Nature Knows No Borders

By DAVID WEISBERG

While it seems logical that two of the most important foundations to human survival are living in peace with the earth and living in peace with each other, it is not an obvious conclusion that those two fundamental objectives work best when they work together. It may seem an even greater stretch that the two are working together in ground-breaking fashion in the Middle East, just off the Israel-Jordan border.

The improbable germination of an idea that environmental studies could be used as a platform to build positive working relationships – even friendships – between young Arabs and Jews is as improbable as the germination of a 2,000-year old seed from the long extinct Judean date palm that was found during excavations on Israel’s Masada. Both have happened at the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, located on Kibbutz Ketura, in Israel’s southern Arava Valley.

Established in 1996, the Arava Institute is a unique oasis of environmental education, research, activism, and international cooperation based on a simple philosophy – that all people in the Middle East, despite their political and cultural differences, share the same environment and that this can be a binding force among diverse populations. By bringing together undergraduate and graduate students from Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Jordan (as well as North America) to study common environmental issues, the Arava Institute helps to build relationships among people of different backgrounds who, without the Institute, might never have the opportunity to meet people like each other, let alone work together.

The results are breath-taking: Jordanian students going home and convincing their parents that Israelis can be good neighbors, Israeli students learning to understand and empathize with the challenges of their Palestinian neighbors, and real environmental successes - from cooperative work with Morocco on sustainable agriculture to the amazing germination of the 2,000-year old seed which has grown into “Methusaleh,” the date palm which, if it turns out to be female, will produce dates which no one has tasted since biblical times.

But beneath the incredible environmental work is always the underlying quest towards coexistence and peace. From the Peace and Environmental Leadership Seminar, which works with current students to confront and understand cultural differences, to the Arava Peace and Environmental Network, the first member organization of Israelis, Palestinians, and Jordanians, which was launched to assist with ongoing contact and communication among alumni, the Institute isn’t just talking peace, it’s making it.

Twelve years since its inception, the experiment of the Arava Institute is not only a success, but a model for building cooperation and coexistence in other areas of historic conflict – and the world is beginning to take notice. The year 2007 saw Arava Institute alumni speaking to a diverse audience at the United Nations, the Institute and its students lauded by Israeli President Shimon Peres and King Abdullah of Jordan, and celebrity benefits across the United States featuring Sarah Silverman, Roseanne Barr, and Mandy Patinkin.

Patinkin developed his commitment to the Institute while participating on the annual Israel Ride, a 300-mile fundraising bicycle ride from Jerusalem to Eilat to benefit the Institute. The ride attracted 175 participants last year, so many that this year the Arava Institute, along with its partner organization Hazon, will offer two rides, one in May and one in September. Mirroring the Arava Institute model, the Israel Ride is staffed by Arava Institute alumni, young Jews and Arabs working together, side-by-side, and having fun.

Amazingly, in a place known for war, an organization has found a recipe for building peace – not through building walls, but by building bridges.