Published in the Jerusalem Post
-- Page one news -- Sunday, January 18, 2004
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull%26cid=1074329038558
Mountain of Israeli-Palestinian friendship
by LAUREN GELFOND
LGelfond@zahav.net.il
On a previously unclimbed mountain in the heart of
Antarctica, newly planted Palestinian and Israeli flags wave side by side.
On Thursday evening, four Palestinians and four
Israelis, harnessed together for safety, reached the peak and mingled their
footprints in the virgin snow. After 15 days at sea and on ice, the
ascent and ceremony left the eight unlikely teammates in tears. In celebration,
three Palestinians kneeled in prayer.
Though the symbolic flags will soon be destroyed by
heavy winds, the group including former IDF commandos and Fatah activists
inaugurated the peak with a permanent name: "Mountain of
Israeli-Palestinian Friendship."
"We, the members of 'Breaking the Ice,' the
Israeli-Palestinian expedition to Antarctica, having reached the conclusion of
a long journey by land and sea from our homes in the Middle East to the
southernmost reaches of the earth, now stand atop this unnamed mountain,"
read the proclamation they coauthored en route.
"By reaching its summit we have proven that
Palestinians and Israelis can cooperate with one another with mutual respect
and trust. Despite the deep differences that exist between us, we have
shown that we can carry on a sincere and meaningful dialogue. We join
together in rejecting the use of violence in the solution of our problems and
hereby declare that our peoples can and deserve to live together in peace and friendship."
While the trekkers eventually agreed on a name for the
mountain and worked successfully together as partners, relations were not
always easy. Fiery debates broke out over the security fence, the Temple
Mount, peace accords, Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat, and even
the wording of the proclamation. On the last day, they reached a
unanimous agreement that the proclamation should reflect human and not
political values.
Despite vastly different takes on historical and
political events, the group bonded and came to each other's aid during personal
conversations, and as they faced sea sickness, violent winds, and near-zero
visibility during parts of the journey. They also spent many hours
together contemplating the work of nature, as they saw for the first time
penguins, seals, whales, and glaciers in the Drake Passage and the stark
landscapes of Antarctica.
"This moment is so beautiful, seeing Israelis and
Palestinians doing this kind of thing together," said Palestinian journalist
Ziad Darwish through tears upon reaching the peak. "Yet it also
makes me think of all the horrible things we're doing to one another back
home."
Darwish visited Arafat and received his blessing
before signing on, he told The Jerusalem Post one day before heading out.
The journey is the first program of Extreme Peace
Missions, a new extreme sports organization dedicated to conflict resolution
among youth and adults in conflict zones.
"No one thinks that we're going to bring peace by
climbing mountains," said Israeli group leader Doron Erel. "But
everyone should know what we, as Israelis and Palestinians, are capable of
doing when we set our minds to it."
Mike Greenspan contributed to this report.
The "Breaking The Ice" expedition homepage
is at http://www.breaking-the-ice.de/
.
Expedition photos are at http://www.breaking-the-ice.de/t_gallery.htm
.
Their Expedition Diary is at http://www.breaking-the-ice.de/WebLog/b2/
.