An investment in peace for Israelis, Palestinians

Last month marked the 60th anniversary of Israel's founding, but peace between Israel and the Palestinians still seems a remote possibility.

To offer people here a sense of hope, and to enhance cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians over there, a local ad hoc interreligious group is launching a new project to promote peace in an entirely new way.

Conceived and initiated by the Greater Seattle Chapter of the American Jewish Committee and the NW Washington Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, this unique project tries to find concrete and constructive ways for people of diverse, but hardly disinterested, communities to work together to promote peace between the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. A representative of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia Bishop's Committee for Justice and Peace in Israel/Palestine is also playing a major role in the development of this project.

Called Investing for Peace in the Holy Land, the project builds on the ongoing people-to-people work presently being done by Israelis and Palestinians.

During the course of meeting together for more than a year, the organizing group discovered more than 200 nonprofit organizations working both in Israel and the West Bank to build bridges of cooperation between the two peoples. Further research led the group to select four projects to recommend to local churches, synagogues, mosques and other organizations for their support.

The four Investing for Peace in the Holy Land projects are:

• Healthcare Employee Development Program (www.j-diocese.org)

The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East has developed a cooperative program that will enable Palestinian medical personnel to receive training in Israeli hospitals before returning home to serve their own people more effectively.

• Parents' Circle — Families Forum (www.theparentscircle.org)

This organization consists of several hundred bereaved families, half Palestinian and half Israeli, that spearhead reconciliation programs between Israelis and Palestinians and for an end to violence in the region.

• EcoPeace Friends of the Middle East (www.foeme.org)

EcoPeace Friends brings together Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli environmentalists to work on sustainable regional development.

• All for Peace Radio (www.allforpeace.org)

All for Peace Radio is an independent station for peace-building between Israeli and Palestinian societies, staffed by Israelis and Palestinians. The station has broadcasting licenses issued by Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

The organizers of Investing for Peace in the Holy Land believe that, as American Jews, Christians and Muslims, working together for Israeli-Palestinian peace reflects fundamental teachings in our respective religious traditions. We also believe our areas of agreement are worthy of as much consideration as our disagreements, and we commit to developing trust among ourselves and to working together conscientiously and sensitively to emphasize our common concern for justice and peace. As people of faith, we uphold the principles of the sanctity of human life and dignity.

We will begin to reach out to area congregations and organizations to solicit individual and group support for any or all of the four recommended projects. Investing for Peace in the Holy Land will then bundle the donations it receives and send them on to the designated organizations with a cover letter explaining why and how the donations came about.

We are aware of how divisive the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be in our own community. We believe it possible to help promote peace over there and build better intergroup relations over here. We are encouraged by the many Israelis and Palestinians who are working together for peace and we are now seeking support and publicity for their efforts.