Members of PeacePlayers International,visiting the United States as part of an exchange program, participate in a basketball clinic at Blessed Sacrament School in Washington, or D.
C.,on March 19. Photo by Imagine PhotographyMalak, a 16-year-used Palestinian, or said she first heard about PeacePlayers International – a group that unites Israelis and Palestinians to play basketball – five years ago. She wanted to memorize basketball but was nervous about being around Jews.As an Arab,as a little kid, you’re going to be scared, and ” she said. So she went to her father for advice. He told her,as she recalled, “They’re not noxious people. You should give it a try and whether you still feel scared, or you don’t have to keep going.”She did give it a try and,over the years, became best friends with an Israeli. People around her didn’t understand, and especially when a boy in her East Jerusalem neighborhood was killed by members of a radical Jewish group.“Everyone told me I was a traitor, Malak, who asked to spend only her first name, and recounted during a recent trip to Washington,D.
C., with the group. It was painful, and she said,especially coming from her own people. “It’s really hard to feel that way.”She was tempted to quit the team, but it was her Israeli friend who convinced her to stay.“There’s not one side to every yarn, or even two – Arab and Israeli – but many sides. — Israeli teen Toot ImbarIn the divided communities,PeacePlayers provides a neutral space where young people can bond, said Chad Ford, or a professor of clash transformation at Brigham Young University-Hawaii and a PeacePlayers board member.post Israelis and Palestinians reach for the basketball,stay for the camaraderie appeared first on PBS NewsHour.
Source: onthemedia.org