There will be peace in the Middle East

[JimBob]

I have become convinced of this after the past two weeks. Not because of the war that is being fought now, but because I have spent the last two weeks participating in a program called Hands of Peace. The idea behind it is to bring together Americans, Isrealis, and Palestinians; Christians, Jews, and Muslims to work towards peace. For the last two weeks I have shared my home with an Isreali who at the start said "I would be happy if they[the Palestinians] all died" Yesterday as buses were loaded to go to the airport he cried while he hugged a Palestinian goodbye. This program will not make peace today or tommorow. But like a virus the ideas of the program spread.

As one of my Palestinian friends said, "I want peace, I don't care what my father says, if he wants peaces or not, or what my grandfather says, it's my opinion, and I want peace. We want peace, there will be peace."


The program survives because of volunteers, if can offer time or your home please do, if you cannot please donate to the program.

[rory_20_uk]

Not while Americans do discounts on Bunker busters.

[Devastatin Dave]

Not while Americans do discounts on Bunker busters.

To bad the Brits and their colonial #### ups is the root cause to the majority of the problems in the Middle East. Don't throw stones when you live in a glass house.

Good for you JimBob and I wish you the best in your program that you are involved in. I'll have a look-see at the site and I might donate some money to it. Seems worthwhile...

[Seamus Fermanagh]

JB:

The type of experience you describe is well-documented, and one of many noble efforts over the years to foster peace.

The problem is not in getting a group of people to interact as people, it is their re-entry into their base communities -- where they all too often become ostracized or marginalized because they are no longer "true" members.

The Camp David accords were a watershed moment in the Middle East, and have more-or-less ended the massive theater-wide Arab-Israeli wars of the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. So what happened after to the participants?

Begin was almost expelled from the Likud, with massive opposition within his own party to the accords -- which was passed in the Knesset by opposition votes (from almost all of the non-Likud factions). Faced with this internal opposition, Begin never gave full effort to the portion of the accords dealing with Palestinian self-determination and a Palestinian state, and then used the cease-fire with Egypt to allow for a concentration of forces to invade Lebanon in order to attack the PLO.

Sadat was assassinated by right-wing Islamic extremists in his own bodyguard. His successor, Mubarek, ruled with an iron fist for many years to squelch dissent. Egyptian radicals are (mostly) expatriates, and a number of them are found in the upper echelons of Al Queda.

Re-entry with those peaceful lessons is a difficult thing -- I hope it works.

[Somebody Else]

To bad the Brits and their colonial #### ups is the root cause to the majority of the problems in the Middle East.

One of them sells bunker busters.

Spoiler Alert, click show to read: 

Couldn't resist

[Louis VI the Fat]

Brilliant, SE.


@JimBob, peace starts when people start to recognize each other as human beings first and foremost indeed. Keep the faith, I admire your optimism and spirit.