First Week in Israel

Hello Everyone,

Welcome to my blog about my trip to Israel.
Most of you will know this, but I'm here in Jerusalem, on a non-profit fellowship, sponsored by my employer (thank you Mercer) for the next three months. While I am here, I will be working for an organization called Seeds of Peace.

Seeds of Peace is an organization that brings together Israeli and Palestinian youth (aged 13-15) and sends them to a Summer camp in Maine, where they practice their English, engage in daily dialogue sessions, and most importantly, form bonds of friendship and understanding that are the foundations of peaceful coexistence. Seeds of Peace does not only deal with the Palestinian/Israeli conflict. The camp also brings together Turkish and Greek Cypriots, Indians and Pakistanis, and delegations from the former Yugoslav republics in the Balkans.

The Seeds of Peace Center for Coexistence (where I am working for the summer), of course is primarily concerned with the Palestinian Israeli conflict. The purpose of the center is to provide a point of contact for the Seeds (kids who have gone to camp are called "Seeds") and to provide much needed support outside of the camp environment, when re-integration into their respective communities can be difficult.

The Center is a quite impressive building in Jerusalem stone (for those of you who don't know, all buildings in Jerusalem are required to be built in this cream-colored stone), and it is located about 500 m East (on the Arab side) of the 1949 "Green Line" that divided Israel from the West bank. This portion of East Jerusalem was annexed by Israel after the Six-Day War (also known as The June War) in 1967.

This week has been a real whirlwind, with my arrival in Jerusalem, searching for an apartment, visiting family and starting work at Seeds of Peace. Here are a few highlights I'd like to share with you all.

1) Seeds of Hope

Yesterday, there was a presentation held at the Center where 4 Seeds (2 Jewish Israelis, and 2 Palestinians) had a panel discussion for a group of Muslim and Jewish college students who are on a trip here in Israel. This was more of an educational program for the visiting students, rather than a program for the Seeds. The Seeds were all 17-18 years old and had been to the camp in 2003-4. I was really struck by how articulate, thoughtful and dedicated to peace these kids were. The thing that hit me most was the clearly visible bonds of friendship that existed between the Israeli and Palestinian Seeds. One of the Israeli Seeds is a soldier in the army now (Israel has mandatory military service when you turn 18) and he told the group about how his Palestinian friends called to wish him good luck before he entered the IDF (Israel Defense Force). It was a particulary impressive moment watching after the session was over, as the Seeds said goodbye to each other. I could see the genuine friendship between them. It gave me hope for peace in the future, and solidified my understanding of the impact of what this organization is doing.

2) Detour on the way to work

As I was riding my bike to work this morning (I'm trying to avoid buses), the road that I usually take to work was blocked off by a bus. Not thinking anything of it, I biked around the bus and started riding up the street, which was deserted. All of a sudden, someone ran over from the side of the street and yelled at me to get off the road. Once I was a safe distance away, I asked someone what was going on. Apparently, a suspicious package was reported in a phone booth up the street and the Police were taking care of it. The pedestrian I spoke to was so matter of fact about it, simply saying "this happens here." The reaction was so calm. I can't imagine what the reaction would have been at home.

3) Thursday Night on Ben Yehuda Street

Tonight, after grabbing a bite to eat in a restaurant off Ben Yehuda Street (the central pedestrian area of downtown Jerusalem), I was drawn to a crowd that had gathered around in the middle of the square. A bunch of kids (they must have been 16 or 17) had set up some speakers and were taking turns breakdancing in the center of a crowd of people that had come to watch. On the periphery of the circle, I could see a group of soldiers, in their green uniforms, with machine guns strapped to their backs, watching appreciatively. It hit me that these soldiers are only 18 years old! They were probably breakdancing in this square last year, and many of the kids here now will be soldiers next year. What a difference a year makes. I have to wonder what my life would have been like if I had gone to the army at 18.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks for listening to my ramblings.

I'll try to update this site as much as I can. Please feel free to comment on the site and send me notes if you agree/disagree with anything I'm saying.

Cheers,

Seth