spend Thanksgiving giving thanks. For me, the meaning of
@
Thanksgiving was giving thanks to America as the land where a reunion oflsraelis and Arabs is oossible.
Karen Karniol-Tambour (Netanya) tudying at Princeton as a foreign student, I am learning about the different American holidays. Regarding Thanksgiving, I've heard friends express sentimentality for tradition, quality time with family and large quantities of turkey. Only occassionally the original theme of the holiday, giving thanks, came up. Instead of going to a friend's place and experiencing a "wholeseome" American Thanksgiving, I was invited to go to a small town in Connecticut and spend the holiday in a very un-American way. But along the way, I realized what I wanted to give thanks for.
Sixty Seeds of Peace members came together for
our
Thanksgiving celebration. I nearly had a heart attack when I saw three friends whom I have not seen for over three years. While I
was going
to high school in
Netanya, Israel, Najeeb was a
Palestinian living in Beit Jala, Dalia was an Egyptian living in Cairo, and Jamil a Jordanian living in Amman. When the intifada starled three years ago, it became impossible to keep in touch and visit each other. We are older, and we have been through a lot over the past three years. But after these years of living on opposite sides in a war, we could still look at each other as human beings and catch up like old friends. At Princeton, most of my friends are
American. But it struck me over the weekend how much culturally closer I feel to Arabs than to my American friends. Sometimes people speak of a clash between Westem and Arab civilizations,
with Israel being a part of Western civilization. Yet Israelis and
Seeds classes
of '95, '97 and '98; college classes of'04 and '05
Arabs dance to the same music, enjoy the same foods, and, let's be honest, are loud and up front and speak in similar languages that sound incredibly rough and angry to most Westerners. While in the Middle East our people were killing each other, in the US, cultural
similarities made it easy for us Israelis and Arabs to hang out together, get to know each other and express mutual hopes for a shared brighter future. I don't know how many Americans actually
Irom ldeast0[cti0n Ghadeer
f arazi (Ramallah)
he vibrant energy that filled the room
during
Thanksgiving dinner, hosted by the generous president of
Manhattanville College, Richard Berman,
was
fascinating. Seeing faces that we haven't seen for so many years. catching up with friends, eating delicious food and enjoying the
delightful atmosphere was truly something to be thankful for. The rest of the three days were almost like camp. Hanging out with friends, enjoying fun acitivities and most importantly holding discussions. Most discussions were centered around trying to answer the complex question of what Seeds of Peace is and what effects it has on our lives. But what was different this time was that the discussions weren't argument-oriented. We were no ionger interested chailenging each other's opinions but instead focused on using our different perspectives to shape a better understanding of our expectations for the future. One of the major ideas discussed during the retreat was a possible retreat for Seeds of Peace alumni. Different options were suggested in order to handle the logistics of the event. A committee will be formed to handle organization of the reuinion. This reunion serve as a meeting point for all Seeds to re-establish the lost connections, as invitations to rejoin Seeds of Peace, and most importantly, it will
2003 Seeds of Peace students' Thanksgiving Retreat participants
function as a good starting point to open new possibilities for Seeds alumni to resume their involvement and influence in the organization. The Thanksgiving retreat gave me optimism, because it reminded me of the enormous potential that both Seeds of Peace and the Seeds themselves hold. It's our responsibility to
cary out projects leading to a promising for the region and its people.
peace and a stable future