I believe in the goodness of human beings and in our ability to transcend above and beyond our painful history to find ways of coping and healing. Over the past two years there has been growing skepticism about the impact of people-to-people projects, especially among the young generation. It is extremely challenging to find people from both sides who are interested in meeting and listening to one another. People are tired of even talking! The cynics say we have tried negotiation and dialogue for over fifteen years, and it has gotten us nowhere. The other side is not genuine and does not seek peace. Yet these voices do not recognize that we have also tried force and violence for over fifty years, and that, too, has gotten us nowhere.

As Israelis and Palestinians we have been living in a cycle of violence for so long that each side’s sense of victimhood has only become stronger with time. Both sides have constructed a narrative that is rooted in this sense of victimhood and righteousness – a narrative that dehumanizes the other; we are the good people, they are the bad ones, we seek peace, they seek war, we are the victims and only defend ourselves against their aggression, we stand alone and the entire world supports them, etc. Both narratives have been created to bolster our sense of victimhood and righteous cause.

As a result of this sense of victimhood, our brains and senses become selective. We see the world in black or white, right or wrong, with us or against us. We become increasingly judgmental and only speak the language of “facts” and the only “truth.” Interestingly, we only see what confirms our narrative and pre-constructed worldview. Throughout the years of my work in the field of peacebuilding, I have been struck by the level of ignorance and negative images both sides have of one another.

Setting Aside Stereotypes

Palestinians and Israelis from all sectors and spheres must meet each other to change these stereotypes and behavior of prejudice. Teachers must collaborate to create a dual narrative that acknowledges each side’s connection to this land, and to present a more human story of the other to the next generations. Business people must find ways where both nations can build on their capital so that communities might prosper. Journalists and media people must find ways to present constructive stories that help people become hopeful and realize the other side’s dignity. Politicians must work to find creative ways to find a proper political framework and solution that address  the needs of all sectors and parties. Religious people must meet to find ways to prevent this conflict from becoming a religious one.

When the two sides come to the table, Israelis come to build a personal relationship with the Palestinians as if the occupation does not exist, and Palestinians come hoping such a meeting will end the conflict and overlook the impact of building a personal relationship. Palestinians fail to understand the collective fear experienced by Jews, and Israeli Jews fail to understand the Palestinians’ sense of loss and pain as a result of the Nakba [“catastrophe” in Arabic]. Both sides seek acknowledgment of their feelings of loss and pain. This is what any dialogue process tries to address. It tries to provide a safe space for the parties to discover the other’s humanity and have their identity needs (i.e. recognition, acknowledgment, and dignity) met.

Unlearning Hatred

Interestingly – and this is the good news – individuals and groups that engage in dialogue programs do have a positive shift in their attitudes. However, the bad news is that this shift is not sustained beyond the encounter (or the life of the project). Also, the change does not go beyond the individual to impact on the surrounding. It is naïve to believe that people will have a positive and sustained shift in attitude from one or two encounters. It is very easy to hate, and is even natural in such an intense environment. It is too painful to engage with the enemy and try to unlearn years of hatred and fear in order to trust and listen deeply. If it took people years to learn and experience fear and hate, how many years do we need to replace it with courage and acceptance?

For people-to-people encounters to succeed, they must take place within a political framework or process. The absence of such a process leaves most dialogue encounters sorely handicapped, and they fall short of having a larger impact on both societies. Relationship-building projects must coincide with progress on the political plane; otherwise the positive impact that such encounters may have will regress with the next escalation or increase in violence. Nonetheless, this does not mean we should wait for the resumption of negotiations in order to legitimize people-to-people encounters. People must meet and continue to dialogue. We need to increase the level of exposure Palestinians and Israelis have for each other, especially in light of the separation between the two peoples, and the filtered and biased news.

During the past year Palestinians witnessed an increase in so-called “anti-normalization” voices, which try to pressure and sometimes prevent Palestinians from meeting with Israelis. Despite my understanding of the rationale my fellow Palestinians try to present here (i.e., not to show that we have a normal relationship with Israelis until the occupation ends), I disagree and find it counterproductive. I believe Palestinians have a duty to engage with Israelis to get their message across, and counter a narrative that tries to delegitimize and dehumanize them. I have witnessed people change and maintain this change over a long period of time as a result of their exposure to the other narrative.

First Steps

The dialogue process begins with finding the “right” candidate and convincing him or her to engage. This in and of itself is a process of dialogue and unlearning! How do you convince people to join such projects? The personal connection is the best strategy. The core of this work is trust-building, and this involves us as workers in the field. Maintaining and expanding our relationships within and across communities – with the presence or absence of actual projects – is very important, so when the time comes people feel confident and ready to start their journey. It is extremely important to maintain our credibility within our communities and embody our values. Furthermore, people think dialogue programs must only take place between people who have not been exposed to those from the other side, or have negative perceptions. This is true to some degree, but some peacebuilding programs must also aim to energize, mobilize, and recruit active people who are willing to work for the dignity of the “other.”

I have come to realize that having a diverse group (which include people with positive experiences and perceptions of the other) is the best way to accelerate the humanization process. By witnessing the differences in opinions and positions among members of the same group, we can create the first fracture in the generalization and stereotyping of the other group (no longer do all the members of your “enemy” group look the same; some of them are actually good)! This fracture is like a seed that the dialogue process aims to plant and water. Also, those same agents help bridge the gap between the two divides because they can communicate with both sides and model the desired attitude.

Anti-normalization or convincing people to engage in dialogue are not the only challenges we face when it comes to people-to-people projects. The biggest challenge is to help people maintain open channels of communication at times of increased violence. When such incidents happen (i.e. Gaza or the Lebanon War) the dialogue process comes to halt and the goal becomes how to prevent what we have built so far from deteriorating. Sometimes one feels as if we are starting over from square one. And even in the absence of escalation in the conflict, maintaining a positive shift and relationship among group members for a long period beyond the project’s duration is a major challenge on its own.

Peacebuilders Unite!

In order to address many of the above-mentioned challenges (anti-normalization, conflict escalation, maintaining relationships and positive attitude shifts), we as peacebuilders – individuals and organizations – must think big and bold.

First, peacebuilding organizations might benefit from creating an umbrella body that could unify this effort to become more effective and efficient. Peacebuilding groups and organizations would largely benefit from having one voice, and a coordinated focused strategy to maximize their impact within their communities. Changing the culture from competition to collaboration and synergy among organizations and groups (i.e., sharing resources, expertise, and data of best practices and participants) is the best way to have long-term programs instead of short-term projects.

Second, peacebuilding organizations must transform their efforts towards a peace movement in both societies. Their efforts must be seen and heard publicly. The more peace organizations work in the shadow, the more they harm themselves. Therefore, the work must make it to the streets of Ramallah, Jerusalem, and Tel Aviv. Becoming vocal, especially at times of escalation, and taking initiative instead of reacting passively is the best strategy – not only to fill a vacuum that is caused by lack of a political process and filled by extremists and anti-normalization voices, but also to increase and regain the public’s confidence.

Here To Stay

Many people – and I am one of them – believe the two-state solution is almost over. However, this propels us to more engagement as two people to find new ways and solutions. We have no choice but to learn how to live and share this land with each other. We know we cannot defeat each other militarily, and that each nation is here to stay.

As peacebuilders we must not shy away from the challenges we face. We fight for the freedom and dignity of every individual and human being, Palestinian and Israeli, for our generation and generations to come.

This is not a matter of choice; it is a matter of destiny.
* * * *

Fadi Rabieh, who earned his master’s degree in conflict transformation as a Fulbrighter at EMU, is co-manager of the Council of Religious Institutions of the Holy Land, working out of the Jerusalem office of Search for Common Ground. He released this essay on Nov. 20, 2012.

Assessing the situation of Lebanon nearly a decade ago, 56-year-old Fadlallah Hassouna (SPI ’10 & ’11) drew a number of conclusions. First, his generation had generally made a corrupt mess of Lebanese politics and society. Second, more than half the people living with the effects of this were under the age of 25.

Prompted by this reality, Hassouna founded the Development for People and Nature Association, or DPNA, in 2003 to mentor, empower and encourage Lebanese youth to do things differently.

“If you want to build positive change and achieve positive results, you have to build on new human resources, and that’s why I started with the youth,” says Hassouna.

Based in southern Lebanon, DPNA has worked on a wide variety of projects across the country, ranging from civic engagement, entrepreneurship, and peacebuilding to basketball camps. Regardless of the project’s specifics, Hassouna has kept constant focus on the empowerment and development of young people, who represent both his country’s future as well as its biggest resource.

Now preparing to step aside and hand leadership of DPNA to younger leaders with fresh energy and ideas, Hassouna said his biggest achievement is the confidence he now has in some of those young leaders preparing to take over.

Addressing Helplessness

One of the young people mentored by Hassouna is Rami Shamma (SPI ’08), who has worked with the DPNA since 2006. Originally trained as a computer engineer, Shamma has experienced himself some of the obstacles that fuel a rampant apathy among young people in Lebanon. Among these is the “wasta” system, a form of nepotism or cronyism prevalent in Lebanese politics and economic life that rewards family and sectarian loyalties more than qualifications or ability. Also, the simple fact that Lebanese civil society is stifled by entrenched powers discourages youth interest and involvement.

“Before I enrolled in DPNA, I was the kind of person who didn’t care about anything at all,” says Shamma, adding that this perspective was shared by almost all his peers.

Shamma says he was fortunate to become involved with the DPNA when he began assisting his father, who taught computer classes for the organization. Soon thereafter, in the summer of 2006, a war with Israel displaced huge numbers of people within Lebanon. Hassouna, who had gotten to know Shamma, encouraged him to apply for a position with a DPNA emergency relief project in southern Lebanon.

Shamma took the job, and later became the manager of another DPNA project to encourage youth participation in the political process. Because of that effort, nearly 40 youth ran for local office or worked for electoral campaigns in 2010. Several of them won election to public office. The fact that so many more simply participated, however, is even more exciting to Shamma. He currently manages a project for DPNA that develops youth entrepreneurship and leadership skills.

Through his involvement with DPNA, Shamma says, he found new direction and focus in life, which he intends to spread as widely as he’s able. His biggest hope for the future is to see young people talk more, think more, act more; it is both an enormous challenge, he says, and a worthwhile one.

Hopeful Work

Working with young leaders is also atop the agenda for Fadi Rabieh, MA ’08, who oversees the Israeli-Palestinian Leadership Network, a Jerusalem-based program of Search for Common Ground, an NGO that works worldwide on conflict resolution and peacebuilding.

In that role, Rabieh is working on creating a network of Palestinian and Israeli leaders across the various sectors and divides. (One of the participants in this program is Maysa Baransi, SPI ’09; see her story.)

“We are in a leadership crisis in this part of the world,” says Rabieh, whose hope is to create a strong network of creative, engaged young leaders who will help untangle the problems facing Israelis and Palestinians.

One strategy he has been using is pairing young Israeli and Palestinian leaders within each side’s political, religious, business and civic sectors. Often, Rabieh says, these leaders have more in common with counterparts across the border than they do with other people within their own societies.

“They have a group culture – profession – that binds them together. That kind of identity, in my opinion, is sometimes stronger than ethnic identity.”

To facilitate trust and friendship between these leaders, Rabieh brings them together for a variety of experiences, including wilderness expeditions facilitated by the Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding. As they develop relationships with one another, Rabieh continues, they begin to empathize with one another, and conceive of “the other side” in more human terms. Awareness of and appreciation for the surprising similarities that exist among people on either side of traditional dividing lines begins to play a role in the decisions they make as leaders within their respective communities. Gentle nudges from leaders within their various communities, he says, can have tremendous impact on the wider peace process.

“That’s the beauty of working with leadership,” says Rabieh, who has found the work profoundly encouraging and hope-inspiring. “I believe everything is possible. Peace is possible, love is possible, brotherhood is possible. As a result of my work with these people, I have lots of faith in the goodness of the human being.”

Breaking the Cycle

In Ramallah, a Palestinian city north of Jerusalem, Ruba Musleh, MA ’08, is working on a different project to develop entrepreneurship and career skills among Palestinian youth, some of whom may go on to become the kinds of leaders Rabieh works with. As a youth entrepreneurship specialist with the International Youth Foundation, Musleh works to strengthen the capacities of numerous partner institutions that work with young people in the West Bank. Her work includes grant implementation, coaching and training to help these partners provide quality services to youth.

“These are the leaders of tomorrow. These are the people who are going to build and develop Palestine and ensure a sustainable peace [here],” she says.

There has been no shortage of well-intentioned efforts to achieve similar goals over the years in Palestine, Musleh notes. Lack of coordination between the various NGOs working on these projects, however, has been a significant challenge and has led to what she describes as a constant “reinvention of the wheel.” Different groups come in to provide the same trainings and teach the same skills to the same youth over and over, and nothing really changes.

While the project she is working on is new, Musleh says one of its unique characteristics, designed to avoid the pitfalls of previous efforts, has been the development of partnerships with Palestinian entities, including the private sector and universities. By collaborating with private Palestinian businesses, Musleh’s project supports internship programs that develop employability and entrepreneurship skills, while providing practical work experience. Another benefit of bringing in the universities and private sector is to develop local ownership of and accountability for the work that International Youth Foundation is doing. This, she says, is an important way to ensure the work now underway comes to fruition, even if external funding decreases or ends at some future point (See story on p.8 for more on this challenge to peace and development work in the region).

“A lot of work [still] needs to be done in this area, but we’re going in the right direction,” Musleh says.

School vs. Fanaticism

Still other alumni are working with youth at an even earlier age, including Michael Chacour (SPI ’08), executive manager at the Mar Elias Educational Institute in Ibillin, Israel.

The school, which has more than 4,500 students from kindergarten through university, was founded by Chacour’s well-known uncle, Bishop Elias Chacour, and is affiliated with the Melkite Church, a Middle Eastern branch of Catholicism. More than 70 percent of the student body comes from Muslim families. The school, Chacour says, places strong emphasis on cultivating respect for and acceptance of differences among its diverse group of students. In this way, he continues, the school stands as a counterbalance to the forces of fanaticism that continue to divide the Middle East.

“Accept the others as you accept yourself. This is what Jesus teaches us and this is what we teach our students,” he says. — AKJ

(For more information on the history of the Mar Elias Educational Institute, see Elias Chacour’s 2001 memoir We Belong to the Land –The Story of a Palestinian Israeli Who Lives for Peace & Reconciliation, published by the University of Notre Dame.)

“These are the leaders of tomorrow. These are the people who are going to build and develop Palestine and ensure a sustainable peace [here].”

“I believe everything is possible. Peace is possible, love is possible, brotherhood is possible. As a result of my work with these people, I have lots of faith in the goodness of the human being.”

Life in Beirut can be an endless, grinding stress, and to compensate, Rami Shamma (SPI ’08) used to find himself constantly fidgeting with things and shaking his leg. Soon after his arrival on EMU’s campus, though, he noticed a change.

“The atmosphere that is present in Harrisonburg, and in particular at EMU, is one of the safest environments I’ve ever seen in my entire life, in terms of security and in terms of feeling comfortable,” he says. “I felt that there was no stress, and I noticed that my leg wasn’t shaking anymore.”

Shamma says he was amazed and inspired by the way participants at his session of the Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) got along so well despite all the differences between them. Attending SPI, Shamma adds, dramatically improved the way he has interacted with people at home ever since.

Fadi Rabieh, MA ’08, spent a significantly longer time at EMU while going through the two-year master’s program but came away with a similar impression of the atmosphere there – calling it, quite simply, the most peaceful place he’s ever experienced.

His time there, he says, had a profound impact on his worldview, and the relationships he developed were very strong.

“It’s literally like another home. It’s like a family,” Rabieh says.

SPI co-director Bill Goldberg, MA ’01, often hears from participants who are reluctant to leave Harrisonburg, where, in addition to intensive academic study, they have opportunity for respite and are able to recharge themselves away from their often-stressful careers and lives at home.

“There has always been a very conscious attempt to make people feel relaxed,” Goldberg says.

Beginning with meeting arrivals at airports, he, co-director Valerie Helbert, MA ’08, and the rest of the SPI staff try to ensure participants’ arrivals go smoothly. Welcoming events on the first day of each session are intended to create a sense of connection among everyone. Throughout SPI, coffee breaks and two-hour lunches each day are also structured to encourage social interaction. Other activities planned to create a restful, nurturing environment include hikes, yoga, zumba, trips to different places of worship, and interfaith discussions led by the SPI chaplain.

That spiritual aspect of SPI was one of the characteristics Emil El Dik (SPI ’99 & ’00) appreciated most about the experience.

“The atmosphere at SPI is really very warm and helpful. It’s very spiritual. You don’t just learn from the professors. The whole context is rich,” says El Dik, a trainer in peacebuilding, conflict transformation and mediation in Amman, Jordan.

With so many participants coming from a multitude of backgrounds and perspectives, El Dik says the gentle environment that exists at SPI allows classes to transcend cold methodology. Students, he continues, feel encouraged to be authentic and creative – all of which are important for successful peacebuilding and conflict resolution.

“It’s not just about knowledge, theories. It’s about transforming people,” he says. “Everyone there was touched by what we studied. We were transformed.”  — AKJ

SPI 2013 will be held May 6-June 14, 2013. Courses will be announced in late October on the SPI website, www.edu.edu/spi.