BY EDITH M. LEDERER | UNITED NATIONS Through years of conflict, Israeli and Palestinian young people, environmentalists and emergency doctors have kept up contacts to try to save lives, share precious water resources and demonstrate that they can overcome hate. At a panel discussion Monday sponsored by the U.S. government, voluntary organizations working on these issues on both sides of the conflict came together for the first time to talk about their quiet efforts to help promote Mideast peace.
Seeds of Peace has brought together more than 2,000 Israeli and Arab teens in a U.S. summer camp and followed-up with activities at home to try to build a new generation of leaders who can work together. Good Water Neighbors has encouraged Israelis, Palestinians and Jordanians in 11 towns that share water to work together to ensure that all people benefit and water isn’t wasted. Peace Through Health has trained close to 300 Israeli, Palestinian and American physicians and nurses in emergency care.”
We have people in all our activities who are tremendously committed to peace, whether it’s in the medical profession, the environmental community, whether it’s young people,” said Gidon Bromberg, Israeli director of Good Water Neighbors. “The opportunity is to network better for the betterment of peace.”
Dr. Tawfiq Nasser, head of Augusta Victoria Hospital in Jerusalem, which has been in partnership with the Hadassah Medical Center and Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston to upgrade their emergency medical treatment since 2002, said the goal is “to create stories of success for people on both sides.”
“There is a culture of peace that is building, and I think this is a very important momentum because we’ve always been stigmatized by the culture of violence,” he said. “It’s very nice to see … that there are so many activities beyond this project that will create … this foundation for a culture of peace.”
Dr. Kobi Assaf, chief of the Department of Emergency Medicine at Hadassah Hospital, cautioned that “we do not pretend to make the peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
“But what we think is that medicine … is one of the best bridges that can be used to bridge over gaps, such as in this conflict,” he said, and if the emergency medicine project is “a small contribution to peace, for me it will be enough.”
Nader Khatib, the Palestinian director of Good Water Neighbors, said the project is getting more support now than when it began in 2001 and is hoping to expand to 17 towns. The program was established by EcoPeace/Friends of the Earth Middle East and is supported by the European Commission and the U.S. government.
“Everyone in the government realizes that in terms of our activities, it’s much easier, much better to do it now through the NGOs. They have more credibility and they can go without waiting for these politicians to finalize a comprehensive peace settlement,” Khatib said.
“Our environment cannot wait until there is a final peace treaty,” he said. “Unless we act soon, there won’t be anything to enjoy after the final peace treaty.”
Seeds of Peace is also trying to expand and wants to launch a radio show for Palestinian kids about tolerance and peaceful coexistence, said Ruba Musleh, coordinator of its West Bank activities.
While some Palestinians think members of the group are “idealistic” or “brainwashed,” she said young men watching members clear an area near the Israeli barrier for kids to play eventually saw “that there are still people who bring beauty and peace to that place.”
“What we as Palestinians and Israelis are doing now is inspiring one generation after another with the idea of peaceful living, but at the same time we are giving them a better present,” Musleh said.