Israelis, Arabs reunite at Maine peace camp

OTISFIELD – While renewing friendships and canoeing on a lake, Israelis and Arabs attending the Seeds of Peace camp this week are keeping an eye on an unfolding story in the Gaza Strip that carries the potential for peace – or violence.

Badawi Qawasmi, a 26-year-old Palestinian, said he is skeptical about Israel’s intent as it pulls 8,500 settlers out of Gaza. But he’s hopeful the withdrawal will lead to better lives for residents of Gaza, a crowded impoverished area of 1.3 million people, and to a comprehensive peace plan and the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

“I hope it’s just the first step,” Qawasmi said Monday. “And I think it’s a good step.”

Liav Hertsman, 25, said Israel is awash in blue and orange ribbons with people displaying blue on their car antennas in support of the pullout and orange in opposition. Hertsman works as a TV producer in Tel Aviv and opposes the withdrawal.

“I think it’s the worst thing that can happen to the region and the Palestinians because they’re not a player in what’s happening to them,” she said.

The tranquility of the 67-acre lakeside camp in the Maine woods was in stark contrast to the events in the Middle East, where Jewish settlers had until the end of Tuesday to leave Gaza. Beginning Wednesday, some 55,000 troops were set to remove remaining settlers forcibly.

While the drama unfolds a world away, nearly 125 former Seeds of Peace campers, now in their 20s, gathered for the first formal reunion in the camp’s 13-year history.

Since 1993, Seeds of Peace has brought together Israeli and Arab teens in a summer camp setting in hopes of moving them beyond deep-rooted hatreds.

The camp has expanded its reach over the years and brought together teenagers from other trouble spots such as Afghanistan, the Balkans, Cyprus, Iraq, India and Pakistan. But the focus never left the Arab-Israeli conflict.

This summer’s weeklong reunion is billed as a “Leadership Summit” where alumni who attended between 1993 and 1999 can reconnect and recommit to promoting Israeli-Arab peace as they enter the next stage of their lives.

About half of the campers are Israelis, with an equal number of Palestinians, Egyptians and Jordanians, and a handful of Americans as well.

Former campers were attending workshop sessions on politics, the media, business and conflict resolution, in addition to traditional summer camp activities such as basketball, canoeing, water skiing or maneuvering the ropes course.

Around camp, they talk about serious matters such as war and peace, but they also talk about everyday things such as life back home, dancing, school and careers.

Standing near the shore of Pleasant Lake, two Israeli and two Egyptian men laughed as they talked about old times and caught up on each others’ lives. A nearby makeshift sign stuck in the ground has arrows saying “Portland 45 miles,” “Jerusalem 6,000 kilometers.”

They are adults now, beginning their careers and finishing up their education, with a different outlook on life than in the 1990s when they were campers.

Yaron Avni, a 24-year-old Israeli who spent time in the Israeli Army intelligence, said the Gaza pullout is a painful time in Israel’s history.

It represents the first time Israel has dismantled any settlements on land captured during the 1967 Mideast War that is claimed by the Palestinians. Many of the settlers have known no other home.

“Still, it’s something we have to do and it’s for the best,” he said.

They’re too busy to trade text messages with friends and family back home or to constantly go on the Internet. So two alumni have been chosen to monitor the news.

Inside the camp office, Hertsman downloads the latest news articles in Hebrew from the Web site of Israel’s largest newspaper, in Arabic from the Al-Jazeera news network, and in English from The Associated Press. She will make copies of the stories and distribute them to others.

It was here in Maine, when she attended the Seeds of Peace in 1994, that she first opened her eyes to and got involved in world events that affected her, she said.

“This is a chance to get back in touch where it all started,” Hertsman said.

For Hani Alser, who attended Seeds of Peace in 1999, the withdrawal could have profound implications. Alser, 21, grew up in Gaza but hasn’t been back home for three years because of travel restrictions on the area since he began studying in Jordan.

He is optimistic that the pullout means he finally will be able to see his parents and the 1-year-old brother he has never even met.

“I hope I’ll be able to go home,” he said. “But I’m afraid this might take a long time, one or two years after the withdrawal, to see my parents.”