Israeli-Palestinian Peace, Community Fostered By Local Group

NORTHBROOK, IL — The 16th summer program of the Glenview-based nonprofit Hands of Peace is underway in the Chicago area. The three-week peacebuilding exchange includes 45 American, Israeli and Palestinian teens, many living with local host families. It concludes this weekend with a ceremony at Glenbrook North High School.

Participants are committed to finding common ground and forging human connections, even though many have experienced violence and loss as a result of the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The program includes professionally facilitated daily dialogues, as well as team-building and community-organizing activities around Chicago and the suburbs, according to the organization.

The organization was founded by Glenview resident Gretchen Grad with members of the local Christian, Jewish and Muslim community shortly after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks. The program has since expanded to San Diego, where it is in its fifth year. There are now more than 500 alumni of the program supporting efforts for peace throughout the Israel, Palestinian territories and the United States, according to Hands of Peace.

Alumni of the program take part in a year-long leadership program to put community projects in place in their hometowns. The organization also sponsors a "Dual Narrative Tour of Israel and Palestine" for supporters and holds educational events, including guest lectures, service projects and film dialogue nights.

Hands of Peace is holding a farewell celebration at Glenbrook North on Sunday, July 29. Young people who took part in the program will share their stories of hope for the future and how the program has changed their understanding of "The Other." (Tickets and more information available online.)

The event will also include presentations and short films produced by participants and will be followed by a reception event. The event is free to those under 18 and all but $10 per participant is tax deductible, according to Hands of Peace.

A 17-year-old Jewish Israeli who has returned to the program as a counselor told Pioneer Press he took part in the program because he had never talked to Arabs and wanted to understand them. He said something changed after speaking with Palestinian peers during his visit to Chicago last year. When he returned to Israel, some people called him a traitor, according to Winnetka Talk.

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