“The 1993 Oslo Accord heralded a period of optimism in Israel and Palestine and around the world: an end to one of the most entrenched conflicts on the planet at last, seemed in sight. The possibility of co-existence for Arabs and Jews, Israelis and Palestinians, was no longer an ever retreating, elusive mirage but an achievable, tangible reality; a return in fact, to a time when Arab and Jews did live side by side in this ancient and historic land. In the ten to fifteen years following the accord, people-to-people organizations began to spring up both within the region and abroad, many in the United States. The style of these groups and their range of interests were wide: dialogue circles, bereavement support, sports clubs, environmental agencies, health and human service providers, arts programs, research institutes, human rights advocates, and governmental reformers: practical, therapeutic, political. Many organizations targeted youth, young people being naturally more open-minded and idealistic were seen as the best hope for the future. And among the widely diverse programs, there was one thing in common: the belief that if you bring people together from different sides of a conflict, in situations where they can meet and get to know ‘the other side’, to know their ‘enemy’, then fear, mistrust and prejudice would be replaced by understanding, compassion and a willingness to find common interests for a shared future. This in turn, will lead to peace.”

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