Dear Jewish-Palestinian Dialogue participants and
supporters,
After the eight courageous Palestinians and Israelis
of "Breaking the Ice" peace expedition conquered an unclimbed
Antarctic peak and named it "The Mountain of Israeli-Palestinian Friendship,"
they didn't simply "go home."
In fact, they're not home at all.
Bad weather kept them on their boat in Antarctica an
additional, physically difficult week -- with a kind of crisis of spirit.
Only a few days ago could they finally depart for
Chile on Drake Passage -- 4-1/2 days through wind and stormy seas.
"The Drake Passage has earned
a place in history as having some of the roughest sea weather on the planet. .
.where the fast flowing southern ocean waters are squeezed between the
continental land masses of South America and Antarctica. Storms frequently whip
the ocean into a dark grey turbulent, heaving mass of water, renowned for
sinking many a ship."
Four
weeks without showers, they hope to reach Puerto Williams at the most southern
tip of Chile this evening, Tuesday, 27 January, 2004.
They delay has, we're excited to report, sparked
unexpected compassion and creativity among admiring Palestinians and Jews in
Chile, as you can read in the Expedition Diary below.
There is a new opportunity -- a flurry of
communication and goodwill among the two communities in Santiago, for the sake
of the "Breaking the Ice" team to further broadcast their shared
conquest, humanity, and vision.
Their Israeli-Palestinian story is far, far from
over.
"Breaking the Ice" is only beginning to have
its effects "back home," we imagine.
-- L&L
Friday,
23 December 2004
Stuck in a Bay
Since five days, the group is stuck in a bay due to stormy weather. They
could start crossing the Drake Passage, as they are at the upper end of
Gerlache Strait. However, even today at noon (Chile time, GMT -3 hours) it is
not clear if they can make tracks tomorrow.
Tomorrow (Saturday) is the last day for starting the crossing of the Drake
passage in time to arrive in Puerto Williams by the 28. January, their
scheduled arrival time.
Tuesday, 27 January 2004
Drake Passage and beyond
The expedition has left the Antarctic Peninsula in stormy weather, navigating
safely through icebergs. On Monday evening, they had crossed 60 S and
officially left the Antarctic waters. In a phone conversation, Heskel gave us a
brief on their mood, saying just how tired and exhausted they all are.
The team is only at the beginning of grasping the dynamics that have unfolded
in the last few days: With help of the Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue
Group in California, the Santiago Jewish and Palestinian communities are
beginning to communicate with each other. The plan is to give the team a good
welcome in Santiago as well as the opportunity to give account of their amazing
story at a public place in Chile.
They are due to arrive in Puerto Williams by Tuesday night. We will inform
as soon as we get more updated information.
See the Photos: http://www.breaking-the-ice.de/t_gallery.htm
.
Read the Expedition Diary: http://www.breaking-the-ice.de/WebLog/b2/
.