College Students Search for Innovative Methods of Peace
an article by Daniel Armanios

From March 31-April 2, 2006, twenty-two US college students from across the country came to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to address Middle Eastern peace. Together, they decided to defy the hopelessness that seems the norm in the region with innovative methods to rejuvenate the peace process. Together, American-Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) interns, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) members, Palestine refugee activists, college Democrats and Republicans, Central Asians, Christians, Jews, and Muslims decided the time to change complacency to the status quo was now.

Through a forum called Session: Middle East, founded at the University of Pittsburgh, the successes of the 1978-1979 Camp David Summit and 1991 Madrid Conference were incorporated with present current events to help promote new grassroots methods for peace. Student participants role-played not just political leaders but also journalists and scientists. Unlike other conventional simulation methods, participants learned to understand the "other" by being the "other"; role reversals were conducted where pro-Israeli views represented Arab positions and vice versa.

The results of this simulation were as diverse and creative as the participants involved. Israel employed a series of good-faith measures towards the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). Even Lebanon recognized Israel as a state as long as Israel joined in talks regarding its status on a variety of issues such as the Palestinian Right of Return. Through all these events, student journalists simulating the Jerusalem Post and Dar al-Hayat chronicled the events. Student scientific experts simulating the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) provided technical assistance to agreed-upon resolutions.

Hopefully, the forum participants will remember their own personalized role-playing of Sadat, Rabin, and Hussein I, and hold dear to the knowledge they can create change for today that can last well into tomorrow.

Daniel Armanios is the President and Founder of Session: Middle East. For more information, you can email the group at session.middle.east@gmail.com or view their website at www.pitt.edu/~sorc/smeast.

DISCUSSION

Question(s) related to this article:

Do idealistic initiatives have an impact on history?


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MIDEAST PEACE

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Quote (CPNN Administrator @ June 29 2003,08:20)

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I believe that only idealistic initiatives have a postitive impact on history.  I am thinking of the positive outcomes of the work of Gandhi and Desmond Tutu -- two idealistic, smart and committed people.  Due to the many difficulties their historical movements, faced their positive impact seemed uncertain.

Similarly In the case of Isreal in Palestine the positive outcome of idealistic peace initiatives also does not seem certain now.  However, in the future the impact will be clear in retrospect.  PEACE WILL REIGN!!.. . ...more.

This report was posted on August 31, 2006. The moderator is Tony Dominski.

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