where I spent last summer as a counselor, challenges the traditional definition of what teenagers can learn and accomplish at a summer camp.

Seed of Peace brings Middle Eastern Teenagers from Israel, the Palestinian National Authority, Jordan, Egypt and other countries to Maine to help them confront the conflict and violence that has defined their region for more than 50 years.

Every moment of camp is intentional; things like table and bunk assignments, sport teams and seating are never accidental. Part of encouraging the different sides to interact is each camper’s strategic placement in a bunk. Here, Israelis and Arabs not only meet the “other side” for the first time but also sleep side by side, share a sink and participate in group games. In the close quarters of tiny cabins and bunk beds, bunk counselors encourage the campers to ignore national and ethnic boundaries as the make friends with their immediate neighbors.

The three weeks spent in Maine combine ordinary camp activities with a daily two-hour coexistence session, during which trained facilitator’s structure intense explorations of political and personal issues. However, the remainder of the day retains the structure and atmosphere of a traditional Maine camp during dining hall cheers, daily bunk inspection, spirited basketball games.

Like life in the bunk, this is where the comforting ordinariness of camp life weaves together with the specific issues of the Middle Eastern conflict-an area, which bunk counselors must negotiate carefully, and thoughtfully. At a camp where teenagers are asked to analyze questions that have perplexed world leaders, even bedtime can become a political forum. In my bunk, I asked the girls to name one “rose” and burn one “thorn” every night before sleeping. Forcing my campers to summarize one positive and negative aspect of their day allowed them to recognize the widespread spectrum of emotions that each day brought.

Sometimes, the thorns and roses were quite ordinary and uncontroversial. The girls lamented bad dinners or lost sporting events and praised a helpful counselor or a particularly fun day of swimming. On one occasion, the girls’ choices for thorns and roses reflected the complexity and difficulties of their immersion into a bunk with their perceived enemies.

Adar, a gregarious Israeli teenager with strong nationalistic pride, began her turn as the other girls settled into their beds. She quickly offered that her thorn was her coexistence session when a Palestinian girl had accused Israel of unjustly occupying Jerusalem—a domain that truly belonged to the Palestinian people.

Instantly, eight bodies snapped from snug sleeping positions to tense, upright postures, their alert eyes attempting to discern facial expression in the bunk’s semi-darkness. Jerusalem is the most contentious issue between the Arab and Israeli campers, and each girl in the bunk was poised to take this opportunity to articulate and defend her opinion about the disputed city.

Adar continued by asking, to no one in particular, if all Palestinians refused to recognize Israelis as the legitimate residents of the city. Almost before Adar could finish articulating her question, Aman was ready to express her passionate views.

Aman is a strong, athletic Palestinian who does not waste her words, preferring to listen intently. When she does begin to speak, she is both intimidating and impressive as she defends her opinions. Her confidence and steadfastness seem precocious for her 15 years.

Calm and composed, she explained to Adar that any acceptable peace agreement would have to recognize not just the Arab inhabited East Jerusalem, but also all of Jerusalem, as the Capital of the Palestinian State. Aman insisted that the presence of Muslim holy sites in Jerusalem meant that the Palestinians were the rightful proprietors of the city.

With an equally rapid response, Adar reminded her that Jerusalem also contained Jewish holy sites. Aman seemed prepared for such a protest.

“We would be very nice to you (the Jewish people). We would always let you come visit your sites, just like all the other tourists,” she replied.

Adar had no intention of allowing her people to become theoretical tourists in this debate: “Well, we have the city now,” Adar said. “You can’t just make us leave, because it’s ours. We might decide to give some of it to the Palestinians, but it belongs to us now.”

As an American counselor in the midst of issues that neither directly impacted nor pertained to me, I spent such times in the bunk listening. As the conversation progressed, I only sporadically interjected my voice, reminding them not to hold each other, as individuals, responsible for the actions of their governments.

Aside from my attempts at mediation, I, like most of the other bunk counselors at camp, stayed silent during political debates. It is critical that the campers view us as neutral, universally supportive authority figures.

The conversation generated by Adar’s thorn eventually wound down. As the girls drifted to sleep, I let out my breath and leaned back on my own bed. As much as I want the girls in my bunk to express all their concerns and thoughts, any conversation about such a sensitive keeps me tense throughout its duration. The bunk must feel like a safe home but not a superficial one in which all the issues of the conflict are either ignored or downplayed.

As a bunk counselor, it is my job to provide my campers with the safety and security they need to continue the process of breaking down barriers.

August 1 Letter to Israeli and Palestinian Seeds

Aug 1, 2014 / No Comments

Dear Seeds Family,

I write to you after days of searching for the right words, knowing even now that nothing I say will feel sufficient. After nearly a month of horrific violence in Gaza, and killing in Israel and Palestine, I am deeply angered by each day that goes by with so many of you living amid such fear, death, and destruction.

Every day I hold my breath as I make calls to ensure our Seeds and staff are still alive. I cannot even imagine how those of you living in harm’s way feel right now.

I want to share with you some of the conversations that I have been having with many members of Seeds of Peace’s leadership—Bobbie, Tim, Eva, Wil—as well as Seeds. As an organization, this has been a time of profound soul searching as we think critically about what we are and what we want to be.

Seeds of Peace was never meant to be a public advocacy, political lobbying, or humanitarian organization. We are not charged with, nor are we capable of, negotiating political solutions. Our mission has been to provide skills and experiences that allow you to take on these roles and lead change in your communities, and do everything we can to elevate your voices and share your work. Even in the darkness, I have seen countless examples of the impact of this work and the ways in which you are exercising your leadership.

In 1993, when John founded Seeds of Peace, peace in the immediate future felt possible; John looked to support graduates who could help peace take root after agreements were signed. Those hopeful years faded, and agreements signed between Palestinians and Israelis have failed to result in a just peace.

Seeds of Peace programs have over time grown to better address this reality on the ground, and we are still evolving daily.

I can understand that being part of an organization focused on the long term feels insufficient right now, when so many of you are fearing for your lives or worried about friends and loved ones. I respect that many of you are wrestling with your own expectations of Seeds of Peace in this moment, and want you to know that we are doing the same, and invite you to be part of our process.

What is certain is that we exist to stand by and support you as you share your stories, tell your truths and work towards change in and between your communities. Our programming in all regions and for all ages is designed around this core principle. We will continue providing transformational experiences, forging connections and creating spaces where you can raise your voices to audiences that would not otherwise hear them.

I have been inspired numerous times over the past few weeks by the ways in which many of you have done just this, even under such difficult circumstances. But, there have also been discouraging moments when members of our Seeds family have failed to show the respect we strive for.

We will continue to encourage empathy and engagement over dehumanization and demonization. We will continue to value respect, responsibility, and courage.

We are also morally, ethically, and emotionally compelled to join countless other voices in condemning violence in all its forms, while acknowledging that ceasefires are only the first step in addressing the injustice, fear, and hatred at the root of this violence.

As you may know, Camp is currently underway. I am in awe of the courage these Seeds have shown in bringing their voices to the table at this time. While we still treasure the safe space we create here in Maine, we are not naive to the realities from which these Seeds come, and have adjusted Camp to respect these realities.

The bright spots for me these past few weeks have been hearing from so many of you. Our community of alumni and staff continues to be one of the most caring and passionate networks I know. Even the difficult conversations remind me of why being a part of this community is so powerful.

I want to know how you are, and what you are thinking. How can we better support you? How can we mobilize our community to come together and take action in ways that are meaningful?

We strive to provide the platform and invite you to help shape it. Our charge over the next weeks will be to assemble your recommendations and build meaningful programs. Even if you do not have answers to these questions, write me with sincerity, and I promise to respond with the same care.

With love and respect,

Leslie

Local teen to plant ‘Seeds of Peace’ in Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle

Aug 24, 2018 / No Comments

As seen in the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle on August 24, 2018

CREATING SAFE SPACES / LOCAL TEEN, EDUCATORS BRING TRAINING BACK TO PITTSBURGH

After attending camp in Maine, 16 year-old Alexandra Friedlander is coming back with conflict resolution and productive dialogue skills, along with friendships across the Atlantic.

When Alexandra Friedlander, 16, first heard of a camp in Maine that focuses on bringing together teens from diverse backgrounds to engage in conflict resolution and dialogue, she was eager to enroll.

The program, sponsored by the nonprofit organization Seeds of Peace, was right up the alley of the then 10th-grade student who had founded her own dialogue initiative for middle and lower school students at her school, Winchester Thurston.

Read the rest of Toby Tabachnick’s article at the Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle â€șâ€ș