Seeds of Peace

Seeds of Peace: 18 years of peacemaking

1993

Seeds of Peace founder, John Wallach, award-winning author and journalist, was inspired to create Seeds of Peace. He invited Bobbie Gottschalk, a seasoned clinical social worker and program developer, to become the first executive director of Seeds of Peace. Timothy Wilson, a long-time camp director and high school teacher, became the first Camp director. That summer, a group of 46 Israeli, Palestinian, and Egyptian teenagers met for the first session of the Seeds of Peace International Camp in Maine.

The program is designed to bring together future leaders, selected and designated as such by their governments, to reveal the human face of those they were raised to hate. By dispelling fear, mistrust, and prejudice—the root causes of violence and conflict—Seeds of Peace ensures that the future of peace is in the hands of friends rather than enemies. 

Symbolizing a future marked by an end to decades of violence and hatred, this first group of “Seeds” were President Clinton’s invited guests to the historic signing of the 1993 Oslo Accords between Yitzhak Rabin and Yasser Arafat on the White House lawn.

1994

Seeds of Peace doubles in size by welcoming a Moroccan delegation and adding an equal number of females to the program.

1995

Jordan and Tunisia join the program. Seeds of Peace responds to crisis in the Balkans by inviting a group of Balkan youth to Camp. The Delegation Leader program for adults is formally created and launched.

1996

Over 200 Israeli and Arab Seeds are hosted in Jordan by His Majesty King Hussein at the first Seeds of Peace reunion. Qatar sends a delegation to Camp. The Olive Branch, a youth magazine written and published by Seeds of Peace alumni, begins publication.

1997

Seeds of Peace International Camp becomes an institution with its own camp facility in Otisfield, Maine. With seven delegations from the Middle East, Seeds of Peace has now tripled in size since 1993, and it begins regional programming in the Middle East with its alumni.

1998

The first Middle East Youth Summit is held in May in Villars, Switzerland, with Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian, and American alumni of the Seeds of Peace program. The result was the historic Charter of Villars, an Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty, agreed on by all delegates, resolving such final status issues such as Jerusalem, refugees, land, security, sovereignty. United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan was accepts the Charter in person. Also this year, the first Delegation Leader Annual Conference is held. During the summer, the Cyprus program is launched and for the first time, two consecutive summer sessions are held at Seeds of Peace International Camp, with 226 Middle East graduates.

1999

The Seeds of Peace Center for Coexistence in Jerusalem opens on October 27, 1999, in a remarkable ceremony attended by Palestinian, Israeli, American and European leaders of the peace process, and more than 500 Palestinian, Israeli, Egyptian, Jordanian, and Greek and Turkish Cypriot graduates of Seeds of Peace. Located on the former dividing line between East and West Jerusalem, the Center serves as a neutral, safe meeting space for Israeli and Palestinian Seeds of Peace graduates, their friends and families, and the headquarters of the expanding Regional Program.

Due to its program expansion, three successive Camp sessions are held in 1999 with a record 405 Seeds. The Israeli and Palestinian Seeds release the award-winning documentary film, Peace of Mind. SeedsNet, a secure listserve that provides a forum for alumni to correspond with each other through e-mail, is launched.

2000

The Balkan program is officially established and the Portland (Maine Seeds) Project is launched. Yemen joins the other Middle East delegations while Greek and Turkish delegations join the Cypriot program. Seeds of Peace is awarded UNESCO Peace Prize and Teaching Peace, an educational software tool, is created and published by Arab and Israeli Seeds. Asel Asleh, a Seed from the Palestinian village of Arrabeh in the Galilee area of Israel, was killed on October 2, 2000, by Israeli police forces.

2001

Seeds of Peace expands to South Asia with the India-Pakistan program. To help its alumni continue their education and leadership training, Seeds of Peace establishes the Educational Scholarship program. Israeli and Palestinian former campers return to Camp as staff members. In response to September 11, 2001, Seeds of Peace convened the International Youth Summit on Uprooting Hatred and Terror, which is held at the United Nations in November of 2001. At the conference, Seeds of Peace brings together 120 Seeds from 22 nations to address the roots of terror, hatred, and violence. Delegates met with visiting heads of state, renowned academics, business leaders, and media personalities to inform their Charter on Uprooting Hatred and Terror.

2002

Founder John Wallach passes away, but is able to see his dream enter its 10th season. The South Asia program expands to include an Afghan delegation. Israeli and Palestinian Seeds win the Voices of Courage award by the Women’s Commission on Refugee Women and Children. Over 100 Seeds are on scholarships at universities and colleges in North America through the Education Program. The documentary film SEEDS is produced at Camp with a 2004 release date. 

2003

Aaron David Miller, former Senior Advisor for Arab-Israeli negotiations at the U.S. Department of State, becomes President of Seeds of Peace. Seeds of Peace holds its third international youth conference Breaking News, Making Headlines: The Role of the Media in Conflict Regions, that is attended by 120 program alumni. Former US Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton join the Advisory Board.

The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passes a bipartisan resolution honoring Seeds of Peace for its promotion of understanding, reconciliation, acceptance, coexistence and peace among youth from the Middle East and other conflict regions. House Concurrent Resolution 288, introduced by Representative Tom Allen (D-ME) states, "It is especially important to reaffirm that youth must be involved in long-term, visionary solutions to conflicts perpetuated by cycles of violence." It calls Seeds of Peace, "is a model of hope that living together in peace and security is possible."

2004

Seeds of Peace partners with Sesame Workshop and the Daniel Pearl Foundation to help prepare Seeds of Peace graduates for future leadership positions. The independent documentary SEEDS about the Seeds of Peace program premieres at the Silverdocs Film Festival. Seeds of Peace launches a new pilot program called Beyond Borders, a groundbreaking exchange program for 65 young Americans and Arabs geared toward building mutual understanding and respect. The first part of the program is held at Camp and brings together Saudis, Kuwaitis, Iraqis, Yemenis, Jordanians and Egyptians as well as Americans from six US cities. Former US Secretary of State James Baker gives lecture at second Seeds of Peace Forum on Conflict & Diplomacy.

2005

The second part of the Beyond Borders program is held in Jordan. The participant reconvene in March for a week of seminars, continued cultural exchange, leadership training, and planning for continued activities, and are guests of King Abdallah at the royal palaces. 120 Palestinian, Jordanian, Israeli and Egyptian graduate Seeds returned to Camp during the summer for the first-ever Seeds of Peace Leadership Summit. In October, Israeli and Palestinian Seeds travel to Spain at the invitation of the DKV Joventut pro-basketball team for a week of dialogue and hoops.

2006

Regional offices in Ramallah and Tel Aviv are opened after the Jersualem Center closes. The first edition of Roots: The Graduate Seed Alumni Magazine is produced. Graduates continue the work begun during the Leadership Summit with an appropriately titled Action Summit in September. Thirty Graduates attend the five-day event held at Manhattanville College in New York. At Camp, Graduates trained as professional facilitators run dialogue sessions for younger Seeds.

2007

The first editions of Passport, a publication for Seeds from all delegations working or studying in the US, are produced. Binational programming between Israelis and Palestinians intensifies with the In Your Shoes and Peacing it Together projects. SeedsBook, a private website for Seeds modeled after Facebook, debuts.

2008

Forty-four graduate Seeds, spanning Camp years 1993-2000, from Israel, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, and the US, attended the four-day Seeds of Peace summit in Aqaba in order to adopt a proposal for launching the Seeds of Peace Graduate Association. The Seeds also participated in workshops on community organizing, working with the media, and using business and entrepreneurship to build understanding. Fifty graduate Seeds met in Rabat, Morocco, in October in order further develop the Graduate Association and examine the role of community service in graduate-initiated actions.

2009

The 4,000th Seed attends Camp. Leslie Adelson Lewin appointed Executive Director of Seeds of Peace after serving 10 years as part of the organization's program staff. The Women’s Leadership Training Program for Greater Economic Participation brings 15 female Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian Seeds together in Amman and Washington, D.C., to increase their leadership skills as well as their understanding of the value of economic empowerment and participation in their countries.