Seeds visit President Clinton in the Oval Office

WASHINGTON, DC | Visiting President Clinton in the Oval Office of the White House, May 23, 2000, was a thrill for all of the Seeds who were there—Jawad, Dalia, Jamil, Avigail and Manal. Each of them had a chance to tell the President personal stories about their lives, especially about how Seeds of Peace has affected their lives. Jawad and Manal are Palestinians from Gaza and Nablus. Avigail is from Israel. And Jamil is from Jordan.

Afterward, the President responded by talking about the relationship between national identity and maintaining traditional enemies. He said that it was no accident that both President Sadat and Prime Minister Rabin were killed by their fellow countrymen. Sometimes giving up an enemy for peace feels like a threat to identity and it becomes intolerable for some members of society. He also talked about Nelson Mandela, who said that if he continued to hate his jailers even after he had been released from his lengthy stay in prison, it would be as if he was still not free.

President Clinton said that the freedom gained from a successful peace agreement must be utilized for constructive rebuilding and not spent on continued hatred between former parties in conflict.

Mrs. Jihan Sadat, wife of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat; Bebe Neuwirth, representing Broadway stars who support Seeds of Peace; Sandy Berger, US National Security Advisor; John and Janet Wallach, Lindsay Miller, Bobbie Gottschalk, Meredith Katz and Michael Wallach were also in attendance.