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Items by Lirun

• December 03, 2008
• 3:21

  copycats..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  obama feva is soaring.. council elections recently held were one big obama rip off and now as we approach the national elections his gimmicks are being recycled to the max.. here is the latest regurge..
  
  
• 3:06

  i cant imagine an end to this..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  we're not really welcome anywhere.. we never have been and never will be.. living in israel is not about conquering anyone.. and no one ever expected it to be easy.. but its about coming home..
• December 02, 2008
• 8:48

  beit chabad responds to the mumbai terror attack..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  
  and - unrelated - amira hass is asked to leave gaza..
  
  i wont be able to light a candle this shabbat because ill be in a conference but next one i promise..
• December 01, 2008
• 21:44

  shared universe..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  somethings belong to all of us whether we like it or not.. this is an infrequent site of the moon with jupiter and venus.. sorry for the blurry vision :)
  
  and while we're being all universal and all.. check this one out.. go matt!
  
• November 30, 2008
• 20:26

  who is this guy..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  and where did he buy his infinite wisdom? should be be taking advice from the man who toppled his own nation and caused it to lose its status as the world's most powerful empire - consequently toppling the world?
• November 29, 2008
• 19:58

  yavo shalom aleinu..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  
  the band that ive joined at the arab jewish community centre is proposing to perform this song.. i love it.. but one of members HATES it!! he thinks its depressing and boring..
  
  i want some opinions about it..
• November 28, 2008
• 23:10

  mumbai coverage from israel..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  what started as a story about india and (at least potentially) pakistan seems to have become a story about us here in israel.. 3 blasts in mumbai is the first thing i remember hearing and of course i immediately was concerned about the death toll which as everyone is surely now aware rapidly spiralled upwards from a handful to now over 150.. with roughly 25 bodies being declared recovered per day.. as is normal for any person i wondered if any of my friends were there and then wondered if my colleagues might be there praying all were safe.. a university friend who i now stay in touch with through a social networking site was also contacted and sure enough he does indeed live only a few blocks away but is safe and sound..
  
  very soon we learned about the chabad house being under seige and the story slowly seemed to evolve from a "regular" terror story to one about us..
  
  as the picture above indicates - our news bulletins have been very focussed on the developments in mumbai and tv has been surveying the speeches given around the world by prominent figures discussing the various angles..
  
  one of the most common comments by reporters is that the people of mumbai have been stung by a sense of shock.. and that they do not really know how to handle the situation.. i think - however - that this commentary is somewhat self reflective.. i think israel is a bit in shock by these events and doesnt know what to do or say.. i think telaviv in particular cant really believe it and that we are barely digesting the gravity of this story.. it seems all so much like a bad dream.. that we dont seem to be waking up from but that surely we will sometime soon..
  
  
  
  i was in eilat this past weekend and recorded the above grab from the hotel room.. the hotel had arab and jewish guests and the place was so serene.. jordan and egypt and saudia arabia too for that matter - all just a stone throw away.. and the yet it was such a peaceful weekend..
  
  what a contrast..
  
  wishing us a better week ahead..
• November 27, 2008
• 13:11

  the topic refloats..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  remember the tolerance museum fiasco? well click and refresh but come back and read what Brad had to say.. its interesting when a reporter expresses a view.. also copies below for your convenience..
  
  

  Debate over Museum of Tolerance - an exchange
  
  By
  Bradley Burston, Haaretz Correspondent
  
  Tags: museum of tolerance
  
  Dear Rabbi Hier,
  
  It saddens me to find myself in opposition to the Simon Wiesenthal Center, whose goals and good works I have long supported.
  
  But I have an honest and personal disagreement with a decision the center has taken, the location of the Museum of Tolerance on a Muslim burial ground.
  
  I detailed my objection in an article entitled Dividing Jerusalem, one bad wall at a time. I noted that in the past, SWC had worked diligently and admirably in protecting the sanctity of cemeteries, in particular, that of the unmarked Jewish graves of Auschwitz.
  
  You responded with a letter headed "Museum of Tolerance is a beacon of light, not a wall." You begin by saying that I deliberately hid the fact that the land was given to the Simon Wiesenthal Center by the government of Israel and the City of Jerusalem, who presented petitions to the Supreme Court in support of the Museum of Tolerance Jerusalem.
  
  It remains unclear to me why I or anyone else would want, deliberately or otherwise, to hide that fact. But, since you brought it up, here's something else that I did not include: In an interview with the Jerusalem Post in February, 2006, when you said that the plot of land was not considered a cemetery and was given to the center in good faith by the government of Israel and the Jerusalem Municipality, you went on to say:
  
  "We never would have accepted a site if the government of Israel or the Jerusalem Municipality had said it was a Muslim cemetery."
  
  "We would have laughed. It would have been preposterous. We never would have accepted it."
  
  I believe you. Just as I still believe that as soon as bones began to be unearthed at the site, it was time to recognize that the idea of building a Museum of Tolerance over a cemetery - whether Muslim, Jewish, Christian, non-denominational or animist - is, at its root, preposterous.
  The same 2006 Post article, citing the Israel Antiquities Authority, notes that "The authority has already removed 250 skeletons and skulls from the site and has reported to the court that the cemetery dates back centuries and that there are at least five layers of density of graves there."
  
  You have marshaled learned arguments to prove that the land is no longer legally sacred to Muslims.
  But do you truly believe that Muslim individuals, who have come forward to state that their ancestors were buried there, are lying? Do you believe that they do not, in fact, consider this land sacred, or that their dismay over the museum plan is unjustified?
  
  You have said that many of the critics of the plan are extremists, and that is true.
  
  But seriously, on the most basic, human level, can you say in all honesty that you cannot understand why many Israeli citizens, moderate, tolerant Jews, Muslims and Christians alike, are vexed by the concept of a Museum of Tolerance built on a graveyard?
  You have spoken eloquently and convincingly of the potential importance and contribution of the museum.
  
  But you have not made one compelling argument for preferring the Mamilla site over other possible building sites in Jerusalem.
  
  Finally, you have stressed that the bones found during construction were between 300 and 400 years old, the graves unmarked.
  
  Are you telling us that in another 300 or 400 years, it will be all right for the Catholic Church to go ahead and re-build the convent near Auschwitz that you so strongly opposed 20 years ago?
  Are you telling us that there is a statute of limitations on memory?
  People of good will in Jerusalem and its environs, intelligent, sensitive, tolerant Christians, Muslims and Jews, want to support a museum like this. These are exactly the kinds of people the museum needs to attract. These are exactly the kinds of people you need to listen to.
  
  They are telling you that your flagship project may have lost its moral compass.
  
  They are telling you that for all of your good will, this project, and, no less, your legacy, are in clear danger of defeating their own purpose.

• November 26, 2008
• 18:57

  "scary" arabs..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  (english summary maybe found below)
  
  רנין בולוס לא היתה מסוג הערבים שנרצה לראות על המסך. היא יפה וחכמה ולא אלימה וכועסת. דוריה למפל מתנהגת בהתאם
  
  לא יכולים לעכל אותה. בולוס (יחצנים)
  
  גם את ריקודי הבטן היא עושה בסטייל (יחצנים)
  לא היה צריך להיות פרשן פוליטי או אנליסט ותיק כדי להבין שהערביה של "האח הגדול" הולכת הביתה. כל מצביעי בובליל העבירו קולותיהם לשחר ולשפרה כבר יש עדר מצביעים ותיק. גם אין שום טעם לדבר שוב על "האח הגדול" כאובדן היצירה הטלוויזיונית, כאובדן התום, כאובדן הנימוסים ודרך הארץ. אין שום סיבה לדון שוב האם הבובלילים מייצגים אותנו בכבוד או לא, מהסיבה הפשוטה שהזוכה של האח הגדול לא מייצג כאן אף אחד. הוא לא יישלח לאירוויזיון ולא למיס תבל. הוא מייצג את עצמו, ואולי את האנשים שטרחו לסמס לו בעקביות. וזה נכון לגבי כל המתמודדים בבית, חוץ מאחת. רנין בולוס.נרצה או לא נרצה (או שהיא לא תרצה) רנין מייצגת מגזר. היא האדם היחיד בבית שיכול לבוא ולומר "אני לא שרה התקווה ואין לי נפש יהודיה". במעמקי מיץ הזבל של "האח הגדול", לרנין בולוס, הערבייה היחידה בתכנית, יש ערך תרבותי אדיר. גם מי שהוא לא שמאלן יפה נפש, יכול להבחין שאין הרבה ערבים בפריים טיים של הערוצים המסחריים. לא סתם בחרו עורכי האח הגדול לתת לנו דקה וחצי של שיר געגועים בערבית מפיה של בולוס אמש, הם ידעו שזה יגרום ל-99% מהצופים לנוע באי נוחות בכורסה שלהם. הפעם האחרונה שערבים קיבלו נתח פריים טיים היתה כששודרה הסדרה המצוינת "עבודה ערבית" (נשים בצד את "כוונות טובות" מפאת אחוזי צפייה נמוכים) , אבל לא כזה שבאמת מדבר על התהום העצומה שיש בינם לבינינו, אלא נותן תחושה של ערביי מחמד שרק מנסים להשתלב. חטיף טלוויזיוני קל לעיכול, לא כמו רנין בולוס. בולוס היא לא הערבייה שהישראלים רוצים להכיר. היא מוצלחת מדי, יפה מדי, מטופחת מדי, שנונה מדי, חכמה מדי ומדברת אנגלית שוטפת. היא דומה לנו מדי. אנחנו מעדיפים לראות ערבים כועסים, מקללים ושונאים, כאלה שמצדיקים פיגועים, כאלה שמייחלים למותנו. כשהם נראים כמונו זה כבר לא נעים לנו. אנחנו זקוקים לערבי מפחיד ומאיים, כזה שלא יגרום לנו להתבלבל ולחשוב שאולי במקרה אפשר לעשות איתו שלום. עם ערבים כאלה קל לנו להיות האנדרדוג של האנושות, אבל עם ערבים כמו רנין אנחנו נדרשים להסביר את עצמנו, וזה כבר נורא מסובך. אתמול מסמסי ישראל העיפו את הסיכוי שלהם להכיר את הצד השני, כך שלא פלא שלרנין קשה לזכור כמה זה 6 כפול 8, בכל זאת - 48 היתה שנה לא קלה בשבילה.
  
  
  above is a parody of renin aired on a popular israeli satirical segment.. evidence of true celebrity status.. :)
  
  i tried to use google translate but it was too sloppy on this occasion.. often i find it very helpful mind you for other languages.. basically the article praises the independnt minded renin and the choice of the producers to include a successful intelligent funny witty attractive and stylish arab who isnt a try-hard wannabe jewish israeli heb-type person but who simply reminds us of our own self perceived super heroesque stereotypes and challenges us to consider that maybe we can make peace with these people.. maybe arab society includes some rockers as well.. just like ours.. the writer of the article suggests that we with a capital W are not used to seeing arabs this way and that in some ways this may frighten us more than anything.. did "you" know that some arabs are perfectly fluent in english and some even know up to date (shhhh not too loud) slang?..
  
  i remember wondering how this would pan out when it was first announced.. and im glad she didnt prove me wrong.. i actually know someone from her home town and so i had the goss up front.. i heard the town adores her..
  
  well done for teaching US a lesson renin.. wishing you a great future..
• 15:19

  i'd raise the cedar flag..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  from ban's mouth to god's ear.. may we see peace soon.. its so obvious it cant happen now.. syria would never let it.. nor would the hizbulla.. but im glad at least ban is thinking of us.. may more people like him speak up..
  
  and what an achievement it would be for lebanon.. it would boost lebanon's economy like crazy.. it would encourage investment.. and it would raise lebanon's clout and kudos in a region that has long looked at lebanon as a pretty girl with very limited hand eye coordination..
  
  come on lebanon.. prove them wrong.. lets have peace..
  
  yours truly
  your next door neighbour that aint going nowhere..
• November 25, 2008
• 2:14

  actions speak louder..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  is this what a true peace partner does?
• 1:24

  little brother big brother..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  אולי חלק מכם יקראו רשומה זו ויחשבו שיש לי מוח מעוות, אבל זה בסדר אני לא בודד . יש איתי עוד 32% רייטינג של האח הגדול, ולמה אני משווה בין השנים, כי לפעמים נידמה לי שיוסי בובליל מקבל פרסום ואהבה ועניין בציבור יותר מכול 848 יום של גלעד, אני מביט על זה ואני אומר שמדובר על שני אנשים : אחד אח גדול ואחד אח קטן והכל כל כך הפוך אחד מהשני - אחד צעיר סגור בעזה 848 יום, אחד סגור בקושי 60 יום. אחד מת לחזור להורים למשפחה לחברים לאזרחות כמו שאר חבריו, ובטח מתפלל שכולנו נוציא אותו מהמקום הרע והאפל שהוא נימצא בו . אביו ואמו תומכים בו ועוברים בכול הארץ לרוחבה ואורכה.
  
  האח השני בוגר כבר, עבר ממחצית חייו ונימצא סגור בוילה בנוה אילן יש לו שם בריכה, יש לו אוכל, סיגריות, רופא, חבריה, בת שאפילו אתו ,הגדול לעומת הקטן רוצה רק להישאר בוילה ולהיות סגור 100 ימים. את הגדול המדינה שלנו מכנה הדורבן, ואתה אחי הקטן - אתה הקורבן .
  
  את יוסי בובליל דואגים להזכיר לנו 24 שעות בימים בכול אמצעי תקשורת אפשרי, ואפילו פעם בשבוע אנחנו שולחים SMS שהוא יישאר כי ככה אנחנו "עם אוהב".
  
  לפני שבועיים ראיתי את התוכנית והיה פרק הדחה , ואז ארז טל אמר שנשלחה כמות סמסים מטורפת, אני מתאר לעצמי שזה כמה מאות אלפים, ואני שואל את עצמי כמה מאות אלפים יכולים לשלוח SMS אבל חצי מזה לא יכול להגיע לכיכר רבין.
  
  נכון, גלעד הפך לשגרה, יוסי נהפך לשיחת הסלון של יום שישי, לשיחה באוטובוס, לכתבות הקטנות בעיתון על זה שהוא חייב כסף לאיזה פועל ערבי, אהה וכמעט שכחתי יוסי לא רוצה סתם להישאר בבית הוא ירוויח מליון שקל,
  
  אז אולי זה ישמע לך מוזר גלעד אבל כנראה שלחופש יש מחיר: למאה יום מקבלים מליון שקל. גלעד אתה מתקרב לאט לאט ל-900 יום ואני בטוח שבעד שום סכום שבעולם לא היית מוותר על החופש שלך יום אחד אחרי מה שאתה עובר. ובוא נהיה מציאותיים, גם תעבור, ואני שואל את עצמי ואת אלוהים מי ישתחרר קודם יוסי או גלעד? זה שרוצה להישאר, וזה שרוצה לצאת, ההבדל הקטן שכנראה למעלה בכנסת ,לא מבינים שהחיים שלך זה לא תוכנית ריאליטי.
  
  זה עצוב גלעד, כי בדיוק עכשיו, זמן רב אחרי שהמפקד הקודם שלך [דן חלוץ] התחלף, עומד עכשיו להתחלף גם ראש הממשלה , אך למרבה האכזבה והצער והכאב של אנשים רבים כמוני, לא נראה כי אצלך יהיה שינוי כלשהו בזמן הקרוב.
  שאלוהים יעזור לך ולכולנו
  
  copied from a facebook site.. basically comparing gilad shalit to yossi bublil from the israeli big brother series.. the saddest part is how israelis are so busy smsing for their favourite big brother contestant and gilad shalit's demonstrations are lacking participants.. what have we become..
  
  
  you're in my heart little brother - i promise you..
• November 23, 2008
• 3:42

  have a great week..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  will be out of town tomorrow and wont get a chance to update the blog.. wishing you all a great week and leaving you with a snippet of my impromptu attendance at a friend's birthday dinner.. watch the magic trick performed by his friend.. who manages to get the pepsi into a glass without moving the glass or the pepsi..
  
  :)
  
  
• November 22, 2008
• 12:12

  a view from the side..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  i dig how amira can see stuff that the rest of us never get to see.. yesterday while surfing all of us suddenly turned our heads to the skies as amazing chains of birds flew overhead - heading south for the winter in perfect formations.. made me wonder if we are safe from war for another few seasons.. they say the wars here only happen in the summer..
• November 20, 2008
• 10:44

  names names..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  at some stage the people stop caring what you call it.. i remember the fading away of the second intifada.. we only really heard that the intifada was over when the palestinians were threatening a third one.. i remember thinking - when did the second one end?now there is talk of the end of the hudna in gaza.. the delicate ceasefire that brought so much imrpovement to the lives of many but wasnt enough to move the region to the next step of political engagement..does it still need to "collapse"? does it still "exist"? do we really care if it does or maybe we just want things to improve? is anyone asking us?!?!?anyway - someone else who wasnt asked too much other than to confess having spied for israel was iranian blogger - hussein derakhshan .. who has apparently been arrested for blogging.. i want to spell out his name because this cyber speaker is yet another one who has now been silenced by the regimes of this region..his recent posts seem very quasi pro-ahmadinejad.. but if you dig a bit deeper - u may (who knows) spot a difference in approach.. or maybe not..in any event - this too is a name that we should note.. interesting that wikipedia hasnt captured this development.. blogging may seem to some of you like just a chatty chest unloading.. but its a record of the people's voice as spoken by the people.. personally? i think its significant.. so do some others.. as the weekend creeps in - i wish us all a good one.. and hoping that gaza and its surrounds take it easy..
• November 19, 2008
• 12:21

  deafening quiet..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  gaza and its surrounds have had relative quiet for 5 months.. this has now been shattered by palestinian rockets and cross border tunnel digging and of course israeli incursions..
  
  hamas says its prepared to give up the ceasefire but are the people prepared.. one thing is for sure - there is little light at the moment.. while im hoping something changes - it would appear that we are on course to hit some protracted and ainful conflict very soon..
  
  as the winter creeps in - i also worry for those who are innocently trapped in this cycle with its overbearing poverty and inadequate sanitation and hope they manage to survive..
  
  something here is very wrong..
• November 18, 2008
• 18:13

  leave olmert alone..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  along the lines of leave britney..
• 1:47

  i dont know these guys personally..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  but 11,000 sounds like an aweful lot of prisoners for us to be holding..
  
  im not talking about the ones with blood on their hands.. and i mean their hands and not their uncle's brother's sister's dog's cat's neighbour's hands.. so anyway those ones? lets identify them and where we're holding them for no real reason - for goodness sake lets let them go..
  
  looks like our pm olly the wolly has a similar idea and has indicated such to abbas..
  
  one simple rule of negotiation is that where you can give your "opponent" something that is meaningless to you and valuable to them you should use it to bridge your disagreement and create a momentum of "yes".. hopefully we can keep it going..
• November 16, 2008
• 12:26

  moments earlier they were politely eating with cutlery..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  yesterday i went to see a football game in the town of sakhnin.. it was between hapoel telaviv and bnei sakhnin..
  
  
  
  moments before the game we had a civilised lunch at a highwayside diner (only arab style rather than hamburgers) and my friends were using cutlery and eating politely.. within seconds of the game starting everyone turned into animals.. it was bizarre.. there were kids there with fouler mouths than our undertreated sewage in yaffo.. everytime they yelled something aweful i watched them scanning the audience for re-inforcement only to be disappoited by my blank stares..
  
  i met up with a kid who was at sulhita - very cool to see him again.. he is a sakhnini.. native from that town.. when i asked him back at sulhita how he defined his identity that was his response.. i dig it..
  
  
  
  as you can see in the video above there were people at the game who didnt even watch.. preferring to ritualistically orchestrate the crowd.. in fact at some point i couldnt help thinking that the whole thing was a bit too cultlike for my flavour..
  
  nonetheless i admit that i enjoyed the game.. next time i might try hanging in the sakhnini crowd..
  
  plan to go back soon and visit my friends there anyway.. it was fun.. have a good week people.. may gaza and its surrounds chill out a bit..
• 0:24

  sakhnin delicacies..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  
  
  i love sakhnin..
• November 15, 2008
• 1:30

  not in our school - לא בבית ספרינו

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  i dont understand why someone would post such a video on youtube.. how aweful.. i feel bad for that man being humiliated and realise that while this probably happens less than the world thinks it also probably happens much more than we as israelis think.. either way its unacceptable and its good that the army isnt settling for it either.. even if it occured apparently over a year ago..
• 1:25

  want a job?

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  דרוש/ה:
  בוסתן הינו ארגון קטן ללא מטרות רווח העוסק בצדק חברתי וסביבתי דרוש\ה רכז\ת מנהלי. הרכז\ת יהיה\תהיה אחראי\ת על הפן הכלכלי והאדמיניסטרטיבי. המשרה היא לשלושה ימים בשבוע, בבאר שבע והמועמדים מחויבים לגור בבאר שבע או בסביבתה.
  
  אחריות של בעל התפקיד:
  1. ניהול פיננסי: ריכוז כל ההיבטים של ניהול הכספים: מעקב אחר חשבונות ותשלום חשבונות, דוחות כספיים חודשיים ושנתיים (בשיתוף עם רואה החשבון), החזרי הוצאות וניהול קופה קטנה, משכורות, פיתוח וניהול מדניות כלכלית הולמת לכל צוות העובדים והמתנדבים. קשר שוטף עם רואה החשבון, הבנק ותורמים בארץ בחו"ל בעת הצורך.
  2. מנהלה: תיאום פגישות צוות, פגישות הוועד המנהל, הצגת הפן האדמיניסטרטיבי (ניהולי/ מנהלי/ כספי\פיננסי) של תוכניות ופרויקטים (פרויקט סיור והוצאות\הכנסות מתנדבים).
  3. ניהול ועזרה במשמות נוספות במידת הצורך הכוללות קשר ותיאום עם מתנדבים, תורמים וארגונים שותפים.
  
  דרישות התפקיד:
  משרה זו דורשת תשומת לב רבה לפרטים, גמישות, יעילות, יכולת לעבוד על מספר משימות במקביל וארגון משימות.
  
  דרישות נדרשות:
  • נדרש ניסיון עשיר בניהול אדמיניסטרטיבי ובניהול כספים.
  • שפת אם עברית\ברמת שפת אם בנוסף לאנגלית או ערבית שוטפת-יתרון.
  • התמקדות במהלכים כספיים ובמיוחד מעקב אחר עסקאות כלכליות.
  • מחויבות לחזון ומטרות של ארגון "בוסתן" (למידע נוסף אנא פנה/י לאתרנו www.bustan.org).
  • עבודה בסביבה רב לאומית, רב תרבותית ורב לשונית.
  • כישורים גבוהים לעבודה מול מחשב.
  • יכולת הבעה בכתב.
  • יוזמה רבה ויכולת עבודה עצמית.
  
  
  המעוניינים להגיש את מועמדותם מתבקשים לשלוח קורות חיים לכתובת האימייל: info@bustan.org
  לא יאוחר מה- 1.12.2008
• November 13, 2008
• 0:25

  olmert unshackled..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  since his days became numbered our rapidly declining dead-cat-bouncing prime minister has pubilcly let it rip.. first by saying that we need to retreat to the core of our state ie 67 borders and now by decrying the lack of arab inclusion in the public sector.. assuming full responsibility and forgetting that not everyone in our minority groups actually wants to participate..
  
  he has gone hell for leather and in many ways is pushing the paradigms way further than any other leader ever did..
  
  while some will no doubt be wondering if he has gone mad.. i cant help but finally gain some respect for the vanishing politician for finally unveiling his true colours and shedding the career concerns..
  
  he finally is appearing before us as a man of his own mind.. how refreshing..
• November 12, 2008
• 13:01

  grizzly khenin..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  israel yesterday had local council elections nationwide..
  
  as a keen environmentalist - for obvious reasons - i voted for dov khenin.. the other reason i voted for him is because telaviv is becoming a city for the rich only and i have friends who can barely afford to live in the city they grew up in.. that bothers me..
  
  so anyway this morning on galei tzahal radio as a final question he was asked why during rabin's memorial the other day the nation saw his lips remain motionless during the singing of our anthem - hatikva..
  
  in recent years the israeli public has become more aware of the controversial nature of the anthem - not just from a arab | jewish perspective but also within jewish society ultra orthodox jews think it is too secular..
  
  i found it interesting that his empathy with unrepresented groups within the anthem lead him to remain silent.. he did mention however that there are elements that he does identify with and he did say thathe respected the anthem nonetheless..
  
  personally - as a jew who is part yemenite - i think of the first verse of the anthem that speaks of looking east towards israel and i too feel unrepresented.. i didnt look east from australia either :s
  
  election wise the current mayor of telaviv won - while jerusalem lost its religious grip and now has a secular mayor who vowed to focus on unity and harmony amongst its residents and the maintenance of the religious status quo (whatever that means).. i wonder how this may impact house demolitions.. building approvals.. wall construction.. developmental allocations etc..
  
  khenin has undertaken to form a shadow government for the telaviv council and to keep it in check.. and noted that while his opinions are not always popular - where he believes in them he remains true to his beliefs..
  
  this is something that i struggle not to respect..
• November 11, 2008
• 20:56

  i remember..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  as i tuned my radio settings in my new car this evening i came across this and had a slight gush of nostalgia.. back in the eighties and nineties telaviv lived of this station.. sadly it was just an audio grab.. there is a lot of stuff going on today in the news.. but frankly this audio grab took me back - way back.. to a time when oslo was something we believed in.. really..
• November 10, 2008
• 21:08

  this makes for an interesting read..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  blogging can be fun.. especially when yo uget to trace your thoughts from over a year ago..
  
  check out this old post when hillary and obama were still fighting it out..
  
  the bottom line is still: me wait and watch..
  
  where is our fresh air going to come from?
• November 09, 2008
• 13:01

  i had a post..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  drafted it for an hour or so.. but couldnt get it right..
  
  then i came across this through an article in israelity and for the first time this morning i saw a bit of light.. jew and bedouin kids jointly caring for their environment.. pudding to my soul..
  
  שבוע טוב לכולם
  
  and while we're talking about kids.. heres a small clip of two overgrown kids form my work area during lunchtime..
  
  
  
  when they were done leg tangling and roman greco wrestling they proceeded to race eachother across the park and up the stairs.. a lot of people were entertained..
  
  i dont know these people.. for real.. anjad y3ni
• November 08, 2008
• 11:17

  remissilation..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  the ceasefire with gaza is flaking.. we have now been copping missiles for a few days..
  
  "they" say it was because of our incursion and we say it was because they were digging a tunnel into israel - violation of our border - with the view of abducting more soldiers..
  
  this event is the story of the middle east.. we are all "defending" ourselves to death.. anyway i thought in light of the election results in the USA i would share a clip that was shared with me from the bellows of the african american music engine..
  
  
  
  im not going to beit jalla - not feeling well - probably wont make it to the african refugee event i wanted to go to night either.. wishing us all a peaceful saturday and a better week ahead..
• November 07, 2008
• 21:12

  bigger than i thought..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  last week was quite anticlimactic for me..
  
  having commenced a slightly new role at work ive been working very long hours leaving me very little time to do the things i love.. i was planning on attending a peace event this weekend but given the workload i couldnt go today and im hoping ill finish my work tonight so i'll be able to go tomorrow.. thing is that having under-rested i think im getting a bit sick.. so may need to rest it off.. we'll see.. :s
  
  so obama is in now.. and its like ok.. yes we can.. yes we can.. yes we can what exactly? can we fail? can we succeed? i dont know.. whatever.. im waiting to see what this yes we can dude brings.. in addition to a set of californian style pearly whites - not that smiling isnt important..
  
  the news has been shitty - nothing seems to be going the right way - and there have been NO waves.. pure cruelty..
  
  it was with this frame of mind that i found myself straying from the path home from the gym tonight as i was seduced by the sounds of a distant celebration..
  
  
  
  people dancing in the streets and standing around.. at first i thought it was an outdoor wedding? no.. maybe a street event? no signage.. perhaps one of the 45678 mini festivals that spontaneously combust around the country? nahuh..
  
  it was nothing more and nothing less than the opening of a new manicure (however you spell it) salon (whatever you call it).. i didnt realise nails were so big still.. let alone a reason to party.. publicly.. and when "you cant hurry love" is dubbed into french there is not much one can do except giggle and kEEp walking..
  
  שבת שלום y'all..
• November 06, 2008
• 22:33

  ipcri seminar..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  Israeli-Palestinian Workshop on Education for Peace
  
  December 5-6, 2008
  
  Tantur, Jerusalem
  
  YOU CAN DOWNLOAD REGISTRATION FORMS FROM THE IPCRI WEBPAGE
  
  www.ipcri.org
  
  
  Following the workshops of January, April and August 2008 we are holding the Fourth Peace & Democracy Education Workshop that will once again bring together peace educators, curricula writers, encounter facilitators, peace studies practitioners, conflict resolution practitioners, mediators, and activists from academia, research sector, governmental and community organizations and others from Israel, Palestine and beyond.
  
  The Workshop will be a tremendous opportunity for dialogue, debate and visioning with collaboration and cooperation between the body of theory and practice. The Workshop will be meeting grounds for dialogue and mutual learning from the field of peace education from the viewpoint of academia and from the field of practioners. The Workshop will raise critical issues and acquire new insights into the profound peace education developments in Israel, Palestine and around the world. Furthermore, the Workshop will provide an excellent opportunity to build connections across multi-disciplinary sectors.
  
  This workshop will be organized by thematic tracks. Participants will be able to attend workshops and sessions in any of the tracks but for those who would like to focus more on a specific area will be able to do so. The following are the three tracks:
  
  · Academic Track
  
  · Experiential Track
  
  · Classroom lesson plans and experiences in peace education
  
  · SPECIAL NEW TRACK! ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION - USING THE ENVIRONMENT AS A TOOL IN PEACE EDUCATION
  
  The organization of the workshop on these tracks is based on the recommendations of the last two workshops. We hope that it will enable people to go deeper into the subject areas of their interest.
  
  Registration is open through November 30, 2008
  
  Deadline for submitting abstracts is November 25, 2008
  
  Deadline for Palestinian Permit Requests is November 19, 2008
  
  Participation – Call for Abstracts
  
  IPCRI is calling on potential participants to submit an abstract for making a presentation at the workshop. This is not a formal academic conference therefore; abstracts will be evaluated on a wider basis than the normal academic criteria. We are looking for creative, exciting and innovative approaches to peace education.
  
  Deadline for submitting abstracts is November 25, 2008
  
  Explanation about costs and finances:
  
  Costs, budgets and finances
  
  We have no funding for this workshop. In the last workshop, almost everyone asked for a full or partial scholarship. We will try to raise funds to support scholarships. We cannot promise anything at this point. But our policy is that everyone who has something to contribute and to benefit from participating will participate. Lack of funds will not stand in the way.
  
  We are requesting that everyone pay as much as you can afford taking into account the real costs of this workshop:
  
  The price for the workshop for 2 days, full board, a bed, and the program is 500 NIS (about $145).
  
  The price for the workshop for 2 days, meals and program without a bed is 380 NIS (about $110)
  
  These costs do not include any salary money for IPCRI staff who will be working hundreds of hours preparing and planning the workshop.
  
  We have no funding for this conference. We are asking everyone to pay something. The minimum payment is 100 NIS. We hope that most people will be able to cover their full expenses. We will be glad if you can pay MORE than the full cost so that we can sponsor more people who are not able to pay the full costs themselves.
  
  PAYMENTS
  
  Payment should be made at the time of registration –
  
  HOW AND WHEN TO PAY:
  
  We ask that you pay when you send us your registration forms, preferably before you arrive at the conference. Please pay in one of the following 3 ways:
  
  1) Print and fill out page one of this form and send it to IPCRI with your check for the amount that you are able to pay. Our mailing address is:
  
  IPCRI
  PO Box 9321
  Jerusalem 91092
  
  2) Fill out page one of this form and send it by email to sasha@ipcri.org and pay online:
  
  http://www.ipcri.org/donate.html
  
  Please indicate on-line that the payment is for the Peace Education Workshop on December 5-6, 2008.
  
  3) Come to the IPCRI office in Tantur or send your payment in cash or check to the IPCRI office with your registration form.
  
  Sleeping arrangements
  
  We only have 90 beds in Tantur. We need extra places for people to stay over in Jerusalem.
  
  Please indicate on the registration form if you need a bed or if you have other arrangements.
  
  Please also indicate if you have extra places at your home in Jerusalem for people to stay over.
  
  Palestinians who need permits
  
  Palestinian participants who require a permit to enter Israel should fill in the Request for Permit Form and submit it together with the Registration form.
  
  Deadline for Palestinian Permit Requests is November 19, 2008
• November 05, 2008
• 9:04

  may he bring better times..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  source
  not sure what he really wants to achieve but i know that he ran an elegant almost regal campaign and i know that all of my friends from the usa were flushed with hope because of this man.. may this hope not disappoint..
• November 04, 2008
• 20:44

  any old excuse will do..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  so has hizbulla found a new excuse for war?
• November 03, 2008
• 17:32

  this isnt even real..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  
  and it disgusts me.. how aweful is this vision.. i wish that no person ever have to go through or see this as a real situation..
• November 02, 2008
• 12:42

  and then i woke up..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  i went to the local medical centre in yaffo today for some standard checks.. i like to go once every few months.. we only pay $1.5 or so in israel for every quarter that we (actually) attend the medical centre.. so i like to go to keep current with my medical information..
  
  the place was packed to the hilt with people waiting for checks.. my number was 506 and the person being served had ticket 473.. i waited for roughly 30 minutes.. seemed reasonable in the circumstances.. a lot of people going in for flu shots (free for members of the centre)..
  
  amhari.. jaffan arabic.. hebrew.. russian.. french and english all blended into a soft murmur.. it wasnt loud.. it was calm and quiet.. i suddenly felt a sense of deja vu.. reminded me of my days in australia when people of all different backgrounds would wait in various public sector buildings..
  
  a conversation was initiated between a head cover wearing arab lady and her israeli cobencher.. the arab lady spoke very current hebrew - deploying the most up to date slang and intonation.. their conversation was hilarious..
  
  the arab lady was saying..
  
  "i love our country.. its the best.. we think its expensive but it really isnt.. when i was in italy [btw she didnt seem rich or anything] i bought a salad and for 10 euro they gave me half a lettuce leaf a slice of tomato and a bite of cuccumber.. aHand.. only THREE!!! olives.. here? here they would give me a kilo! walla i love our country".. she was so funny..
  
  every person who came out of the test room who made eye contact was then sent off with wishes for an amazing week by this same lady..
  
  suddenly one of the medical centre workers noticed an unattended plastic bag leaning near the counter on the floor.. she asked who's it was and no one replied.. her tone immediately firmed (we're sensitive to suspisious objects in israel) and the air suddenly became thick..
  
  a smiling arab lady skipped back across the floor apologising and stating that she heard the question from the other side of the level.. nothing happened.. no big deal or drama.. but the deja vu was kind of over..
• November 01, 2008
• 16:56

  homework..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  these are the two songs i need to start learning for the arab jewish band in yaffo..
  
  
  
  
• October 30, 2008
• 16:33

  breather..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  the sunset i saw yesterday after surfing.. what a great evening..
  also ive joined a band in yaffo through the jewish arab community centre with jews and arabs in it.. looking fwd to making some cool sounds with them..
  
  the next few posts are a bit heavier.. take another breath before continuing :)
• 16:17

  "hell" breaking loose..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  click to enlarge - the $250M complex is supposed to look amazing..
  a fiasco has errupted over the construction proposal of a coexistence centre in mamila - a swanky renovated area in largely jewish west jerusalem just near the old city.. during excavations it was discovered that a small part of the site was previously a muslim cemetary.. strange situation.. obviously.. some links for your viewing on this matter:
  
  organisation seeking the development
  
  jpost's article about it
  
  please become informed before you rush to conclusions.. these situations are often quickly manipulated for political ends.. its obviously already happening here.. If you have something to say about it - Dr Gershon Baskin has sourced the contact details for some relevant individuals reproduced below:
  
  President Marvin Hier, Dean, Wiesenthal Center
  Fax: +1-310-553-4521
  email: information@wiesenthal.net
  
  President Shimon Peres
  Fax: +972-2-567-1314
  email: president@president.gov.il
  
  Prime Minister Olmert
  Fax: +972-2-670-5475
  email: pmo.heb@it.pmo.gov.il
  
  Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni
  Fax: +972-2-530-3367
  email: sar@mfa.gov.il
  
  Mayor of Jerusalem
  Fax: +972-2-629-6014
  email: mankal@jerusalem.muni.il
  
  Sfardi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi Shlomo Amar
  Fax: +972-2-537-1305
  email: rabbis@rabbinate.gov.il
  
  Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rabbi
  Fax: +972-2-537-7872
  email: rabbia@rabbinate.gov.il
  
  President Mahmoud Abbas
  Fax: +970-2-240-9648
  
  Prime Minister Salam Fayyad
  Fax: +970-2- 295-0970
  
  Foreign Minister Riad Malki
  Fax: +970-2-240-3372
  email: mofapal@gmail.com
• 14:40

  fence!(?)

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  a very interesting read..
  
  The fence, revisited By Moshe Arens
  Tags: security fence, Israel News
  

  Is it out of habit or mental lassitude that we continue to build the fence, which was begun many years ago? It continues on its weary way, meter by meter, costing billions, causing anguish to many, damaging private property, keeping the High Court of Justice occupied with the complaints it arouses, stirring demonstrations against it, and keeping the Israel Defense Forces busy. Does anyone still remember what the original purpose was of this physical obstacle, hundreds of kilometers long, stringing across the country? Who is taking a second look to see whether it really serves its intended purpose?

  Many of us prefer to forget those terrible days when Palestinian suicide bombers were roaming through our cities and murdering Israeli citizens daily. It was in thosestressful days that the cry went out: "Keep them out! Build a fence, no matter what it costs! The fence around the Gaza Strip works, and we need a fence like it around Judea and Samaria!"

  Then-Shin Bet head Avi Dichter said we needed such a fence, and Haim Ramon accused those who opposed it of being dinosaurs prepared to endanger human lives for the sake of their outworn ideologies. No politician could withstand this pressure. A human life is worth everything, and if it took hundreds of kilometers of fence to save one, so be it. Besides, this fence was supposed to separate Israelis from Palestinians once and for all. So this humongous, unprecedented project began, and it has continued on its not-so-merry way, winding over hill and dale, ever since. Palestinian terrorism from Judea and Samaria has in the meantime been defeated, our streets and buses have become safe again, but the fence project seems to have assumed a life of its own. Advertisement Billions are still being spent, our beautiful country is being defaced, great anguish is being caused to tens of thousands living in the vicinity of the fence, and it is high time that we ask ourselves whether this fence serves any useful purpose. Is it the fence, far from completed, that is keeping terrorism out of our cities, or is it the presence of the IDF in Judea and Samaria? There is good reason to believe that it was the IDF's entry into Judea and Samaria, after the Park Hotel massacre in Netanya on the night of the 2002 seder, that largely ended the terror, and that the IDF's continued presence in Judea and Samaria is still Israel's primary defense. Without that presence, terrorism would be striking cities in central Israel. If that is the case, the fence is worse than useless. It is no more than the product of momentary hysteria and a Maginot-line mentality that seized some of our politicians, who deluded themselves into thinking that terrorism could be "fenced out."

  But what happens when the IDF's presence in Judea and Samaria is no longer necessary? Will we need the fence then, and should we therefore continue building it for that eventuality? That hardly seems a reasonable course of action. The IDF will not withdraw from the area until the danger of Palestinian terror has passed, and then no fence will be necessary. Continuing to build the fence is a waste of time and money, and only breeds anger and hostility. In this case, the fence does not make for good neighbors.

  But some will argue that the fence around the Gaza Strip works. Well, hardly. The terrorists have found ways of outwitting our politicians. Terror is coming over and under the fence. That fence did not stop the Qassam and Katyusha rockets from raining on Israel's citizens in the south. The fence did not keep the Olmert government from finally surrendering to this terror and agreeing to a cease-fire with Hamas in Gaza. And the same thing will happen if the IDF withdraws from Judea and Samaria before the terrorists there finally have been uprooted. The fence will not keep terror away. If not controlled on the ground, it will return to Israel's cities - it will come over and under the fence.

  Some of us want the fence not in order to keep terrorists out, but to keep Jews in. Or, in other words, in order to keep Jews out of Judea and Samaria ("the occupied territories"). But that will not work. The British tried to keep Jews out when they blockaded Mandate Palestine's shores and pursued the MacDonald White Paper policy to prevent Jews from purchasing land here. It didn't work. Nor will the fence.

  The time has come to take a good look at this outlandish project. Does it make any sense to continue building it? And maybe we should begin considering dismantling what has already been built. Do our politicians have the courage to admit they made a mistake?

• October 29, 2008
• 17:08

  mirror mirror..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  so who are we fighting?
  
  who are we?
  
  who?
  
  hmm.. good questions.. well i have actually heard about this before and it kind of makes sense.. but many palestinians apparently do derive from the original inhabitants.. us? maybe..
  
  apparently when we were banished from the land not everyone was cleared out.. only the influential people and their possies.. a lot of people were still left here.. most of which ultimately converted to christianity and then to islam..
  
  but not all..
  
  haaretz - through the story of 4 palestinians - opens a can of worms that our conflict has largely neglected.. could it be that we are fighting "ourselves"? and that the "other" is nothing but our reflection in the mirror?
  
  i recently chatted to a phd grad of geneology who strongly supported this theory ie that palos and jews are one people.. something to do with halpotypes etc.. i'll leave it up to her to comment if she so pleases..
• 10:23

  stirring nostalgia..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  israeli soldiers have been reported in haaretz news to be helping palestinians harvest their olives.. lets dump for a moment the symbolism of olives as well as the interesting "mental" impact of identifying your purpose in the army for each soldier involved..
  
  apparently - as my dad tells it - there were times when israeli soldiers were greated warmly yes even by palestinians..
  
  isnt it amazing how a "small thing" like this can change some people's perceptions..
  
  by the way a guest of mine from rosh hashana brought me 5 huge tubs of olives and i have been binging on them ever since - i wonder if any are from the territories.. and another btw - the waves at the moment are sensational..
• October 25, 2008
• 15:46

  the hills are alive..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  poster saying: judea and samaria - the story of every jew..
  i saw this sign on the back of a bus yesterday.. i was confused by what it meant.. last night at my mother's place i saw a tv thingy about it and managed to grab the phone in time to record part of it - reproduced below for your pleasure.. apologies to those who wont understand it because its in hebrew.. but i think its an interesting message..in short - the media mocks the campaign as an overstretch of biblical references to an area that has now become largely and predominantly associated with the narrative of settlers.. the media piece tends to suggest that israel is not interested in this tale.. i think that while this may represent the media itself as an intellectual fine tuned western crafted institution im not sure that the whole country feels this way.. this is also however an interesting insite into the media's treatment of recent events in the west bank / judea & samaria.. nothing quantitative though - only qualitative.. take it as a view rather than a statement of israeli public opinion..
  
  
  so anyway - yesterday was also interesting because my dad fought in the same six day war that was responsible for the capture/liberation of these troubled lands.. and yesterday it was my father's birthday.. its been seven years since we last saw eachother.. last year i posted about the passing of 6 years..maybe ill see my dad this year.. who knows..wishing you all a great weekend - שבת שלוםoh and happy diwali too as it approaches early next week!
• October 24, 2008
• 3:14

  little persian..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  i dont know how i missed this one.. story of an iranian boy with cancer who has been permitted to enter israel for medical treatment.. check out what the head of the hospital had to say about it..
  
  btw its not the first time people from adversarial states have been treated.. according to a reliable source we have treated hizbulla fighters captured as well as failed suicide bombers..
• October 23, 2008
• 21:43

  mona and blogging..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  
  
  never thought of myself as a content aggregator but sometimes theres interesting stuff out there.. i really dig mona's blog and follow it periodically..
  
  shall be making putting some original stuff up soon.. but in the meantime..
  
  part 2
  
  part 3
• 16:03

  and yet another..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace

  From: David Lehrer (AIES) [mailto:david.lehrer@arava.org]
  Sent: Monday, October 20, 2008 14:16
  To: 'foreign@sfchronicle.com'
  Cc: Gershon Baskin; 'Libby Friedlander'; Hannah Schafer (AIES); Sharon Benheim (AIES)
  Subject: Letter to the editor
  
  To the Editor of the San Francisco Chronicle,
  
  Your article entitled "Few results seen from Mideast teen peace camps" published on October 19th, does not represent the reality on the ground. There are numerous non-governmental organizations (NGO's) doing critical work here in the Middle East which allow Palestinians and Israelis the opportunity to work towards the common goals of an end to the military occupation in the territories and a peaceful resolution of the Arab Israeli conflict. The activities of the NGO's engaged in reconciliation are laying the ground work for trust and partnership in a renewed Middle East.
  
  I cannot speak for all NGO's in the region but I can speak for my own organization, the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies. The Arava Institute is the premier environmental teaching and research program in the Middle East, preparing future Arab and Jewish leaders to cooperatively solve the region's environmental challenges. Together, faculty and students are advancing a critical common cause: a sustainable future for the region’s human and natural resources. The institute, located on Kibbutz Ketura in Israel, was founded in 1996 as a center for environmental leadership in the Middle East and since then has hosted Israelis, Palestinians, Jordanians and students from around the world in an academic study program now accredited by Ben Gurion University. There are over 500 graduates of our program. We are in contact with about 400 of them through our Arava Alumni Peace and Environmental Network (AAPEN). The alumni network hosts an annual alumni conference and sponsors workshops, internships and numerous grassroots trans-boundary environmental projects that the alumni themselves have created. At the Arava Institute, we are teaching students to speak a new language of trust and understanding between Arabs and Jews. Our alumni are carrying this message back to their home communities and given enough time and resources, will change the face of the Middle East.
  
  The Middle East is not an easy place to work for peace. For every two steps forward, there is one step backward. Governments, both locally and world wide have failed to bring peace to the region. So far, neither have the non-governmental organizations but with enough time and resources, a true grass roots approach that trains and empowers future leadership on both sides can lead to the breakthrough we are all praying for.
  
  David Lehrer-Executive Director
  Arava Institute for Environmental Studies
  Kibbutz Ketura, Israel

• 16:01

  and another..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  thanks gershon for providing this one too..
  
  

  Dear Gershon,
  
  Thank you for forwarding this.
  I would be interested in seeing the actual study, how it was conducted, etc. I am currently writing my dissertation, a survey of long-term peace-building participation by hundreds of Israeli and Palestinian graduates of Seeds of Peace programs. I have work yet to do before releasing my findings, but I can certainly say even at this point that my findings are quite different from the results of this study, at least as represented in this article.
  
  The article contains one important statement that is absolutely, verifiably, false. The article asserts that these programs have not produced a single "prominent peace activist." In fact, there are numerous graduates of SOP (and other international programs like Building Bridges for Peace, not to mention the many indigenous dialogue programs such as Neve Shalom/Wahat A-Salaam) who are, as adults, working as staff or trained facilitators for peace-building NGOs or volunteering in peace-building and cross-conflict initiatives. Graduates of Seeds of Peace and of Building Bridges for Peace have or are working or volunteering as adults for SOP, BBFP and similar programs, as well as for Peace Now, Search for Common Ground, Just Vision, IPCRI, student activist coalitions and dialogue programs at universities in Israel and abroad. Numerous graduates of these programs have gone on to obtain advanced degrees in the Conflict Resolution and International Affairs fields.
  
  In addition--at least among SOP graduates, with whom I have worked and studied for many years--the rates of follow-up participation are starkly different than those cited from this study. I don't know how the study's authors managed to select a group of graduates in which 93% had no follow-up participation, but they would have had to be quite "selective" indeed. Over the first ten years of the SOP program's existence (1993-2003) approximately half of the program's 826 Israeli and Palestinian graduates participated in some of the many hundreds of follow-up activities, and more than 25% of them remained actively involved in 2003, years after their initial trips to SOP summer camp.
  
  I am not attempting to present some sort of airbrushed portrait of unqualified success. The organizations I worked for and studied have repeatedly faced crises brought on by the ongoing occupation and escalating conflict, and by their own internal management issues. They also face a constant campaign of de-legitimization within both Israeli and Palestinian communities, but especially in Palestinian society. Just as there are numerous graduates involved in dialogue and cross-conflict activism, there are also numerous graduates who are not, and some who are stridently opposed. But the opposition is nowhere near the unanimous voice portrayed in this piece. While the study to which the article refers is correct in a general sense in its portrayal of significant resistance in Palestinian society to encounter programs and other forms of dialogue with Israeli Jews, its utterly bogus statistical claims make it seem more a part of that de-legitimization campaign, rather than any kind of scientific research.
  
  Ned Lazarus
  American
  University

• October 22, 2008
• 13:31

  response to previous post..

   » ‎ East Med Sea Peace
  received this email today as a response to that article..
  
  

  From: Erin Breeze erin@s-c-g.orgDate: Tue, 21 Oct 2008 13:42:55
  -0600To: 'Melodye Feldman' melodye@s-c-g.orgSubject: SCG response to San Francisco Chronicle
  ArticleDear Friends and
  Colleagues, We wish to express to you our deep concerns about the article published October 19th in the San Francisco Chronicle by Matthew Kalman titled Few Results from Mideast Teen Peace Camps. Based on one unpublished report commissioned by an unidentified donor nation funding one specific Palestinian youth organization, (Pal Vision), the article makes the sweeping claim that programs bringing together Israeli and Palestinian teens have been “a waste of time and money.” We find the widespread claims this article makes about an entire arena of organizations and programs based on such limited evidence surprising, particularly from a newspaper of this stature, and we are concerned about the negative effect such an article may have on the important work being done by our organization and similar organizations around the world. We are therefore sending a letter to the editor to express our concerns and provide a much needed response to Mr. Kalman’s claims to set the record straight. Seeking Common Ground (note: not to be confused with the Washington D.C. based Search for Common Ground; www.s-c-g.org) is a non-profit organization based in Denver, CO, that works with teenagers from conflict regions worldwide. Our flagship program, Building Bridges for Peace (BBfP) brings together Israeli, Palestinian and American teens from diverse backgrounds from throughout Israel, East Jerusalem, the West Bank (Gaza prior to 2000), and the United States, through a yearlong leadership development and peacebuilding program. BBfP begins with a 2-week residential summer intensive (camp) held in Colorado followed by a follow-up program conducted in the region.
  After 15 years of BBfP best practices and a wealth of anecdotal success stories, we have recently completed an unprecedented objective assessment of the program and its impact on participants. With a grant from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), we have undergone a two-year pilot study, including evaluation conducted by outside evaluators from the University of Delaware and the University of Denver – the results of which clearly refute the claims Mr. Kalman makes in his article. This research, which is currently being compiled in a final report* that will be published and widely disseminated in December of this year, shows that as a result of their participation in the BBfP program:
  Participants form friendships with the ‘other’ and alumni often maintain them over time (by email, phone, and, when possible, in person); Participants develop positive attitudes of the ‘other’ and alumni report influencing family members, peers, and colleagues to meet and work with the ‘other’ – including recruiting them to take part in BBfP or similar programs; Participants and alumni gain concrete communication and dialogue skills that they report using with friends, family members, and in their communities to build relationships and resolve problems; Participants and alumni report gaining a new way of thinking about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict including greater empathy for and understanding of the perspective and experience of the ‘other;’ Alumni report feeling more empowered to take action in their communities, pursue educational and professional goals, and apply what they had learned at BBfP in these pursuits; Participants value the follow-up program and alumni seek opportunities to stay involved with cross-community peacebuilding work after their participation has ended; Participants and alumni find hope that there is an alternative to the current status quo in the
  region.
  Clearly, all of these conclusions contradict Mr. Kalman’s assertions. Among the many damaging claims made Mr. Kalman, we take exception with the following points: It fails to acknowledge that there are many different types of programs with different approaches and methodologies, goals and outcomes. Nor does it acknowledge other research and evaluation in the field.
  It faults what it calls this “peace industry” as not successful by the measure of failing to “produce a single prominent peace activist on either side”. Most people-to-people programs are not seeking to produce peace activists per se but instead to impart communication, leadership, dialogue and other skills and to build relationships, reduce negative stereotypes, and improve attitudes and understanding between adversaries. The article’s use of this measure minimizes the importance that these programs have had on imparting precisely these skills to many young people who are emerging leaders in various fields necessary to the construction a of healthy, vibrant and peaceful society: education, the sciences, business, media, etc.
  It fails to identify the methodology of the research Pal Vision conducted stating only that the results the report claims are based on 400 ‘surveys’ of Palestinian participants and counselors. No details of the type of survey design and analysis and who conducted the surveys is shared.
  Furthermore, only three organizations are named among those presumably evaluated: Seeds of Peace, Kids for Peace and Breaking Borders. It offers no evidence to support