BY JOCELYN NOVECK | NEW YORK It’s been a heady few months for Laith, a 14-year-old Palestinian from Jerusalem.
In September, he was on the White House lawn to witness the signing of the historic peace accord between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization.
And on Thursday evening, he was in the United States again this time to present an award to Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres for his role in the peace negotiations.
“I was sweating a lot,” he said after his speech to Peres, in which he implored the Israeli leader to speed up the process of making peace.
Laith was one of four youngsters from Israel, Egypt and the Israeli-occupied territories who were brought to New York to present the first Seeds of Peace awards, at a formal dinner at the Regency Hotel.
Seeds of Peace is a private group formed in April to promote understanding between young people from the Middle East. In August, it brought 46 Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian youths together at a summer camp in Maine, then brought them to Washington, where their trip culminated in a surprise: an invitation from President Clinton to attend the historic signing.
The awards Thursday went to Peres, top PLO official Mahmoud Abbas and Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa. Accepting for Abbas was the PLO’s representative at the United Nations, Nasser al-Kidwa. Egypt’s U.N. ambassador, Nabil el-Araby, accepted for Moussa.
Dressed in a bright blue Seeds of Peace T-shirt and standing next to Peres, Laith told the audience that the peace accord, the implementation of which has been delayed by disagreements, was one of the wisest steps ever taken in the Middle East. Then, staring straight at the Israeli leader, he said he hoped for a Palestinian state, with Arab east Jerusalem “at least” as its capital.
The two smiled at each other, and the room erupted in laughter. Israel has long maintained that Jerusalem must remain the capital of the Jewish state.
In his remarks, Peres told Laith he was “grateful for what you said whether I agree with every word or not.”
Yehoyada, a 14-year-old Israeli from Jewish west Jerusalem, presented the award to the PLO official, telling him he hoped that one day soon he and his friends will be able to say, “See you in Damascus or Amman,” the Syrian and Jordanian capitals.
Organizers would not let the youths’ last names be used because of safety concerns.
This summer, Seeds of Peace plans to hold two summer camps one for boys and, for the first time, one for girls. It hopes to add youngsters from Morocco and Jordan.