SEEDS OF PEACE
BULLETIN
Empowering Children of War to Break the Cycles of Violence “We all know that someday Jerusalem will be a city of peace with two capitals. And probably, very probably, one of the streets lining the two capitals will be, should be, named after John Wallach.” - Zbigniew Brzezinski, former National Security Advisor
Seeds of Peace has just completed another successful summer and is now heading into its fall and winter activities. Please check out where we have been and where we are heading.
AT C A M P Over the course of three summer sessions, 450 teens set foot on the camp’s ground in Otisfield, ME. We were thrilled to have not only Israeli and Palestinian youth but also youth from Egypt, Jordan, Morocco, Yemen, Qatar, Tunisia, Greece, Turkey, Cyprus, the Balkans, the United States, India, Pakistan and even Afghanistan. Yes, Afghanistan. This summer, for the first time, twelve Afghan children went through our coexistence program and had the time of their lives. The young “Seeds” from each session came together in every sense - during coexistence, in their bunks, in the dining hall, on the ropes course, and on the playing field. On “Sports Day” (when our camp plays other camps at sports), camp director Tim Wilson noticed that during the boys’ soccer match, the ball passed through eight different nationalities before it went into the goal! How’s that for teamwork? Speaking of teamwork, session two brought a special basketball clinic to camp that included NBA stars Antawn Jamison and Mike Dunleavy, Jr. of the Golden State Warriors, Brent Barry of the Seattle Supersonics, Carlos Boozer of the Cleveland Cavaliers, B.J. Armstrong, a former player and now assistant General Manager with the Chicago Bulls, and Don Casey, former coach of the NJ Nets and the Los Angeles Clippers. Between the clinic and other excite-
ment this summer, Seeds of Peace was featured in media outlets around the country including the Today Show, CNN, MSNBC, ESPN, National Public Radio, USA Today, The New York Times, The Boston Sunday Globe, The Los Angeles Times, The Christian Science Monitor, The Detroit Free Press, The Portland Press Herald, Time, Newsweek, Seventeen, Marie Claire, and Teen People – just to name a few! We also spanned the globe in international coverage appearing on major television and radio networks, and newspapers and print publications in countries such as England, Canada, Ireland, France, Mexico, South Africa, Japan, Italy, and Israel.
FALL 2002 of Peace held a memorial service in his honor at the United Nations with speakers including Secretary-General of the United Nations Kofi Annan, Queen Noor of Jordan, the Mayor of Haifa Amram Mitzna, the President of Al Quds University Dr. Sari Nusseibeh, former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, former National Security Advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski, Hearst Bureau Chief Chuck Lewis and actress Bebe Neuwirth. The event was a wonderful tribute to a special man and we thank all of you for your outpouring of love and affection to the Wallach family and us during this difficult time. As John would have wished, we are moving on and have a number of upcoming entertaining and educational events planned. On November 18th, Seeds of Peace’s Michigan Chapter holds its second Gala in Detroit. Following this fundraising event, we will have a Thanksgiving Retreat with our Seeds who are studying in the U.S. under the Education Scholarship Program.
IN THE REGION Even while camp was in session, the Center for Coexistence in Jerusalem was holding activities and seminars with those in the region. This fall, several hundred alumni– both Palestinians and Israelis– have already reunited at the Center, representing some of the largest coexistence gatherings since the current Intifada began. In other regional follow-up activities, Seeds of Peace staff member, Jen Marlowe, completed a one-month visit to Kabul, Afghanistan, meeting with our campers and visiting their schools, as well as talking to those in the region who can help with this critical program in a region plagued by violence and conflict.
A R O U N D TO W N As many of you know, Seeds of Peace had a tough summer with the loss of the President and Founder of Seeds of Peace, John Wallach. Recently, Seeds
To kick-off 2003, Seeds of Peace will hold its annual Young Leadership “Bid for Peace” Celebrity Auction with special guest, former President Bill Clinton. If that isn’t enough, we hope to run an International Youth Conference for our alumni that will focus on the role of the media. To wrap-up our precamp season, we will throw a gala event for our supporters in Los Angeles and finish with our annual Seeds of Peace Gala on April 28 at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York.
As you can see, it has been and will continue to be a busy and exciting time for us at Seeds of Peace. Look for more frequent updates and announcements via email and our website in the next few months! If you want to be included in our upgraded e-mail system of notification of events and developments, please e-mail us at info@seedsofpeace.org.
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