A
dozen North American summer camp programs for the Middle East public peace
process, including one for families, await 2006
participants -- Jews and Palestinians from
Read about them at http://traubman.igc.org/camps.htm
A new
printed booklet of life-tested activities is now available to the public,
as a gift from these programs.
CAMP ACTIVITIES FOR RELATIONSHIP-BUILDING PROGRAMS
is a 17-page (and growing) illustrated guideline for relationship-building
activities for youth and adults worldwide.
Read and download it at the top of http://traubman.igc.org/campconf.htm
.
"COURAGEOUS PEOPLE ONLY" might read the sign
at the gates of these life-changing gathering places.
Yet, the relative comfort of these programs pales
compared to the treacherous mountain and dessert terrain to where two groups
of
"enemies" -- Palestinians, Israelis, and others -- are training
together to travel soon.
Survival is their common goal.
Totally dependent on the goodwill,
skills, and cooperation of the "other."
Building a team that works for the
good of all.
Discovering Earth and each other.
As we are born to do well.
=== 1 ===
Breaking the Ice 2006 (Sahara Dessert)
Through January, 2004, four Arabs and four Jews
-- including two women -- comprised the historic Israeli-Palestinian expedition
to
From the southern tip of
Successfully summiting an unclimbed, un-named peak,
they named it The Mountain of Israeli-Palestinian Friendship.
On their way home, they stopped in
Their story will live forever.
It helps us become more -- braver, better.
Breaking the Ice 2006 will be ten men and women --
Christians, Jews and Muslims from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Israel, the
Palestinian Authority, the former Soviet Union and the USA -- coming
together in mind, body and spirit to cross the Sahara desert and the
territories of five different countries and cultures.
In March 2006, the team will embark on a
four-week journey from
The participants will confront physical and
spiritual terrain that has witnessed conflict throughout the centuries.
Testing themselves against the challenges of their
surroundings and their own conflicted relationships, they will succeed only if
they rely on and trust one another.
Training began at the end of this January.
The selected participants met for the first time for
an orientation and training camp in the
They are preparing themselves mentally and physically
for the challenges of the journey that lies ahead in March.
Their trip diary will be at http://breaking-the-ice.de/index.php?page=journeys_sahara_diary
.
=== 2 ===
The Everest Peace Project (Mt. Everest)
This April 2006, world history will be made
when Palestinian-born Ali Bushnaq will climb Mt.
Everest with Israelis Micha Yaniv
and David Yifrah.
The three climbers are part of a group of peace
climbers called The Everest Peace Project.
The Everest climbing team consists of nine
experienced mountaineers representing seven different countries and five major
faith traditions (Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, and Buddhism).
Their goal is not to preach religion (they also
have an atheist on their team) or politics.
Instead, this multi-cultural team intends to
inspire the international community through their climb, sending a profound
message of peace, teamwork, and cultural understanding from the top of the
world.
See the story and photographs of training
in Jordan and Mt. Shasta, California: