JOHN WALLACH’S PEACE STATE

John Wallach once suggested marketing Maine as “The Peace State,” to recognize the achievements of such people as George Mitchell, Ed Muskie and Samantha Smith. The founder of Seeds of Peace, who died this week from lung cancer at age 59, could have added his own name. His camps gained worldwide praise for their difficult work, and he was at the center of making sure they did their part to change the world for the better.

Mr. Wallach was a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter who traded a career in journalism to found the Seeds of Peace Camp after the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. He proposed to Israeli Foreign Minister Shimon Peres that Israeli, Palestinian and Egyptian youth needed a place to meet on neutral ground – Otisfield, Maine. Over the years, this remarkable program has grown to include teens from other areas in conflict elsewhere around globe. This summer, the program includes young people from India, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Rep. Tom Allen, who helped with an annual congressional breakfast for Seeds of Peace campers, said, “John understood that without personal friendships across the gulf of hatred, there would be no path to peace. It is essential to keep faith in his vision despite the current cycle of violence. … I believe that one day, John Wallach’s dream will be achieved and that his campers will help lead the way.”

All of Maine had a chance to hear of that dream when state legislators this spring invited Mr. Wallach to speak before a joint session. Here is a short passage of his speech: at Seeds of Peace. But there is method to the madness. When you spend most of the day having fun, canoeing, playing soccer, learning how to swim or navigate an intimidating ropes course for the first time in your life, and you eat your meals (if they can be called as such) and sleep with the people you have been told are your enemy, you gradually accept them. They no longer are the ‘enemy’ but friends on the same soccer or Frisbee team.”

Rep. Allen has it right: It is essential for Maine and beyond to keep faith in this vision, and it can do so by keeping Seeds of Peace vibrant in memory of John Wallach.