Crossing Borders issue 25

In this Edition

A Bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

Volume 5 No. 25 January / February 2005

Look to 2005 Aftermath It Could Be Magic Joint Articles: Istanbul Seminar CB Readers’ Survey

Who Are We

A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

What is Crossing Borders Crossing Borders is an organization based at the International People’s College in Elsinore, Denmark. CB works with Palestinian, Israeli, Jordanian and Arab Israeli partners. CB is a bimonthly regional magazine whose readers and writers are Israeli (both Jews and Arabs), Palestinian and Jordanian youth.

CB is an interactive forum for youth in the Middle East. Articles or parts may be used provided that credit is given to the authors and Crossing Borders.

This magazine has been produced with grant from the EU and the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The views expressed here, are those of the authors and can therefore in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of the EU or the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Executive Board Mr. Martin Selsoe Soerensen, Chairperson, Ms. Anja Gustavsen Vice Chairperson, Mr. Jorn Faurschou, Mr. Simon Bauer, Ms. Mie Roesdahl, Ms. Anne Gyrithe Bonne, Ms. Christine Binzel and Mr. Andreas Bredsdorff.

Executive Secretariat Mr. Garba Diallo, Director Mr. Peter Fitzboger, Cheif of Financial Officer Ms. Nina Maria Klok, Assistant Director.

Contact US Headquarters, Crossing Borders C/O International People’s College, Denmark Tel:0045-49213371 Fax:0045-49212128 e-mail:cb@crossingborder.org Middle East Coordination Ms. Suheir Hashimeh, Palestinian Coordinator.

Mr. Khaled Alshorman, Jordanian Coordinator.

Ms. Olga Paz, Israeli Coordinator.

Mr. Andre Kaldawy, Arab Israeli Coordinator.

ISSN: 1563-28365 www.crossingborder.org

Palestinian Coordinator Ms. Suheir Hashimeh, Jerusalem Times Tel: 00972-2-6286373 Fax: 00972-2-6289078 e-mail: suheirjrs@yahoo.com

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Jordanian Coordinator Mr. Khaled Shorman, Masar Tel: 00962-6-5858748,5815740 Fax: 00962-6-5815740 e-mail: kshorman@nets.com.jo

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Look To 2005 ○

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How the Elections in the US Affect Us

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Letters to the Editor

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CONTENTS CONTENTS

CB Advisory Board Prof. Munther Dajani (chairperson), Mr. Herbert Pundik, Ms. Else Hammerich, Ms. Lotte Lund, Mr. Hanna Siniora, Mr. Jakob Erle, Mr. Mossi Raz, Mr. Greg Newbold, Prof. Najeeb Nabwani and Prof. Eric Markusen.

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Jordan and Israel: Together in Peace? ○

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18-22 Joint Articles: Other Look ○

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What Future is Waiting for Me? ○

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Arab Israeli Coordinator Mr. Andre Kaldawy Tel: 00972-54-5299146 Fax: 00972-4-8120380 e-mail:kaldawy@macam.ac.il Editor in Chief CB25 Mrs. Olga Paz Language Editor Mr. Richard Ratcliffe

The Power of Karate

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Israeli Coordinator Mrs. Olga Paz, Givat Haviva Tel: 00972-46309280 Cell. 00972-547299344 e-mail: opazim@013.net.il

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It’s Not Easy Being Druze

Photos by: Garba Diallo and Nina Maria Klok Front and Back Cover: Eliran Luzon, CB young journalist Layout & Press Production Orientation Ltd. Tel: 00972-2-5818183 Fax: 00972-2-5818203 E-mail: office@orientation.co.il Graphic Design Mr. TawfiK Gazal Annual Subscription Rates (6 editions per year) Individuals living in the Middle East: 30 Euro (40 USD) Individuals living outside of the region: 60 Euro (75USD) Institutions in the Middle East: 60 Euro (75 USD) Institutions outside of the region: 100 Euro (125 USD)

CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

Happy New Year

CB News A New Year. What a great invention, to have our lives in circles. A year starts, a year ends.

New hopes arise.

This 25th edition marks the start of the year 2005 in our Gregorian calendar. It is an edition where we invite you to take another look: another look at the words, another look at the articles, and another look at the conflict.

We definitely do not promise to have any solutions, but we are trying to deal with the problems. We ask questions, we put on the table our frustrations and we allow ourselves to dream out loud for better days for our region.

We say it strongly and unanimously as you can read in these articles where the youth express their dreams and hopes for the coming year.

This magazine is also the first edition since the death of Yasser Arafat, the late Palestinian President. The youth are using this stage to remember and to portray the man who had been on the stage for half a century. Some portrey him as a hero, while others are critical of his legacy. They express their personal feelings about the man who led the Palestinian

EDITORIAL

struggle and their concerns now he is gone.

The joint articles section of this magazine is a result of the Istanbul seminar held between 1821 November 2004. The youth were asked to interview each other, and to describe the major events in their own lives in 2004. You will read that in the Middle East the personal very quickly becomes political, that the political is personal. You will also read a real wish for change.

Throughout the pages we have placed many mind teasers to remind you to take another look, to remind you that what you see is sometimes an illusion, sometimes it can be seen differently if you look again.

Wishing for us all a better year, a year where peace is reachable, and where everyone is able to take another look.

Happy 2005

Olga Paz Editor in Chief CB25

ISTANBUL SEMINARS CB organized two seminars in Istanbul last November, for youth and teacher participants. The youth seminar was a follow up for participants in the summer Denmark seminar. The teachers’ seminar was the second organised by Crossing Borders, and began preparation for the upcoming publication of a CB Teachers Manual. There will be two more follow up seminars in early spring 2005, for teachers in February and youth in March.

EDITORIAL

lookto2005

HAIFA REUNION MEETING CB will organize a reunion meeting for the youth participants from the four sectors in Haifa on 14 January 2005. The meeting will be hosted by the Arab Israeli sector, at the Arab Collage in Haifa.

THANK YOU MORJANA CB would like to thank Morjana Younis for managing the CB Jerusalem office in the past year. We wish her the best of luck in continuing her studies.

APOLOGIES CB Editorial Team would like to apologise to Razan for the frustrations over her articles in CB24. We would also like to apologise to Mai Tahboub and Mais Yahya for mistakenly attributing the article “Steps to the New Middle East” in CB23 to them.

ARTICLE CALL FOR CB26 CB26 is calling for articles on the theme of “The Effects of Technology on Youth Culture.” Articles can talk about the impact satellite TV, mobile phones, sms, internet chat, reality TV etc. have had on youth culture, youth dating, new superstars, new music, new politics, generational differences from parental perspectives, social change etc. Articles might also discuss the advantages and disadvantages of these changes. Contact your local coordinator for deadline details.

VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

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Letters to the Editor POLITICS

CB is not afraid to voice your opinion.

Do you have an opinion about any of the CB articles?

Write to the Editor at: cb@crossingborder.org

Misleading Picture In my article, “THE SECURITY FENCE, WHY DO WE NEED IT?” (CB24) you chose to put a picture that was supposed to be connected to the main idea of the article. Sadly, it was a complete contradiction to the spirit of the article. The main idea of the article was to explain the need for a Security Fence from the Israeli point of view. By putting a picture that brings an opposite perspective, you cancelled the main idea of the article. You took a stand against what the article stands for. “A picture is worth a thousand words”; I wrote only eight hundred.

Dean Solomon

Sri Lankan Maids Rights I think that the way the maids in Jordan, “CAN I HAVE MY RIGHTS, MADAME?” (CB24), are being treated is such a shame. It seems that no matter how bad off we are, there is always someone who is worse off than ourselves. For some reason many people seem to think that they are superior to those who are less wealthy than themselves, and that this gives them the right to treat those others without consideration. People need to realize that despite our race, our ages, and our wealth we are all equal. The people that you mentioned, and others like them, need to realize that it is only through the will of God that they have been blessed with such riches. Instead of being proud and unfeeling to those less fortunate than themselves, they should humble themselves to realize that at any moment they could lose everything they own and end up in same situation as their maids.

Sharene Adawin

Moral Authority As the author of “THE SECURITY FENCE: SO WHY DO WE NEED IT?” (CB24) says no one has “the moral authority to deny our right to defend ourselves.” This right however belongs also to the Palestinians who are on the defensive side, protecting themselves and their occupied land from Israel. Israel is the one who has brought fear and instability to itself by occupying the Palestinians, and by taking away their land and denying them basic human rights. The International court in the Hague declared that the construction of the wall is illegal. Israel however has continued to build the wall. In response to your idea about the wall being temporary I would like to point out that Israel has constructed many settlements, such as Neve Yakov, French Hill and Givaat and Pisgat Zeev, which it claimed would be temporary but have now undeniably become a permanent part of the occupied territory. Why do you think the wall will be different?

Reem Kassis

What we can learn from the X-Men

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The idea of “WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM THE X-MEN” (CB24) may be concealed by the delightful way it was written. The writer states: “In the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there are some Palestinians who want a national solution to achieve peace, X Men, while others believe in violence, Magneto’s team.” Yet the Israelis are not the citizens and the Palestinians are neither the X-Men, nor Magneto’s team. In the X men, a mutant is trying to

CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

make all mutant like him, which is definitely not what is going on in this situation. In this situation, both sides are humans fighting for a piece of land. Neither side is willing to give up, which motivates them to do evil actions. Even though I disagree with the fact that one should base his assertions on a movie or comic made for the purpose of entertainment, I would place the metaphor this way: The X-men are people who are trying to reach a good solution in a loving manner. Magneto’s team are those who are willing to do anything even if it means killing others. The citizens are those people who don’t know really care what happens, but fall in the crossfire.

Shaker Khoury

Teachers Seminar I would like to thank you at CB for enabling me to take part in a very effective conference. I was impressed by the level of the lectures and workshops that were given during the conference. The lecturers were very competent, and the lectures were highly academic. Personally, they gave me lots of food for thought.

I particularly liked those lectures which were relevant to English teaching, for example the lecture on Critical Questions and Critical Explorations offered new approaches relevant to fostering learners’ critical thinking. Also new ideas were suggested concerning introducing CB magazine in the English curriculum. I admired the fact that some inspectors present at the conference authorise its use in schools, and expressed their admiration for the level of the magazine, that the articles that are included in the magazine are well-written and could even serve as a source of extensive reading. I support the practical use of the magazine in English lessons, since it can be used to foster good writing.

The participants in the conference were of different cultures and nationalities, which further enriched the quality of the discussions. Each participant expressed their view in a very tolerant manner, particularly when delicate political issues were dealt with.

I urge every teacher to introduce this wonderful magazine in his/her lessons. I will personally encourage my students to write, for I believe that this magazine can serve as means for enabling students to express their views on current issues that are relevant to them. This fact makes their writing more meaningful.

Loubna Dakwar

What Happened to the Arabs?

When your writer asks “WHAT HAPPENED TO THE ARABS” (CB24), he means how did their power and respect in the world come to an end. As history shows Arabs were the dominant group once, but it decreased gradually, so that no one noticed until recently. The title of this article is a question because it has an answer: because of our governments’ restrictions on people and the inadequate use of our resources. In most Arab countries, society is only broken into two divisions, rich and poor. The middle class is not noticeable in everyday life, due to their emigration to countries that can provide suitable careers for them and their families. These large amounts of people leaving their homeland sets the country back rather than enhancing its future.

Another answer to the question of our misery is the lack of agreement amongst

Sweet Dreams This is a response to the article “SWEET DREAM OF OURS” (CB24), giving a metaphor of the situation in the Middle East. The article describes the Middle East as enchanting beautiful lady that all men fight for. It goes on to describe her as the connector of continents, her eyes as black as oil, and that her red cheeks give an eternal brightness that calls people from all over the world to share in their delicacy. All of these images reflect the Middle East and its quality, or its beauty. The descriptions reflect the black treasure found deep in its grounds, its strategic location, and the desire of the Holy Land. The article states that the three cultures that originated in the Middle East are tearing it apart and destroying it. They are all fighting for this lady and are killing her. If they don’t stop this fighting, they will eventually destroy her. In order for everybody to enjoy her beauty, they must come to an agreement and not break her. When I first read the article I thought that the context given was not true, but when I thought about it a little more the idea of the article became clearer. I thought the article was very well written and I believe that the metaphor given was realistic.

Salem Copty

Bridging the Gap Between Us Hope is the most essential thing for the presence of peace, especially in the Middle East, because many people in this region do not believe that peace is possible. If both Israelis and Palestinians can coexist, the whole situation in the Middle East is going to improve. The political situation will be stable and thus the social and economical situation will go through a huge progress.

Understanding the other side is a very important issue, because both Israelis and Palestinians have much disbelief about the other side and mistrust and prejudice blind them from seeing the human face of their enemy I believe that building friendship between the two sides is the basis for mutual understanding and respect. I believe that the media is controlling at least the political side of our lives because the way the media present their information is the main source that we use it to form our ideas. The problem is that you can scarcely find an impartial media source. The lack of understanding of both side’s culture is a huge obstacle in accomplishing peace. It is hard to communicate to build a friendship with a person when you do not understand his culture. I believe that both Israelis and Palestinians should have a better understanding about other’s culture. I totally agree with the writer that we both have to be more understanding to the other side, and to show more cooperation. In this conflict we have no choice but to coexist and I believe that there is no better choice.

Yazan Abu Dalu

Danish Perspectives I would like to respond to “801 WORDS ABOUT THE MIDDLE EAST” (CB24) where the writer accuses the Danish people of being anti-Israeli. Being a Crossing Borders member allowed me to attend the debate mentioned in the article. I felt that many Danish People who came to participate in the debate left with compassion for the Palestinians. Many things that happened in the debate made this happen and mainly the way the holocaust was mentioned as a sort of excuse for the actions that the Israeli government commits against Palestinians. Although we had a great understanding for the Israelis and the Jews in general because what they suffered during the holocaust, I must say that the way this was mentioned affected the Israeli side negatively. Moreover, whether we agree or disagree with the reasons that led to the situation your writer discusses, we have to admit that there is a huge difference between a person who stands in thoughts and emotions with the Palestinians, and another who is anti-Israeli. Mixing between those two concepts is dangerous, and could lead us to create new disputes and clashes that come out Mais Yahia from nothing.

How to Write a CB Article

Discussing Politics Without Alienating Your Readers Every writer wants to be read.

Yet in Crossing Borders it’s not so easy - especially when your readers think, that just by looking at your name and sector, they know what you’re going to say before you’ve even started, and might be inclined to turn the page immediately.

So how do you keep them interested, particularly if you have some points to make that you think they might not like?

There are no rules for what will alienate any particular reader, and no magic secrets as to what will keep them reading. Below though are some ideas on how to hold your readers’ attention:

Letters to the Editor POLITICS

the Arabs. We disagree over everything, even the date of our religious holidays.

This disunity is why we are not even close to development. There are many ways to push ourselves out of the shell of despair. The most effective plans are the ones with long-term benefits. An example of that is a Union of Arab countries, as it was when we were strong. Another is getting balance in our economy. With only these two things Arabs can get back on their feet again and feel pound of their identity.

Reem Akel

• Tell Stories: Ground your article in real life, and in real people’s stories. Rather than making your political points through sweeping assertions that “there are many cases of [X] in my community.” It’s more interesting for your reader when you tell personal stories, or give your own personal experience.

• Make It New: Think about what your readers don’t know. DO YOUR RESEARCH to share with them facts, stories or personal experiences that they don’t know. Give a perspective that is not common, rather than repeating the standard information, and that makes your points in a fresh way. You can even introduce a stereotype, like “most Israelis/Palestinians think that Israelis/Palestinians are...” You can problematise it by reflecting “It might surprise you, that not all people think like this.”

• Surprise Assumptions: Try to think ahead of your readers’ assumptions about what you are going to say, and try to surprise and challenge them. For example, “You probably think I am going to talk about..., well, I’m not. I’m going to tell you about.”

• Show Empathy: If you want your reader to empathise with the situation you describe, think about showing some empathy yourself. Convey your points as strongly as you can, but try to show some understanding of your readers’ perspectives.

If you want your readers to engage, let them feel that you are talking to them, not preaching.

• Think About Balance: Be wary of sounding too one-sided. Try to give your readers the sense that you are aware of different perspectives, even if you do not agree with them, rather than asserting with black and white clarity that there is only one truth, and that your readers do not have it.

CB 25 Editorial Team

VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

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POLITICS

A Hero Never Dies By: Ashira Ramadan, Palestine

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no wrong. After going through the peace He was one of the founders of the Paless a young Palestinian, I see that Presi process that for the first time led to a tinian Authority, and no one can ever take dent Arafat has been a symbol for the (sometimes imperfect) Palestinian Authorhis place. But we believe that we can cremajority of our youth. When we look at ity on our land and country, it gave peoate new authorities who are able to conhis vivid history of struggle we see in him ple self-esteem and brought the struggle tinue the struggle. Without exaggeration, a symbol of struggle that is worthy of our we are a nation that was brought respect and love. up with struggle and politics.

When I first heard the news that Yasser Arafat had passed away, I He was one of the founders of the Palestinian Our experience as a nation gives us the advantage to re-evaluate couldn’t believe it. I thought it Authority, and no one can ever take his place. things and create new leaderwas a rumour. Because I thought that a man like Yasser Arafat But we believe that we can create new authori- ships, with the knowledge that authorities won’t have an could not be sick; he is invincities who are able to continue the struggle. these easy job to fill. To trust these auble. For me, Yasser Arafat is not Without exaggeration, we are a nation that thorities, we the young generaonly a leader; he is a hero. tion have to work to keep our He was the only one who gave was brought up with struggle and politics national beliefs firm and unite me hope that one day there will the Palestinian people. be a Palestinian state. He was the A lot of leaders and countries one who brought the Palestinian from outside to inside the country. called him a “terrorist” as they call anyissue to the attention of the whole world.

Arafat tried to build a better future for our one who dares to say no to injustice and He forced the world to acknowledge the people. We may differ on his methods, occupation. However we believe that we existence of the Palestinian people. Esbut he was not the only one to make mishave the right to fight for our freedom, pecially in the speech he made on 13 takes. The leaders and the people take difand since Yasser Arafat is one of us, and November 1974 in front of the General ferent levels of responsibility for these miswas our representative, he too had the Assembly of the United Nations, where takes. right to fight and struggle against the Ishe told the world: “I come to you with an raeli occupation and injustice. olive branch, and with a revoluWe are proud of him and we tionary’s rifle, so don’t let the will continue on his path. green olive branch fall from my Maybe some people think that hand. The war will erupt in Palour methods in resistance are estine and the peace will start wrong, but no one can ask an from Palestine.” unarmed and helpless nation to He fought for what every Palesbe silent in the face of occupatinian wants, for the dreams of our tion; for every action there is an freedom. Since 1976 he used equal reaction. every method possible from fightIt seems very hard for me now ing to the peace process. Arafat to imagine Palestine without connected politics and revoluYasser Arafat, without the Presition. He connected between the dent, the father, the teacher, the rifle and the olive branch. He was friend. Whenever I think of Pala clever character who despite all estine I see an image of Arafat, his suffering was able to reserve wearing his military uniform for himself a place in history and and the Palestinian scarf. in the hearts of his people and the This image will stay forever in world. I’m not trying to complemy heart. But the thing that ment him, but to give a well-demade it easier for me was to see served description, positive and the world acknowledge the Palnegative aspects. estinian leader after his death by Did he do wrong in his long hisgiving him military honours in tory of struggle? Yes, maybe there France to the sounds of the Palwere mistakes at times, but we estinian, and French anthems. have to take into consideration Arafat lived and died as a hero, that no one can go through what may God bless his soul. he went through without committing mistakes; only the dead do

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Athar Zaghal

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CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

The Economic Losses of the Intifada By: Mais Yahia, Palestine

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ith the coming of the Palestinian National Authority to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, many development projects took place in the Palestinian territories. These projects were concerned with agriculture, manufacturing, tourism and educational issues. With the assistance and economic funding of many Arab and western countries, these plans improved many areas in the Palestinian cities.

With the start of the second Intifada, Israeli attacks on the Palestinian cities influenced the lives of almost all Palestinians. Aside from the loss of life, the Palestinian economy experienced the loss of most of the economic base that had been established over the previous ten years.

Palestinian and international statistics reveal that public properties worth more than 6.33 billion U.S dollars were ruined during the Israeli attacks. In agriculture

alone, economic losses have reached more than one billion dollars.

Furthermore, during the current Intifada, the Israeli government has enforced strict policies that prevent Palestinian business.

New restrictions include freezing the trade and industrial areas on the Palestinian-Israeli borders, Palestinian truck drivers are prohibited from moving from one place to another, and Israel has disrupted the power of production. These measures have increased unemployment by around 50%, and increased those living under the poverty line.

While financial and physical losses do not describe our situation, nor the memory of lives lost, or injuries received, these financial losses have had a big influence on the spirits and self-esteem of Palestinians. The feeling of watching years of effort being destroyed within a few minutes

by Israeli tanks enlarged the other aspects of our disaster.

A well-established economy is an important base for an independent country. By focusing on damaging Palestinian economic power, the Israeli government is attempting to prevent Palestinians from having their own country without its interference in Palestinian economic affairs.

As any nation in the world, Palestinians always believed in their right to have a fully independent country. Fighting for this right, they found themselves, not for the first time, surrounded by threats and weapons together trying to kill their endurance to work for the sake of their unity and development.

POLITICS

Development in Palestine?

Still, Palestinians did not and will not lose hope. They still insist to keep going on the same way they began years and years ago, despite all the challenges.

By: Kfir Aberman, Israel.

Legend or Nightmare Reflections on the Symbol of Yasser Arafat O

n Thursday, 11 November 2004 Yasser Arafat passed away. Arafat who was the most significant leader of the Palestinian people died after he had been in hospital in Paris for two weeks.

No one knows exactly what was the cause of death except maybe his wife, Suha.

As an Israeli teenager I think that for the Palestinian nation Arafat was not jut a political leader, but also a spiritual leader.

Arafat was the first person to represent the Palestinians and to try to get them their own country. He actually gave them the power and the belief that they have the opportunity to get their territory back. He tried to reunite the Palestinians and to lead them against the Israelis.

He received international recognition in 1974 when he spoke in the United Na-

tions in the name of the Palestinian people. Now, after his death, Yasser Arafat remains a legend in the eyes of the Palestinians.

The same Yasser Arafat, who was a legend for the Palestinians, was a nightmare for the Jews. It was he who started all the terrorist attacks against us. His political tactics caused suffering for both sides, and achieved nothing. This last Intifada which was supported by him caused many deaths. When he refused all the peace approaches, especially those of Ehud Barak and President Clinton, he clinched the destiny of the Palestinian nation. Because of him they are still living in refugee camps and we are still afraid to ride buses.

Who knows what will be next? Hopefully,

the new leader will change the way that Arafat acted and will create a new Middle East.

I visualize the Middle East as described in the Bible, “that the wolf will live with the lamb and tiger will lie down with the kid (young goat), that the nation will raise sword against nation, and it will be the end of all the wars�. I visualize mothers on both sides raising their children without fear and tears.

I hope all the nations of the world will help us arrive at a just peace agreement.

We hope the Palestinians will finally have their own county. And we will be able to share commerce, education, culture, and all other things that normal neighbours do.

Crossing Borders May/June 2004 VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

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POLITICS

Law or Religion?

Rabbis Call to Break the Law W hen you think about religion, you usually think of holidays and costumes and a belief in God. You don’t usually think of laws that stand against the laws of your country. When such laws call on you to stand against the laws of your country, a serious problem is created. It is a danger for a democratic society. It could even lead to civil war.

Israel stands on the verge of such dan-

ger. The Disengagement plan is the reason for this. Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the founder of the plan, intends to evacuate seven thousand settlers and the soldiers that protect them out of the Gaza Strip. The majority of the settlers see the settlements in the Gaza Strip as their one and only home, and they will not evacuate willingly. Therefore the Israeli government has decided to evacuate those who will not agree to its decision by force. It is believed that the IDF and the Israeli police will get the order to do so when the time comes.

When the Rabbis heard about the evacuation order they did not approve it. Rather they ruled that this order breaks a religious law, the law of a complete Jewish land, and that the soldiers should not follow it. They told the soldiers who are in charge of the evacuation process to disobey their orders. This call for mutiny has made a tough mission even tougher.

By: Dean Solomon, Israel

Many efforts were made to fix this difficult situation. The army said that disobeying the order would not be tolerated and that those soldiers who refuse to follow orders would be court-martialed and jailed. The Minister of Justice said that the Rabbi’s call for mutiny would be viewed as incitement.

The army general, Moshe Yaalon, asked the Rabbis to withdraw their call.

The IDF is a non-political body made of thousands of soldiers who act as one. It gets its orders from the Israeli government only. The Rabbi’s call to disobey orders divided the Israeli army into two groups.

That call may make some soldiers break the law. In a democratic state such as Israel, a law is meant to be broken by no one. The Rabbis in Israel are not the rulers of this country and until people understand this, we will have many cases such as this.

Real Peace Not Just Peace on a Piece of Paper

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verybody says that we need peace, but nobody asks how? When we say we need peace, it means that we have work to do. At least if we want REAL PEACE, not just the peace that’s written on a piece of paper.

To have a real peace we need to do many things. First everyone should share responsibility to do whatever they can, whoever or wherever they are. If you are a student, you should study and do whatever you can to address Palestine, to express your point of view, to read books about Palestine, or make reports and activities about Palestine in your school and

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elsewhere.

If you can sing, then you might try to express yourself through song. We have lots of Palestinian rappers, such as Tamer Nafar, a Palestine rapper living in Lod, who uses three languages, Arabic, Hebrew and English. He uses Arabic because it is his mother-tongue, he uses Hebrew to bring his message to the Israeli people and he uses English because most people in the world understand it. Iron Sheik is also a Palestinian rapper who lives in Washington D.C. and makes songs about Palestine, mixing English and Arabic together.

If you are an actor, you can express yourself and your love for your country through films and plays. We have many Palestinian actors who make films and shows about Palestine, the Palestinian people and their suffering under occupa-

By: Sally Shami, Palestine

CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

tion, such as Maison Zaid and Dean Abdullah who are comedy actors living in USA. They have performed in many countries around the world, and were in Ramallah in June 2004.

And now there are a lot of organizations who help us to express ourselves and our love for our country. Palestine teenagers especially need somebody to help us take the first move. These organizations help us now and for the future to become good citizens for ourselves and our society, and to build good relations with people from other countries and especially with Israel.

We really need to make real peace in the near future, and the Israelis need it also.

So, it is not just the fighting, the stones and the war that will bring us peace and give us our freedom. And not it not just the presidents and governments who need to get busy.

POLITICS

Growing Up in a Tough Neighbourhood Challenges to Jordanian Policy After that war, the PLO was established and Palestinians started armed resistance operations against the Israeli forces in the occupied lands. Their base was the east bank of the River Jordan. In 1968 the Israeli forces crossed the river to hit at Palestinians who were launching their operations from Jordan. Jordan was involved in the battle of “Al-Karameh” to get the Israeli forces out of its land. In September 1970 fighter members of the PLO wanted to gain control of Jordan and tried to assassinate King Hussein. This led to clashes between them and the Jordanian army, and the civil war that followed was called “Black September.”

Another case was the 1990-1991 Gulf War and Kuwait crisis during when King Hussein did not join the coalition against Iraq, and about 350,000 more Palestin-

to play in regional politics, particularly as they relate to the Arab-Israeli relationships and the Muslim holy places. Beordan is a small, poor country, geo cause of this, Jordan’s interests and ambigraphically trapped between strong, agtions have tended to exceed its resources, gressive neighbours in an unstable area. and this has contributed to Jordanian forThis is coupled with its internal demoeign policy. graphic problem of having a large PalesThe builder of Jordanian policy was King tinian population (about 60 percent) who Hussein. He ruled Jordan from 1952 to do not see themselves as completely Jor1999. In his time, His Majesty tried to danian. These domestic and external conshow Jordan as a conservative, moderate cerns have occupied the bulk of the atArab state. The problems King Hussein tention of Jordanian policymakers had to handle included the Arab-Israeli throughout the years. dispute, the Palestinian factor, Syria-Iraq Jordan has always been viewed as not friction, Syrian and Iraqi ambitions regardbeing strong enough to direct regional ing Jordan, the Iran-Iraq conflict, and politics on its own. Having many interIraq’s international isolation following the nal problems such as low water resources Kuwait war. In each case, Amman has had and the economic challenges of having to balance its policies as much as possifew natural resources, Jordan has been ble. Yet this has often not worked: hostilforced to rely on outside assistance. This ity between its various neighcauses Jordan to face pressure from bours always forced King Hussein stronger foreign countries and Jordan has been forced to rely on out- to choose, at least temporarily, maintain policies that please them to keep the aid flowing. Amman side assistance. This causes Jordan to one side or another.

Abdullah, the eldest son of King has usually followed a conservaface pressure from stronger foreign Hussein, was named Crown tive foreign policy, including relying on international allies, to maincountries and maintain policies that Prince in January 1999, about two weeks before King Hussein tain its independence and avoid inplease them to keep the aid flowing. died of cancer. A few hours after volvement in destructive wars and his father’s death, he was sworn outright invasion. ians were forced to move from Kuwait and in as King Abdullah II, and as one of the The country has been affected by the Palthe Gulf to Jordan and the United States region’s youngest leaders. He is considestinian cause from its beginning. Jordan suspended its aid program. All of these ered moderate and cautious like his fasupported the Palestinians in the war of events show how clearly the Palestinian ther. King Abdullah II has focused his for1948 and the Jordanian army succeeded cause and the conflict in the region afeign policy on economic issues in Jordan, to keep the West Bank of the Jordan River fects Jordan. along with the Palestinian conflict as he out of the hands of the Israelis. The West The most important policymaker has alsupported their right of having an indeBank was governed by Jordan from 1948 ways been the monarch, from the counpendent state on their land. until 1967, when another Arab-Israeli war try’s first Amir, Abdullah, through Kings Throughout the years, Jordanian policy took place. In that war the Jordanian army Hussein and now Abdullah II. Because has focused on the stability and security defended the West Bank including East of this personal involvement in politics, of the country. Consequently, the people Jerusalem, but it was occupied by the Isand despite or because of the geo-stratehave lived in better conditions than in the raelis. The catastrophic outcome for Jorgic factors mentioned earlier, Amman has other countries of the area despite the dan was half a million additional Palestraditionally felt it has an important role tough conditions the country has faced. tinian refugees.

By: Muhannad Hanayneh, Jordan

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POLITICS

Every Ending Is A New Beginning Three Questions for the New Year T owards the end of the year, large ques tions confront most people in Israel, Israelis and Arabs, Jews, Christians and Moslems alike. These unanswered questions are social, economic and security.

The social problem is in the large gaps between people, which stem primarily from economic problems. In Israel a situation has been created where the rich impose their decisions on the lower classes. There is virtually no contact between the classes; one could even say there is a complete break. The middle and the lower classes feel that they live through a time of difficult struggle.

There is a relationship between low social status and the difficulties in which they find themselves: the difficulty in finding employment, the difficulty in acquiring a profession, the difficulty in providing children with a better education, and, above all, the difficulty in providing food.

More and more, we see on television

news stories about families in dire straits needing help just to get fed.

The second problem is the economic one.

Every new economic plan which Benjamin Netanyahu has introduced has brought people to a state of increasing malnutrition. The plans may have future benefits, but currently they are hard for people. When a common man is in a fragile economic situation, when there is no chance for decent work, a man feels shackled and stifled. More and more, we hear in the media about the adults who cannot support their families. The poverty of these families will certainly influence their futures.

The third problem is security. I believe that if, at last, we solve it, then some of the other problems would also be solved. If we lived in peace, a substantial part of the security budget could be used for other needs such as developing educa-

By: Gal Bachar, Israel

tion for children, for higher education, improved quality of life, and more. We would develop additional places of work by opening and expanding factories.

Therefore as we stand at the threshold of a new year, I wish for a better future. We hope to have a dialogue with the Palestinian people soon, a dialogue that will result in a calmer security situation. We hope that the economic plan will result in signs of recovery and together we will arrive at a better social balance in which sharp class differences disappear.

Why Don’t the Arabs Reunite?

The Arab World Should Build on its History

By: Nasser Barakat, Palestine

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ver the centuries the Arab world has twice saved Europe. Once when the Muslim armies defeated the Tartar tribes who were trying to reach Europe and Africa, and who had destroyed the great cities in Asia and killed many thousands.

Muslim soldiers stopped this evil force from attacking more nations. Second during the Dark Ages in Europe, Islam reached Al-Andalus (modern Spain), and brought with it science, mathematics and religion. These subjects were instituted by Muslim scholars such as Ibn Sina, and ElKhawarezmy. Muslims helped lift Europe from a state of ignorance and darkness

towards its future Renaissance.

With this great history and more, we Arabs should attempt to be a more important nation by developing the sciences and knowledge that our ancestors created.

In reality, we are among the least important peoples, and the world looks at us as useless people, because we are trying to change our culture and lifestyle and maybe even our religion in order to gain the goodwill of westerners and so that we can be modern.

One of the consequences of leaving our good roots is that the Arabs have become divided into groups, ironically at the time when other nations are coming together.

Instead of having one country without borders, we have now 22, with different currencies, nationalities and long rivalries.

We do not look for progress: we buy our food from other nations, we do not manufacture any of our needs, but are consumers of the goods of others.

We have become sick with a disease called weakness. And yet we should not be. We have great wealth in our petrol,

CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

industrial production is growing, and we have a strategic position at the heart of the world.

So what reason has caused the Arabs to reach this point? Do we deserve the governments who have been controlling us for so long?

The solution is that we should rebuild our community with one hand, and live in one country from the Gulf to the Ocean.

hen I was little, back in the sec ond Gulf War, we used to take our masks with us to school. The nuns and teachers used to teach us what to do in case the alarm went off. The nun, wearing her white uniform, would come into the classroom with a whistle. We would line up and go to the big hall, where we met the other pupils.

I remember the nights when the whole family used to sleep in the same room.

The mirror and window were covered, the cupboard full of food and water, and my dad sleeping with the radio on. My uncle who lived in the nearby Jewish town of Nazeret Ilit didn’t keep the radio on. They had a loud alarm system in their town. We didn’t have one in Nazareth or in any other Arab community, but I never asked why.

When the alarm went off, Mom, Dad and I would put the black gas masks on. My younger brothers had different kinds of masks: the older one had a yellow mask with something like an elephant’s trunk. I used to tease him and call him “elephant.” My other brother had a huge plastic bag. He cried as he crawled into it every time we heard the siren.

When I was 10 years old, I was busy with school and friends. When people asked me where I came from, I always said “Israel”, without giving it a second thought.

I used to draw the Israeli flag without knowing its meaning as a Jewish symbol.

I used to stay at home on Independence

Day, without asking why Jewish kids played and had fun that day and I didn’t.

I still remember my parents’ confused faces when I started to ask them political questions. Why don’t Arab adults draw the Israeli flag? Why do only Jewish people have the Israeli flag in their

By: Marianna Khoury, Arab Israeli

fire in the air, a big flame above Nazareth, and an even a bigger one in people’s hearts. Thirteen young Arab Israeli men were killed by the Israeli police. “Their own country” killed them. The Israeli flag I used to draw when I was little became Palestinian.

I felt anger, but not hatred. I still had Jewish friends, and my parents had always taught me how to love, and talked to me about tolerance and patience, about respecting people regardless of their opinions, and giving the chance to express themselves.

I joined a folk dance group. It introduced me to the Arab traditions of where I came from, I was 14 when the second Intifada about what being an started. It was then that I started un- Arab means. And I derstanding. It was then that the ques- learned that being an Arab is not a bad thing. tion “who am I?” needed to be an- As the years went by, I swered. It was then that I didn’t have started thinking about future, about what to watch the news, because the news my I want to do when I came to my town. grow up. I realized that I am limited. I wanted to be free as a bird, to accomplish as much as I can, to use houses? I knew the answer was “because all my energies. As an Arab living in we’re Arab,” but I didn’t know what it Israel, I can’t do that. meant.

I graduated from high school 3 months When I turned 12, I started watching the ago. Three weeks ago I moved to the news. I knew who the President was, who USA. I’m happy here. It’s true that I’m the Prime Minister was and who Arafat away from my land, my people, my was. I was 14 when the second Intifada family and friends, but there are peostarted. It was then that I started underple here from all over the world, with standing. It was then that the question different religions, different skin colours “who am I?” needed to be answered. It and different opinions. They all live in was then that I didn’t have to watch the peace and harmony. I wear my cross and news, because the news came to my speak my language feeling comfortable. town.

Now I draw American flags. The Israeli Nazareth became part of the Intifada. The and Palestinian flags are still on my radio station right behind my house, was mind, with hope that the 2 nations will broadcasting 24 hours a day, covering live in peace soon, and with hope that events in Nazareth, Arrabeh, Sakhnin and the Holy Land will finally turn into the the Palestinian Authority. There was no peaceful place that it is supposed to be. school for 3 days. There was a smell of

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POLITICS

Drawing Flags

VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

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POLITICS

Interested in Elections?

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An Israeli Perspective on the US Elections By: Aviran Buhadana, Israel

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he elections in the US were the cen tre of public interest recently. Before the actual elections, the whole election campaign was characterised by mutual aspersions between the Republican candidate, the serving President George Bush, and the Democratic candidate, John Kerry.

Every candidate had his own beliefs, and each one found the “flaws” in the other, in their reliability or attitudes to controversial domestic issues, such as: the economy, security, religion, and same-sex marriages. The candidates attacked their foes by confronting them with their past mistakes, like changing their policies, or confronting them with what they promised to the nation before they where elected.

The elections in the United States have a significant influence on the entire western world, and everyone around the globe awaited their results. Most people were sure that they were standing before a period of major change, whoever was elected. Were Bush to be elected, he might do things that he didn’t dare before.

It is not a secret that all opinion polls found a definite schism in the nation. Polls were almost even, even though John Kerry won all the televised debates.

The current President has his own way to deal with the world about every subject, particularly apparent in the recent war in Iraq. He declares it was right to proceed with it and even to broaden its spread, despite the objection of the UN. In my opinion, both candidates were worthy, and were both good enough to be the informal leader of the world. I felt that I’d rather see Bush win the elections. I thought that he is more aware of the tender situation in the Middle East, and that he would put an end to this mess.

On Election Day, I was staring at the background of the TV, like every average Israeli teenager. I was stunned by the concerned citizens who voted as though they had never voted before. The picture wasn’t clear until the end. I guess that many people in the US were worried about their situation and were desperate to change it.

Since now there is an old-new president of the United States, I understand that the best candidate won, and that the people of America have had the last word.

I wish the best to us all, for a better tomorrow.

CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

By: Mira Ansari, Palestine

Round Two Bush is Back in the White House

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fter 4 years of presidency under Bush’s leadership came a new American election. Again we had Republicans competing against Democrats. It was a strong campaign between President George W. Bush and Senator John F. Kerry. But the hearts of Americans turned out for their beloved president. So Bush was re-elected and will be leading America for the next four years.

Many events have happened during Bush’s presidency, including 9/11, the war on Iraq, the disarming of Saddam Hussein, Bush’s tax cuts, the economic growth of America. All these and other factors affected the American voters’ decision.

In politics, the main competition between the two was their reaction towards terrorism and their ideas on how to reduce terror in the world. Also there was the question of whether the war on Iraq was a good decision, and what effect it had on Americans. If we compare Bush to Kerry, we find that Bush is more of a military guy than Kerry. The proof is in the numerous votes from Kerry opposing the use of weaponry.

In economics, it may be said that Bush has done a lot to achieve economic growth in America and also made a lot of tax cuts to ease things up on Americans, while Kerry was more convinced in increasing taxes for higher income people.

Security is a very sensitive issue for Americans. They feel a lot safer knowing that their president will be capable of ensuring their security and the security of their country especially after 9/ 11.

Based on these factors the Americans thought that Bush was the best man for this job. So on Wednesday, 3 November, following the elections, Kerry gave Bush a friendly phone call congratulating him. Then Bush gave a well-written victory speech thanking everyone from his family to his supporters. He promised to do all he could to deserve their trust. He also talked about facing the serious challenges and meeting them. He was also fair enough to address Kerry’s supporters in his speech. He told them that to make this nation stronger he would need their support. Finally he ended his speech with his usual phrase: “God bless you and God bless America.” An exciting ending for an amazing election.

But surprises may still lie ahead in this new re-election of Bush.

United States Elections Watching from the Middle East

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s surprising as it sounds, Israeli citizens were swamped by the US elections. In spite of the events around us, the constantly changing situation, the political developments, the economic problems, a substantial part of our media devoted time to U.S. elections, whether we liked it or not.

At first, my interest was passing; the elections seemed physically and intellectually distant. However, as they drew closer, I became more and more interested. I listened more to current events programmes and followed internet updates.

I discovered two people who, for the most part, seemed similar.

I felt trapped between two figures that said confusingly similar things. Both spoke about Iraq and the war on terror and then spoke about internal matters, mainly the economy, the massive debt and increasing unemployment.

Only by looking deeply did significant differences between the two candidates appear. The first, Bush, the incumbent president, previously had a drinking problem. Only with the help of his family and a minister was he able to recover. At the beginning of his term, Bush didn’t have a large following. However, after the attacks of September 11, his position on terror drew great popular support. The war in Iraq, which Bush initiated,

brought disappointing results becoming his Achilles heel.

Kerry used this weak point. He began the race with a large gap behind Bush, and slowly narrowed the gap. He is not a man of vision, but in spite of this, managed to draw all young people who were against the war in Iraq, both those afraid of war and those who wanted a return to peaceful times.

Each candidate presented his foreign policy, including his policy for our region. Bush, for his part, appointed key people who support Sharon’s politics. He sides with the road map, and the proposed evacuation from Gaza passed recently in the Knesset. Even though Kerry speaks about world peace in general, he anticipates establishing international committees (conferences) in conflict areas to reach solutions. One of the areas Kerry speaks about is peace between Palestine and us.

The election was extremely close until the last moment, something rare in U.S. history. It is no wonder that I was not the only one who is confused by all the different promises, so many unkept, but so was much of the voting public and even the world.

POLITICS

By: Gal Bachar, Israel

It Could Be Magic Wishes for the New Year By: Yaalon Ravid, Israel

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itting in front of the computer, plucking my hair, I keep say ing to myself “think outside the box, think...”

“It was a cloudy morning in the realm. The people of Ulapra couldn’t spot a single bird in the sky. They all knew why. Every year, to be precise, every New Year’s Eve the great magician of Ulapra cast a new spell. The people wondered together what it would be this year. And then all of a sudden, it came, and the people of Ulapra felt better, improved.”

That’s what I call thinking outside the box. Yet the great magician of Ulapra made a mistake in 2005. Instead of improving only the people of Ulapra he changed all the people of the world.

So what happens next? Let me tell you...

People start smiling, more then usual. People start to trust each other. They stop judging a person by the way he looks and dresses, where he lives and how poor or rich he is. Instead they start paying more attention to other’s emotions. People begin listening to their hearts instead of their hard heads. They are not afraid to be themselves, to express their feelings.

Enemies become friends, putting an end to all the disagreements.

People don’t get irritated so easily. They begin listening for understanding, instead of just hearing for talking. And they talk instead of shouting. They use words for meaning and not just for slogans.

The world puts aside all the differences of sex, colour, religion, nationality. Its people learn to give instead of taking, and to respect a person’s rights and wishes, no matter what they think.

People keep the integrity of their beliefs, even when things look hopeless. They find the light inside total darkness. They also gather the strength to forgive and to let go, instead of being stuck in one place, a hard, angry place. They learn to let go of the past and concentrate on the future even when things seem lost. People also learn the importance of learning, of expanding their knowledge, not repeating old mistakes.

It turns out that the magician’s mistake wasn’t so bad. My wish for the year of 2005 is that the magician will cast such a spell, the magician in every one of us.

VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

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Look To 2005

What Does 2005 Contain?

2005 Contains A Lot - You Just Have to Look By: Eliran Luzon, Israel

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hen we try to think what will the new year bring, we hope for many good things and dream of wishes that are deep in our hearts.

So why don’t you look closely into 2005 and find out just what it is hiding, and what it has to say about us.

The first number in 2005 actually gives away the main idea: 2.

There are 2 sides of the conflict. We are two different nations from two different places with different cultures. We are both in this conflict and we try to get out of it peacefully.

We are two, but not two-gether. We are two against each other. We have two leaders who lead us in their way. And eventually we have two options: war or peace.

The next number is the result of this conflict: 0.

In the meantime, we are not going anywhere, and the profit is zero. The conflict causes tough situations and losses before which we are nothing. Some of us try somehow to face the situation, and some of us, even most of us, stay as blank

as we can.

There is another 0, a zero that amplifies the pain and also points out our communication. Our communication doesn’t count at all. Except for projects like Crossing Borders that close the circle a bit, and the Israeli-Palestinian gap. Most of the Israeli-Palestinian relationship is based on a lack of understanding. If you do the math, you find that the whole political situation equals zero.

But the last number is the saviour: 5.

5 is the number of continents in the world that share a common will for peace. All five continents create programmes and make international connections to bridge between Israelis and Palestinians. They give us a slight feeling of security, that we have a caring world around us.

On the way to peace we have 5 obstacles: our past full of Israeli-Palestinian violence and battles, the terror that holds us back, the governments, our fears and opinions, and most importantly the land. But we can overcome obstacles with five guiding values: Respect, understanding, openmindedness, unity and faith.

If everyone from both sides gives those values first place in their priorities, maybe in 2005 the obstacles won’t seem to us so bad.

Problems with the Mob Time to Think for Ourselves By: Shalev Goldfarb, Israel

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ince ninth grade when I stated to have my own political opinions, I knew I saw things differently from the common teenager in Israel. Most of my peers followed the mob. The mob was anti-Arab. They were anti-Arab for reasons I can understand, but cannot identify with. They believed that all the bad things that happened to us in the past was because of the Arabs, so naturally we should hate them.

But the thing is, the thing our “mob” in Israel do not understand, is that the Arabs are people, men, women and children, no different from us. The Arabs are just like the Israelis, except for their religion and language. Both sides, or at least the majority on both sides, just want to live in peace and in a place where they can grow up, study, work, fall in love, raise their children, and eventually to die peacefully, knowing that they didn’t spend their life on hatred and violence and fear, but in harmony, with friends and loved ones.

After having my own political opinion, I started to see a change

CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

for the good in my society. I started to see tolerance and understanding coming from the “mob.” I started to see that when, for example, someone says that Arabs are just like us Israelis, they don’t shout against him, but stay quiet and nod, because they know this person is right. Even though sometimes they hate the reality, they are starting to accept it.

These things mostly happen when this “mob” is no longer a mob, but by himself, one “mobster” which when he is away from his friends’ reactions acts differently. He suddenly becomes more realistic and understanding. But the minute he comes back to his fellow “mobsters,” suddenly he changes and becomes the uncivilized caveman he always was (not).

I believe that this is the main problem with my society nowadays, the mob. That people do not even think for themselves, but let others do it for them. Tell them what to think. Tell them how to react. Tell them when and where to act. As long as this is the majority in Israel, I don’t believe a wide national education is possible, even if this is the most important thing in solving the Israeli-Arab conflict.

Wishes for the New Year By: Noya Gilad, Israel

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am sitting at my house right now and I am feeling great. It’s raining outside and the air is so clean; it smells of winter.

I really waited to the winter to come. I wanted to feel the air, the chilly weather and to wear a sweater. But the thing that I like most about winter is the feeling that it is a new time in life, a new start.

January 2005 is going to come soon, and I have a few wishes for my society to the New Year.

As the New Year comes, I really want that a lot of things will change. I’ll start with my small wishes - if you can call them small.

First of all, I want to walk and go on buses without any fear. I think that it would be such a great feeling to live your life without any fear.

Another wish for me is that more programmes like Crossing Borders will work with teenagers. My opinions and those of many Israelis and Palestinians have been changed about so many things that are so important through participation. I am sure that these are the kind of things that you never learn in school or at home.

Look To 2005

My Society in 2005

Teenagers should be open and try to listen to others. Because we are going to be the leaders in a few year’s time and programmes like this help us think differently.

My last wish that the new leader of the Palestinians and the Israeli leader will make peace soon. This is the biggest wish for me and my society.

Hope to talk to you soon, and maybe until then my wishes will come true.

And until then, have a great winter!

The Hardest Question in the World What Is the End to the Road We are Walking?

By: Jamil Hanayneh, Jordan

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very day we sleep and wake up hearing the same news: two Palestinians were killed, three Iraqis were killed, while the resistance attacked back and killed some soldiers. So will this end in 2005, and will we all love each other and grudges would only be known by those who look for obscure words in old dictionaries.

Let’s give the situation in the Middle East another look. It is all getting worse. War is getting wider and negotiations seem like a tiny bottle of water that is used to put out a big fire. So what will be the end of this tragic road?

As a Jordanian citizen who has met with some Israelis and Palestinians and talked to both sides trying to get their answers to some questions that keep in my mind, I found that they both think that the land belongs to them, that someone has to take it all, and that no compromises can be given. They both think that

it is their land from history.

What I also felt is that they are sick of what’s going on and can hardly bear it. Nothing new here. It is human nature to want to lead the easiest, most comfortable and settled life. They may continue to live as they are now, but they won’t be comfortable at all, and it affects them in many ways even their health.

How can they get out of this crisis in 2005? What are the solutions? These are among the hardest questions in the world.

From the political side, as an Arab I think the land deserves to be fought for, and there is still a major problem of land that needs resolving. But when I look at it from the emotional side, I find an endless death machine that is wasting many of the people, and especially youth.

I know that it is hard to figure out a solution, but I think that some humanitarian organizations should take a major role in this case, because children and women are dying at the hands of fighters, which is absolutely against humanity.

VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

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Five Minutes for Peace Look To 2005

What Next for 2005?

By: Nour Hijazi, Palestine

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e have all been prisoners of our pride, selfishness, and illusion. We all have, at times, allowed these ailments to lead us astray. We all know what it means to be lost, to be frightened. Yet we, are all also bearers of truth, of love, of compassion and understanding.

Five minutes of prayer for every man, woman and child who wants simply to worship, to offer thanks for this chance in life, in the best way they know how.

Five minutes of peace for all whom feel it better to be enlightened, than beaten into submission.

Five minutes of hope that if any find their only joy in hatred, murder and destruction, they will go off to some desolate, barren land, happily destroy each other there, and leave us who seek peace alone. Five minutes of silence in respect for those so lost. Five minutes in prayer, may they rest in peace.

Five minutes to listen to and teach what we believe is right, instead of terrorizing others who we fear are mistaken. Tears for all those who know only darkness, and the misery that seems their birthright.

Five minutes of prayer, five minutes of love, five minutes of universal forgiveness.

Five minutes to show the world, that we are not the only ones who feel this way. Five minutes to feed the faith that we are not

alone.

What next for 2005? After five minutes of contemplating the hope and insanity that has brought us this far? Listen to our hearts; let them decide our next actions.

Help to turn these towers of Babel we call “modern technology” into beacons of hope.

For love, truth, and forgiveness are contagious. They spread with our embrace.

Purge yourself of the sin you find, sacrifice your secrets, and offer forgiveness to those you find doing the same. Let us have hope.

Let our prayer find action in universal solidarity; let us free ourselves and our children of this baggage of misery which we have carried since the dawn of time.

Let us clean our ragged wounds so they may finally heal. Let us restore this home, this life-spring, this haven we call “Earth”.

We may never find perfection, but it is ever noble to try.

All Mixed Up A Mixture of Feelings For 2005 By: Manar Siriyhee, Arab Israeli

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y name is Manar Sirihyee; in 2005 I will enter my second year at the Technion Institute of Israel. Before the Technion, my connection to non-Arabs was limited, even if I live in the big, mixed city of Haifa. I had never known more than the preconceptions that I heard from adults. Moreover, as a result of being a daughter of a family whose parts are divided due the “Green Line”, I had always considered the Jews as an occupying enemy.

Thinking about my relatives in the Palestinian cities and refugee camps, who were killed, uprooted or who lost most of their properties in the “Aqsa Intifada”; and at the same time thinking about my life as an Arab Israeli in the Jewish state, about my best friend at university, who is Jewish, I have got confused by the invasion of contrasting emotions: hatred, love, disgust, respect, anger, cooperation.

I have a mixture of feelings towards those people who occupied my land, persecuted my nation. A mixture of feelings towards those people who help me to continue my studies, who encourage me to be a useful person, and especially my kind, cute, loving friend. It was very

CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

strange that among these “savage people”, as I once thought of them, there are such kind ones.

Half of my family live in refugee camps across the border. Actually it’s not a border, but a prison. All the Palestinians living there committed the terrible crime of defending the remains of their homeland, or of taking revenge. Hundreds of times I have witnessed the persecution that my nation suffers, and felt what it is to be a trapped mouse, feeling that any Israeli can cause me suffering.

By contrast, the Jews who I meet in my daily life in Haifa, are not barbarians. They are kind people, and humane. I remember many occasions when I needed a hand, when my Jewish friends were friends indeed.

So why cannot our nations live together peacefully, as I do with my Jewish friends? If my Jewish friends and I can communicate nicely, others can do so also. I believe that Arabs and Jews can live together, bringing to the whole Middle East in 2005 the peaceful life we all dream about.

Aftermath By: Anis Kaldawy, Arab Israeli

T

he death of Yasser Arafat has triggered mixed emotions all over the world and especially in the Palestinian territories.

Some saw his departure as a new beginning for the Palestinian-Israeli peace process. The current Israeli government has always stated that there was no partner for peace on the Palestinian side and that Arafat was irrelevant. All diplomatic contacts were severed, and since 2000 our region has seen more violence and death on both sides. When negotiations stopped guns sounded louder.

Many Palestinians who have known no other leader than Arafat felt orphaned by his death and at a loss. Others outside the Territories saw Arafat as a terrorist and that granting him the Nobel Peace Prize was

a mistake. What all observers agreed upon is that Arafat brought the Palestinian problem to the world’s attention. He was able to transform the Palestinian struggle from a simple refugee problem into an issue of a nation in the making.

The Palestinian’s elections for PA Presidency, due in January 2005, is a step in the right direction. We can hope to see a new leadership which will be able to stand tall and serve the cause of the Palestinians and bring peace to our region.

With Labour joining a unity government with the Likud we can hope the new Israeli government will help make the elections a success. Israel must facilitate the process and let the Palestinians choose their leaders who will have the legitimacy to engage peace negotiations with Israel.

Israel should take the opportunity to show

the Palestinians goodwill in 2005 by easing up closures, facilitating the crossings between Palestinian towns and villages, let the candidates exercise their rights and people exercise their democratic right to vote.

My hope for the new year is to see the peace process on a solid and promising track leading to a permanent solution. Palestinian and Israeli children have the right to live in peace and happiness and to prosper. Israel cannot expect good relations with the Arab world as long as the Palestinian issue is not solved. Both Palestinians and Israelis have to be pragmatic. Negotiation means compromise, which at times could be painful for both sides, but still gives hope for the future of both.

SOCIETY

2005: In the Wake of Yasser Arafat’s Passing

Jordan and Israel Together in Peace ?

The Key to Peace with Jordan in 2005 By: Razan Nasser, Jordan

J

ordan and Israel are two countries who signed a peace agreement together little over 10 years ago. Isn’t this supposed to be a wonderful anniversary? Of two countries celebrating a decade of peace and good relations after years of hatred?

In my opinion, the reason that I don’t see fireworks outside my window in 2005 is the following: Jordan and Israel are not in a true state of peace. It is a peace agreement signed by governments but that has not been accepted by the people of the two countries. If this was not the case then we would be seeing Israelis and Jordanians crossing the borders continuously and in large numbers with the border being

so long and close by. Trade and commerce would be very active between them for the mere convenience of it. The two societies and cultures would become more exposed and influenced by each other.

Yet I don’t see Israelis walking next to me on the street everyday and I have never yet seen an item in a supermarket with the words “Made in Israel” printed on it.

This is because what we have here is more like a truce, rather than peace; we don’t bother you and you don’t bother us. I’m not denying that there are some joint activities at present. But they are very small compared to what they could be if the two countries were truly open to each other.

I can only speak concerning the Jorda-

nian side of why this peace is not accepted amongst the people. As many of you know, Jordan’s population is composed of more than 50% citizens of Palestinian origin; this has caused the Jordanian people to feel strongly connected to the Palestinians’ fate and their cause. Also there is a common religion and Arab nationality. Without Israel solving its problems with the Palestinians and establishing peace there, there can be no real peace with Jordan in 2005 and maybe even with the other Arab states too.

In short, the key to this entire situation is Palestine. Let Israel establish real peace with the Palestinians. Achieve this and everyone else will follow - the rest of the problems will solve themselves.

17 VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

ar urielncSeseofm20in b n ta 04 Is e th m o pe int Articles fr their most significant ex

JOINT: OTHER LOOK

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18

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CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

“

I

t was 6 in the morning and the fog cov ered everything outside, when my brother and sister woke me up in a panic to tell me that Arafat had died. That our leader was dead.”

“I turned on the TV to check if it really happened. And it had. No one went to school that day and I spent all day just listening to the news with sadness and sorrow.”

The death of Arafat meant a lot to MAIS, a 17-year-old Palestinian girl from Jerusalem. She joined Crossing Borders in order to learn journalism and to work with the other side, with us Israelis. But Mais this year had to deal with an inner Palestinian problem besides the Israeli-Palestinian one: Arafat’s death. Even though it was predicted, Arafat’s death was a tragic shock to her and to all Palestinians, even for those who didn’t agree with him.

By: Eliran Luzon “He did a lot for the sake of Palestine. He never gave up and made the world know that we suffer. He never gave up on the refugees’ rights and Jerusalem’s holiness to us. Now that he’s gone, we don’t know who is going to lead us and it’s frightening.”

JOINT: OTHER LOOK

Being Without a Leader is Frightening

Mais says that there aren’t enough good choices for the future Palestinian leader.

Palestinians are limited and can never be satisfied because the candidates don’t represent all the groups and views of the Palestinian people.

At the Negotiating Table, We Have an Artist

By: Mais Yahia

“

T

he power of the stage gives me the confidence that I need to express what I want in all life aspects including my opinions and views concerning the Palestinian Israeli conflict,” says ELIRAN, a 15 year old Israeli young man who loves dancing, singing and also acting.

To connect art with politics might seem dull for some people, but Eliran believes that art is a wise way to collect people’s points of view and essences.

Eliran had his first experience of connecting between his artistic talent and political beliefs when he became a member of Crossing Borders and joined the seminar in Denmark. For more than two weeks Eliran was known as “the artist”, he was

the “talented boy” and obviously one of the Israelis who came to talk politics as well as to share what he had as a human being with all people coming from all sectors.

The experience that Eliran had in Denmark brought together the two sides of his character, Eliran the Israeli citizen, and Eliran the artist. The fact that Eliran accomplished many of his goals in the Crossing Borders experience in Denmark, is definitely something to be proud of.

“The days that I had in the seminar changed my way of seeing things. I will one day send my children to Crossing Borders. I am sure they will find themselves there just as I did.”

Crossing Borders was a place where Eliran discovered that there are more things to share with the “enemy” than there are things to disagree on. It’s just that we have to focus on our things in common. For Eliran and probably others, Crossing Borders helps its members to show the positive aspects in their personality and improve the negative ones.

Although art unites us and politics separates us, they both can be the tent where we can find a place to sit and talk, without being scared of the any limits or restrictions.

VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

19

JOINT: OTHER LOOK

Peace After Arafat S

AHEL ABU-RMAILEH, a 19-yearold Palestinian living in the holy city of Jerusalem states that while the death of Arafat was not a surprise, still it was very shocking for the Palestinian people. He also says that because no one took Arafat’s position immediately after he was gone, things have become pretty hard. He also states that in order to renew the peace talks that were halted, elections should be held.

“Palestinians should have elections, the sooner the better. Palestine needs a strong authority in order to gain control over the territory and to communi-

cate with Israel to negotiate renewing the peace talk.” He says.

I asked Sahel about the steps that he can take to try and get to know the other side better, he answered: “Well, Crossing Borders is a great way to do that.

All the seminars that we have bring us a bit closer to the other sides ideas and culture. It exposes us to many new ideas.”

I asked Sahel about his expectations to the coming year. “I think that the coming year will be even worse now that Arafat is gone. He was a good leader and established some great things for

By: Anis Kaldawy Palestine. One of those things was establishing the PLO.” Sahel said.

Nowadays, Palestine is separated from Israel by the separation wall, which is built around the 1967 borders, a little bit to the east. Still I hope for a better future for both the Palestinians and Israelis and that neither side will get worn-out before a just peace is made.

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An Endless Path I

n the corner of the Turkish hotel in a tiny and calm bar I sat down with LENA NAJDI, a 15 year old Palestinian girl who has a simple wish, achieving peace.

“Lots of significant events occurred to the Palestinian nation last year” she said when I asked her to summarise 2004. But for her, without doubt the most significant event was Arafat’s death. Lena said that actually Arafat was the symbol of the nation. He was the “Rais” (President), but also a spiritual leader. For her, Arafat’s death is a big loss. But even though she

thinks that Arafat played his role, life goes on.

“The Israeli government made Arafat look like an obstacle to peace. But that’s not true.” She says, “When Arafat agreed in Oslo about almost everything, the Israeli government was the one who put obstacles in the way. The settlements are the greatest example of this.”

“In the last year, Gaza was attacked lots of times, lots of houses were completely destroyed and people were made homeless.” Lena said without a hint of optimism. “Since the Intifada started I have not been able to visit any Palestinian city in the West Bank.”

I thought deeply and asked how can human beings live in these circumstances?

She responded, “the circumstances are terrible and the only thing that sustains the Palestinians is their hope and belief in God.” It was then I saw Lena’s hopeful side. But I wondered how can they have

By: Kfir Aberman

20

CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

this belief if the circumstances are so bad?

“One day we will have a free country like God promised us in the Quran,” she says.

Lena wishes that this dream will come true and in 2005 she and all her nation will celebrate the independence of the Palestinian nation.

Kfir’s Reflection: This seminar in Istanbul made me so pessimistic. My conversations with Lena until the small hours of the night get me realise that peace is so far and the road may be infinite. From the one side the Palestinians are the nation suffering more. But when I walked around the corridor and asked a Palestinian girl for the meaning of her necklace (which portrayed the map of Israel with a Palestinian flag on) she told me that, “We want the whole country.”

year old ANIS KALDAWY, from Haifa, thinks 18 that a government’s job is to represent its peo-

JOINT: OTHER LOOK

Bush’s Power By: Sahel Abu Rmaileh

ple. If Bush was re-elected then that means that the majority of people in America have chosen him.

“Still one has to remember that Bush is the most divisive president in the history of the U.S and that shows us a little bit about his policy.”

Anis thinks that the economic situation in the U.S will continue as it has been for the past few years, very stable. He says that Bush has the power to bring Palestine and Israel to the negotiating table. “He has all the resources to try and bring both nations closer. He needs to use this power in order to make both sides compromise and talk peace.” Anis said.

I asked Anis about the war in Iraq and he added: “The way I see it the war in Iraq is not justified and even if it was, the many lives that were lost on both sides and for no clear reason make it unjustifiable today.” ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

Achieving Peace By: Lena Najdi “

W

hen the disengagement plan takes place and the ceasefire is achieved on both sides, we will achieve peace.”

Kfir Aberman said as I interviewed him in Turkey.

“But what do you mean by peace?” I asked.

“It’s when I go to an Arab Land and feel secure, and when people look at me as a tourist abroad not as an enemy,” he answered. Now, after Arafat’s death, “the most important event in the Middle East in 2004”, as he described it, it is thought that achieving peace has become easier because Arafat was seen as an obstacle to peace.

In general, the opinion of Israelis about Arafat as Kfir told me is that he was a terrorist and that he’s the one who made all

the Palestinians unite and organised them to act against Israel. In other words Arafat was the biggest enemy Israel had. So now after his death, it’s much easier to talk about peace, “Especially if the Palestinians’ new leader changes the path Arafat took,” he added.

“What path do you think the new leader should take?” I asked. “He should be a compromiser, and should be satisfied when Israel gives him the West Bank and Gaza and he shouldn’t ask for more.”

Although the situation has been getting worse over the past few years, Kfir was optimistic when I asked him about his wishes for the year 2005. He said: “I wish to go in the streets without the fear of riding buses. I want security. I don’t want to feel unique. I want my country to be like every other country, with tourists coming and going. And my biggest wish is to live

in peace.”

Even though his wish is the wish of every human on this earth, “to live in peace,” he said that peace is a bit hard to achieve at present.

“And why do you think that?” I asked. He said: “I don’t see any realistic solution that will satisfy both sides. In any peace agreement there will be a side which feels less satisfied than the other side, and that it wants to achieve more.”

Lena’s Reflection: I think that peace won’t be achieved soon, that it won’t be achieved by our fathers, nor by our generation. If peace comes in the future, it will be because of our grandchildren and the generations who follow.

VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

21

JOINT: OTHER LOOK

Great Expectations ?

By: Dean Solomon & Mira Ansari

Life After Arafat

T

here are always surprises behind every year, especially if we’re talking about the Middle East where nothing can ever be predicted. 2004 was no exception. It was the fourth year for the Intifada, still an ongoing Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Yet the death of Yasser Arafat, the Palestinian President, in November 2004, came as a surprise to all. Arafat affected a lot of people, some for the good and some for the bad. The Palestinian opinion and the Israeli opinion about Arafat are different as you are about to find out.

Dean, a 16-year-old Israeli gives his opinion on Arafat as a leader and his expectations for the life after Arafat’s death: Q: What did Arafat mean to you?

“Arafat was a leader that strived to better the life standards of his people and to establish a Palestinian state. He did the best he could for them but he did not make an effort to stop terror attacks. He did not stop the Palestinian radicals, the people that killed and terrified Israelis, the people that constantly sabotaged the peace process. He did not even try. That makes him, for my opinion, like those terrorists. A leader should stop terror in order to make peace, he cannot sit aside and watch what is done, or sometimes, even encourage it. As a leader he has the responsibility.”

Q: What will the effect of Arafat’s death be on the future?

“Arafat’s death symbolizes for me the beginning of a new era, an era in which Palestinians fight terror caused by their own people. His death gives peace another chance. A new Palestinian leader will rise, and, hopefully, he will be more peaceful and will make an effort to stop Palestinian terrorism.”

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CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

Mira, a 15-year-old Palestinian gives her opinion on Arafat as a leader and her expectations for the life after Arafat’s death: Q: What did Arafat mean to you?

“Arafat has been a symbol for the Palestinians. He has kept us united throughout all these years of Intifadas and conflicts. He is one man with great power and motivation. He uses his power to defend the Palestinian cause against occupation. He has escaped being assassinated more than once. He may not be liked by a lot of people who aren’t Palestinians; others may even call him a terrorist supporter, but he is not. He has been a peacemaker all his life. He has done a lot for his people to ensure that they have an identity and a land. He has endured many hardships; the last being was being imprisoned in his own home the Muqata. The Palestinians owe him a lot.

Q: What will the effect of Arafat’s death be on the future?

“Arafat‘s death left a big space in the lives of Palestinians and in the Palestinian government. But I am proud to say that the Palestinian Authority has done a wonderful job to keep things stable and the Palestinian people united. I think they will be able to hold fair and well-organized elections without any outside interference. Also they are able to finish what Arafat started, the path towards freedom. And all we can do is hope for the best.”

It is normal for us to have two different opinions about Arafat because we come from two countries that are in conflict. But in the end we both agree that every leader should be respected in his death, regardless of what they did in their lifetime.

Studying in Cyprus is an Enriching Experience By: Ashira Ramadan, Palestine

W

hen I first moved to Northern Cyprus to continue my studies at university, I felt scared and insecure at moving to a different country, and a different culture. But after spending a year here I got used to the relaxing, secure lifestyle.

Northern Cyprus is filled with fascinating stories and history, of war, peace, life and death.

I had heard a lot of stories about the GreekTurkish conflict before I came to Cyprus, not least since I was born in Greek Cyprus. I have heard the story from both sides. It is obvious that both sides have suffered and lost a lot.

I felt that both sides want peace, and want a

chance to live together. So I was surprised by what happened in April last year in the referendum organised by the United Nations. The Greek side refused the reunification of Cyprus, while the Turkish side accepted.

The Greek side gave a lot of reasons for their refusal, but they didn’t seem very strong to me. Maybe because I don’t know enough about the conflict. But as a Palestinian, much of the conflict seems so familiar.

I find it hard to believe that so much suffering happened in such a beautiful place.

I haven’t seen such a blend of nature, geography, and the weather. Sometimes when I am studying, I look out of the window to see the raindrops falling, and shining with the glow of the sun, and behind

them a rainbow blazing from one side of a mountain to another side of the sea.

Views like this make me contemplate. I see the way the archaeological monuments are preserved as if no one has touched them. The castle in Famugusta, where my university is, still stands strong.

One look at the walls and you can see the history of the city.

My experience in north Cyprus has taught me much, and I am sure it will help me a lot in the future. The lifestyle ensures everything a student needs, fun places to go to at night, a good educational environment, and many historical places for a student to broaden their horizons. All in all Famagusta is a perfect place for a student to be, if there is such a place.

SOCIETY & CULTURE

A Moment in Northern Cyprus

Two Nations in One Village A Visit to Neve Shalom / Wahat al-Salam By: Sahar Samara, Arab Israeli

A

few kilometres away from continual Israeli-Palestinian clashes, another group of Jews and Arabs are fighting to win peace. The village of peace, “Neve Shalom” in Hebrew, “Wahat al-Salam” in Arabic, was established by Arab and Jewish citizens together. It was established on their own lands.

This village lives out the dream of peace, that others of us are still waiting for today. They are living side by side in democracy and conditions of equality.

Any visitor is struck by their common life,

which means that they know the traditions, civilizations, languages and other interesting things about each other.

The most exciting thing that I liked of this huge idea, that there is an education bridge between them, the joint school.

Pupils in Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam study all the require material in both languages, Hebrew and Arabic. The joint understandings built through this schooling are considered important in order to forget discrimination. “We are all feel that we are equal,” both Jewish and Arab girls said.

Equality is such a significant word for us here, to remind us that we are all human beings and have rights. Also with equality, cooperation lives much more easily in every step of our lives.

The village always welcomes all organizations whose primary and ultimate aim is to support peace efforts everywhere in the world, and especially those in the Middle East.

Visiting Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam was an outstanding and valuable experience for me. When I visited this area with Crossing Borders, I really started to look forward with more optimism than before.

So if two nations can live in one village, why can we not cooperate side by side as two nations in order to establish one country?

23 VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

SOCIETY & CULTURE

Way of Life

The Power of Karate By: Yiftah Kolnik, Israel

I

t is important for everyone to have something they like doing, a hobby. My hobby is karate.

The origins of the Karate are from the Far East. It was started by a monk, Darma, who developed seven exercises to make the body stronger and healthier. These exercises came to the monastery Shaulin where they developed into a martial art.

From Shaulin karate spread all over the Far East. It came to one of the islands of Japan, Okinawa. In Okinawa lived a man called Funakushi. He took two different styles of Karate, mixed them and created the Shotokan. The Shotokan is the type of Karate I practise.

The meaning of the word Karate is “foreign hand”, because someone brought karate to Okinawa from the outside. But karate also has another meaning, “empty hand,” since we do not use anything apart from our body.

Karate needs both physical and mental power. You need to know what you are doing and to use your brain. You need to wait for the moment that your enemy is not ready and than attack him with full speed and full power.

I started karate as a hobby when I was just six years old, and now it is a way of life. If you want to get your maximum you need to practise everyday.

After I got my black belt, and I passed a coaching course I started to train children from the age of 5 to 14. I use different methods for each group. Training the kids is sometimes harder than my own training. When I am training the kids, I am strict on their education. I prefer to have group of children who do not know karate but are non-violent, than a group of karate masters who are not good people.

My association does not believe that competitions are helpful so we have just one or two a year.

The focus in competitions is to participate while under pressure. The trophies are not the goal.

My sensei (coach in Japanese) always says that in competition there is just one place; the biggest loser is the one who came second.

Karate has become a big part of my life and a big part of my identity. It helps me live a healthier, happier and better life. I recommend it to everyone.

Back to the Old Days What Technology Destroys By: Sarah Fanous, Jordan

F

rom the time when Adam and Eve came on this earth, life began. Nature was their home, leaves were their clothes, and animals were their food. In those days, they did not believe in God; to them God did not exist. Theories started to grow; people created their own gods from stones, stars, and even animals.

Days then years passed, inventions and technology changed our lives. Now our life is much easier but also more complicated. The world became bigger even as it feels smaller. Power was given to some leaving others with nothing, but disasters, wars and poverty. Rules were set by those countries who allow themselves to control the world according to their own needs.

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The media grew to play an important role in our lives, directing our minds to what we should see. It brainwashes our thoughts, trying to make us believe what we should.

Evil is winning over goodness. Only the strongest survive while the weakest are crushed. It is just as if we have gone back in time, where no rules can stop us. No one believes in God’s teach-

CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

ing anymore; no one has the time. What is happening to us?

In my view, we have to blame ourselves for letting evil enter our minds. People nowadays only care about their interests and do not think of others. That is why we are losing ourselves. For example, in our region a whole nation was displaced from their homeland to be replaced by others. Palestinians used to live peacefully on their land, but not anymore. Today they are living in fear and darkness.

Wake up people. Open your eyes to the truth. Nothing in this world will stay; everything will disappear and vanish. Never be afraid to tell the truth because in the end, truth will appear and lies will wash away as a quiet river.

Look around you, all what you see are dangers due to modernization. We have polluted the air, water and the soil. We have even polluted space. As a result, we are experiencing diseases never heard of before, mental illnesses resulting from our fastmoving lives.

I am not against civilization and technology, but for God’s sake do not let it drive us mad. Remember that we are human beings from the earth, and to the earth we will return.

By: Eliran Luzon, Israel

I

find PC games, and es pecially role-playing games quickly addictive. I’m not the only one who likes role-playing games. In the last years, they have become popular among gamers all over the world.

One thing that makes RPG’s so successful is that everything is based on personal choices: the characters including their skills, qualities and even appearance, the methods of fighting including magic and spells, and also your way of journeying and the people who join you. In the RPG’s you’re in an imaginary world where you’re in control. It is like a movie where you are the leading actor, except that this time, you rewrite the script, choose who to act with, where to go and how the show will end.

Usually the characters are sorted according to their classes and races, orcs, elves and dark elves, humans and dwarves.

The orcs are large, rough green skinned creatures for close combat with heavy weapons, whereas the elves are magical forest creatures guided by their ancestors’ spirits and the powers of nature.

The games often have characters with life stories so that your

character will act out of a personal purpose such as attempting to save the world or alternatively for personal revenge.

During the game, as you fight enemies trying to stand in your way, your character gains experience and levels. In each new level, you can develop skills like strength, dexterity, vitality, charisma and more. Your character gets stronger along with your enemies.

In most RPG’s, characters can acquire spells based on the four elements, earth, air, fire and water. They can be either defensive (shields, auras) or offensive (fireball, storms). During the game, you meet new people with skills who can help you, like blacksmiths and sellers. You also meet people who need your help. As in life, you can choose whether you want to help, though of course there are some tasks that have to be done. These missions are called quests. As you fulfil them, the story advances.

Nowadays, there’s a great demand for online multiplayer RPG’s. This means that you can play with your neighbourhood friend or with other people from across the world.

No wonder these games are so popular. Once you’ve taken a role in an imaginary world, you forget a bit about your own. And who wouldn’t like that sometimes?

SOCIETY & CULTURE

RPGs Why Do We Like Them ?

How Much Does Education Mean to You

By: Maher Zaghloul, Palestine

The Value of Being a Teacher in Palestine

E

ducation is one of the most important concerns of every country. It is commonly agreed that governments all over the world should put aside large budgets to support educational institutions and provide them with qualified teachers if they want to raise a generation that is open-minded and able to help build their countries.

When I was young, I always dreamed of becoming a teacher.

After high school I entered the university. Unfortunately, I did not get the opportunity to join the Faculty of Education, so I decided to study hotel management. I felt it would be a field of study that had a future in our country.

I graduated from the university with Honours, but unfortunately the situation was bad and few hotels were working. At the beginning, I worked in some hotels in Jerusalem, but as the political situation worsened I was forced to leave. After that I was out of work for a long period. I was searching for jobs everywhere, knocking on each door. My dream door opened and I found a part-time job as an elementary teacher in the Lutheran school, in my town Beit-Jala.

You cannot imagine how happy I am now. Not only because I found a job, but because I am helping to raise the small children who will be defending their countries in the future through their education.

The place I work in is not a school, but a boarding home for students who are homeless or who have family problems.

These students go to different schools in the morning and then they come back in the afternoon to their boarding home, now like their real home. As one of the teachers, I help the ward fathers in teaching these students and raising them the right way. Being a teacher is not easy thing, and here we are doing two jobs at the same time: teaching the student, helping them do their homework, and raising them.

I hope that you understand the importance of education especially in our situation where it feels that the Israeli government wants the Palestinian people to be uneducated to facilitate their military strategies. As Palestinians we should work hard to get educated so that we may help in ending the Occupation.

VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

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SOCIETY & CULTURE

Zakerat El Jasad

Book Review

Longing for a Homeland By: Shaden Azzam, Arab Israeli

A

mazing feelings spread into my soul while reading this marvellous book.

The author, Ahlam Mostaghanmi, brings up some very rooted ideals that surround the person’s life, and all the social and personal conflicts that occur in his mind.

The book talks about a fifty year old Algerian man who has decided to write a novel in which he describes his sad relationship with a woman who is twenty years younger than him, and in whom he saw his homeland.

He knew her back when he was twenty seven years old and she was still a little girl. He was a friend of her father’s during the war against the French occupa-

tion of Algeria. They were in many nationalist parties that protested against the occupation. He was pursued and his ideals made him lose his left hand.

Eventually, as the years passed he decided to leave Algeria because he was sick of remaining in his fake life there. He had loved his country like she was his girl.

He had been ready to die for her. But not anymore. He couldn’t bear how life had changed in it. In his eyes, people had become like monsters and Algeria had become a two-faced victim.

He moved to Paris and there became a famous painter. Days went by and in a famous exhibition of his, in a well-known muesum, he met her, the girl who had twisted his life upside down. She was

looking at his first drawing, entitled “Longing.” He had drawn it when he was in the hospital in Algeria. He was looking at her, and destiny was looking at the two of them. He fell deeply in love with her.

He saw Algeria in her, its bridges, its people, its land. She was very precious to him.

Their love story was mixed with many characters. In the end she got married to a man that represented the bad image of Algeria’s people, the selfish materialism that has become such a wide phenomenon.

This book made me feel nostalgic for a homeland I’ve never had. It amazed me more than any other book. I really admire the author. She presented her main character’s desires and pains in a way that shakes your reality.

What Future is Waiting for Me? The Educational Choices of Palestinian Students are Limited By: Mai Tahboub, Palestine

A

s one of the Palestinian people liv ing in the Middle East, I find a place where the law of the jungle is applied nowadays. It makes me always worry about my future, especially my educational future.

I am still a student in the high school.

It may seem as if I am as any other student. I may think about what I will study after I finish school, but as I said, because I am in Palestine I am thinking about which university I will continue my study. But the answer to this question is really very hard in spite of the fact that I have three choices. Let me tell you what they are.

The first choice is to study aboard in another country, which will be more expensive than here. Then I will have a huge responsibility, and everyone knows how hard it is to live alone in a strange country with new people and not be able to see your family.

The second choice is to learn in a Palestinian university. If I do so, I will have to leave home at least 2 hours before the first lecture to have time to pass the checkpoints, and I have to get used to seeing the humiliation everyday at the checkpoints. Moreover, I may finish each year in two because our situation is not so easy.

I mean if there is an incursion, and we have a lot of them in one year, the university may close for security reasons and

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CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

we may have other problems.

The third choice to choose the Hebron University where I will be in an area full of racism, which will make me personally not feel so good to be there.

So if you were in my place, what would you choose? I hope to have better future, so that I can be free to choose the place I would like to study in without any complications.

Hoping for the Warmth of Peace By: Razan Kafeity, Palestine

I

’m really so proud to be a Palestin ian girl, who has lived in this great country since I was born, a Palestinian girl who considers her country as a part of herself, her soul and her life.

Palestine is one of the greatest countries in the world. Its name refers to a region of the eastern Mediterranean coast from the sea to the Jordan valley and from the southern Negev desert to the Galilee lake region in the north.

The word itself derives from “Plesheth”, a name that appears frequently in the Bible. And has come into English as “Philistine.” “Plesheth”

was a general term meaning rolling or migratory, and the name “Falastin” that Arabs today use for “Palestine” is not an Arabic name. It is the Arab pronunciation of the Roman “Palaestina.”

In Palestine, there are Christian and Muslim people who lived together in peace until the Jewish people entered our land.

This followed the Balfour Declaration where the British government declared that it would give the Jews the right to own our land in order to build a country called Israel in the place of our dear country Palestine.

When Palestinians tried to live with Israelis in peace, Britain interfered and con-

cluded the Sykes-Picot agreement with France which divided the Middle East into areas between them, so Palestine was under international control. At that moment, the situation between the Israelis and Palestinians was getting worse and worse. After that, many agreements and deals were concluded and made by and between many countries.

Until today, Palestinians are still suffering from the effects of these agreements and deals that changed their lives in many ways. So I hope that Palestine will feel the warmth of peace and touch its deepest meaning soon.

SOCIETY & CULTURE

A Palestinian Soul

Fading Spots In the Desert The Future of Israel’s Leopards

By: Dean Solomon, Israel

L

ong ago, the land of Israel was swarm ing with wildlife. Bears, eagles, lions, deer, crocodiles, and other lived on this land in numbers. Over the course of history these animals have gradually disappeared from the Israeli landscape, even if some still survive.

When the state of Israel was founded in 1948, the Israeli Environment Protection Organization took its first steps to protect the unprotected. Laws were made and severe measures were taken against those who broke them. Slowly and steadily the

wildlife population grew under its care.

Creatures previously considered extinct showed up again. Eventually in 1974, two leopards were captured on camera for the first time. They were spotted near EinGedi, by the Dead Sea. An animal considered lost forever from the land of Israel, an animal that lived here in and before Biblical times had reappeared. Over the following years, a small population of leopards was spotted in the same area. Today, it is believed that there are only eight leopards living in the EinGedi reservation and the Judaen desert area.

There have been many encounters between humans and leopards, mostly when men invade leopard territory. The few who have seen this magnificent animal describe her as beautiful, noble and impressive.

Unfortunately, not all encounters have “happy endings.” There are many incidents of house pets killed by leopards.

Two of these incidents led to the captur-

ing of two leopards and transferring them to a zoo, an act that reduced the population of leopards in Israel. Other meetings led to the killing of the leopard even though leopards never attacked humans.

Although the environment protection organization in Israel is working hard to look after the leopards in the Judean desert, it is struggling. Because of their small numbers in Israel, the leopards have a small gene pool, which puts them in a situation when they are more exposed to diseases, and have high chances of physical and reproduction problems.

The only way that the leopards could survive is by bringing other leopards from the same sub-species to the area. Presently there are approximately one hundred similar wild leopards in the Saudi Arabia area and almost fifty in other countries in the region. Sadly, until there are good relations between Israel and these countries, there is little future for the Israeli leopard. The continuance of their species is in our hands.

27 VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

SOCIETY & CULTURE

It‘s Not Easy Being Druze By: Amanee Ganem, Arab Israeli

T

o be part of the Druze religion is one of the most difficult things in the world. To live like them and to explain yourself to others is more difficult than you think.

“We”, the Druze, believe in all the religions and we respect all the prophets. We are famous for this because we do not know anything about our religion. When someone asks us about it he will get this kind of response. Why? Because it is private and top secret. You might ask yourself how can we believe in a religion that we don’t know any-

thing about? Our answer is that our grandparents and our parents believe in it so we will too, and so will our children. We will know our religion as we enter it, which is to say that we know it as we become religious.

In our religion the males must serve in the army. As a result, we find ourselves in a dilemma when we sit and talk about the situation with Arab people. It’s not just because we serve in their enemy’s army but also because they say that we are killers and we are the people who kill “our brothers” - the Arab people.

This situation is getting worse and worse.

For example, remember the event with

Torture Points T

he other day I saw a film that brought tears to my eyes. I felt as if arrows had stabbed and tore my heart apart.

The film “Checkpoints”, by Yoav Shamir, shows us the daily life at the checkpoints that are spread across the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It portrays a vivid image of the encounters between Palestinians and Israeli soldiers, demonstrating the relationship between the two sides under the occupation.

This film proved to me the brutal and inhuman way in which Israeli soldiers treat Palestinians: they make them wait in the rain, don’t allow parents to accompany their children to see the doctor, and find many other ways to humiliate them.

The Occupation, which leads to this in-

By: Enas Abu Shah, Arab Israeli

terference in the civilians’ daily lives, is the reason for the bitterness that the Palestinians feel. It’s also the reason why I lost hope in the peace process, especially when in the film an Israeli soldier says that all the people living in Ramallah are “animals,” and the army’s job is to keep them locked in their “cages,” or when another allows an Arab-Israeli enter Palestinian territory and then after only two hours refuses to let him leave.

Personally, I’m against any kind of violence from both parties because it does not solve the problem, and has led us into a circle of bloodshed. On the other hand, I understand people who get very angry due to the humiliation they face every day.

I highly recommend watching this movie

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CROSSING BORDERS - A bi-Monthly Regional Youth Magazine

the journalist “Riad Alee” in Gaza. He was kidnapped by Arab people because they thought that he had served in the army.

They wanted to pressure the Druze and to force them not to serve in the army.

Fortunately for him, he hadn’t served in the army because he had chosen to continue studying.

In fact, in my opinion the Druze are just as threatened as the Jews and the Arabs.

If everyone talks only about themselves, peace will reign all over the world. The killing will stop, the violence, the unhappiness, everything bad will change. The Middle East will live in peace and it will become a peaceful place.

on the hope of gaining more insight. I ask every young Jewish Israeli, who is about to be recruited to the army, to remember that those Palestinians are human beings who deserve to be treated accordingly.

Although I might sound pessimistic, I do feel that each day that passes takes us back one step further away from peace.

Frankly, I’m losing hope of ever achieving it. However, I call upon all who still believes in virtue: Check your points! Prevent our world from becoming a jungle where the strong steps over the weak, a world full of “Checkpoints of torture and humiliation.”

One of the Most Dangerous Effects on our Youths’ Lives is Drugs

I

n the last 20 years many researches its of smoking and sniffing chemicals have shown that many youth aged 15which give a “high” feeling.

18 have become addicts. These youth use Many of these victims receive little attendifferent kinds of substances which may tion from their parents. Usually drug takcause addiction. ing starts just to get attention, to prove One of the reasons for this is possibly that they are independent and to show having too much free time. They learn themselves that they can do anything these bad habits from their peers or from without help from their parents. Most people called dealers. These dealers find youth start by smoking cigarettes. Then their victims in streets, they use hashish, marischools, and poor areas. juana. After they become The main factors behind addicted, they need this problem are bad influstronger drugs, and can end ence of peers, broken famiup asking for cocaine or lies like the father is in heroin. prison, or divorced parThey get to a point where ents, the effect of unconthey do not care about how trolled internet, bad social to get the money to buy and economic conditions, such drugs, whether by illiteracy, and leaving By: Muna Bustami, Jordan stealing, killing, violence or school to work at early working illegally, etc. This ages to get money to help addiction may also lead to their families. These and other factors may sexual abuse and trade. lead youth at an early age to acquire habThe effect of these drugs, especially in

Weigh Your Baby Who Are Smarter, Boys or Girls?

T

he absence of women in lots of high positions in society does not mean that they are less intelligent than men. Rather it is the result of some social and biological processes which stand in the way of women. Because of them societies look at men as possessing powers which women lack. Yet women succeed in every work which calls for thinking, patience and tolerance. And as for men, they succeed in the jobs which need mental and physical power.

The common belief among people that men are more intelligent than women has long been proved wrong.

The belief only came about because men ruled in the dark ages of women’s lives, since they used their mas-

culine strength and bodily power in work and war. This strength allowed them to believe that they are smarter; but it doesn’t prove anything.

Some say that men are smarter because their brain size is bigger than women’s brain size. Scientists in Pennsylvania College proved that the size of the brain doesn’t mean anything. What matters is the activity inside the brain.

And the difference in size is like the difference between one thousand grams of potato and one thousand and ten grams. Both have enough potato.

Until now, scientists haven’t found neutral standards to see who is smarter. Some quizzes to measure intelligence were given to a group

teenagers, is the destruction of brain cells, neurotic system, social status, and may even lead to AIDS. There are also psychological effects for addiction. Self-respect and self-esteem become very low.

Many governments and nongovernmental organizations, start prevention programs to increase youth awareness about the effects of drugs. TV programs, educational campaigns through schools, media and publications are examples of efforts being made to fight this phenomenon which is increasing among youth nowadays in many societies.

Youth mean our future and our human resources. So we should work hard to protect them. Leaving youth to live their lives without care means living with no hopes, no future. It means a slow death.

of boys and girls and the result was almost the same. Girls were brighter in general skills but boys got higher results in mathematics and mechanical quizzes. This is not because girls don’t get along with mathematics and mechanics, but because the way parents treat their children, they tend to give their little girl dolls as presents and give their boy plastic cars and electronic games.

Although scientists haven’t discovered a way to know who is smarter, a research made by the American Medical Organization found out a way to know smart boys and girls the day they are born. If the baby is born lighter than the normal weight of a baby (i.e. less than 2.5 KG), it will grow to be smart child, and according to researchers, if you’re IQ is higher than average you have a good chance to live a long life, living until 75 or longer.

VOLUME 5 NO. 25 - JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2005

SOCIETY & CULTURE

Slow Death

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Obituary

Here’s to You, Mr. President

By Nadia Amad, Jordan

A

bout a month ago, the world said goodbye to Yasser back into the international arena time and time again. Arafat’s Arafat. His body was interred in the soil of his beloved vision was to establish an independent Palestinian state, and country, land that has been and always will be irrefutaalthough he didn’t live to see that day, the fact that he attempted bly Palestinian. Despite his faults, to his people Yasser Arafat to make his dream a reality is a lot more than many people can was a father, a hero, an embodiment of their struggle. Despite say. his faults, they loved him and respected him; they trusted him and believed in him. And despite his faults, they honoured him What I find most repulsive is how certain people have the efboth dead and alive. They forgave his blunders because he was frontery to say what they have said. First of all, it does not mean a man who struggled over the betrayal to honour the dead. It course of 4 decades to reclaim their means respect and courtesy, The Palestinians loved their leader freedom, independence and pride. which are among the fundaThey have lived in oppression day mental principles of human defor a reason. Arafat was a man who in and day out for the past six deccency, a quality rather lacking fought alongside his people, under cirades, and nobody has ever fought today. I am personally in awe cumstances that would probably have for them the way Arafat did. The Palof the stance Jacques Chirac estinians’ reaction when the helihas taken; it reflects the tradicaused other leaders to cower and copter bearing Arafat’s body landed tions the French revolution folhide. He was a man who dedicated his in Ramallah that afternoon stands lowed. It does not take much life to the Palestinian cause. testament to these people’s appreto do what he did. It is an act ciation of a man who fought all his that stems from basic human life to earn them their independmorality towards other human ence. His coffin disappeared into the seas of the masses the beings. It is not a political act that supports terrorism, but an act second it touched ground. that recognizes the rights of people to self-determination and Arafat was not a perfect man; far from it. But at the end of the statehood. It is a comfort to those who might think that humans day it is unfortunately human nature to mess up. Otherwise there are losing their humanity. It is true what they say about adverwould be no wars, no crime, no murder - and while we’re at it, sity bringing out people’s true nature. This particularly rings true Bush wouldn’t have been re-elected. But the Palestinians loved when examining Israel’s reaction to Arafat’s death. Aside from their leader for a reason. Arafat was a man who fought alongeverything else, what harm could it have possibly done them to side his people, under circumstances that would probably have grant him his last request of being buried in Jerusalem? In concaused other leaders to cower and hide. He was a man who trast to how the Palestinian people expressed their sorrow after dedicated his life to the Palestinian Prime Minister Rabin was assassinated, the Israelis were shown cause, and he brought the issue of the dancing in the streets of Jerusalem.

Palestinian identity It brings me great frustration to see how the likes of certain Zionists speak of men like Arafat. Thank you, for parroting all the “facts” you have seen or heard on TV, the internet or the newspaper. And unfortunately, it is not your fault. It is a result of the propaganda you are fed by the media. After spending the past two weeks watching TV, I can hardly say it’s surprising how the Western world views the Middle East.

It is one of the great tragedies of our time.

The sun has set on a historic day, but it rose again the next. Israel and its friends claim that Arafat was a “master terrorist” and an “obstacle to peace”. Yasser Arafat is dead now. His people have cried and grieved and mourned their loss, but all we can do now is hope and pray for his soul to rest in peace. He was buried under a pine tree next to the compound in which he has been imprisoned for the past 2 and a half years. With him, Israel’s excuses have also been buried. I cannot help but wonder what fresh excuses it will now design to get away with the atrocities the world has so far tolerated.

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