May 4, 2004 Peace is Possible in Israel and Palestine – Keren Assaf Keren, dressed in traditional Japanese summer 'Yukata', sharing thoughts on peace http://www.peaceboat.org/english/voyg/pv/45/lob/040504/ When Israeli peace activist, Keren Assaf, heard that her Palestinian friend and colleague, Rami Nasserdin, had been denied entry to Kenya and would not be able to join her onboard Peace Boat, her first feeling was that she should not take part in the voyage. Why should I have the privilege to travel just because I am an Israeli? she asked. Although their homes in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem are only a 40-minute drive from each other, the quality of life in Israel and the Palestinian occupied territories is hard to compare. Describing society in Israel as an apartheid regime where two different systems of law and structure are in place to give privileges to Israelis and oppress Palestinians, Keren contends that the enforced segregation and building of settlements are tools of the government to disrupt attempts by Palestinians to live a normal life. Of the Occupied Territories’ 3.5 million population, 60 percent live below the poverty line, and 40 percent are unemployed. The disparity between the two peoples, argues Keren, has been the aim of Sharon's policy to destroy Palestinian infrastructure since the second Intifada. In lecture, with Middle East specialist Mari Oka, from Kyoto University in Japan Many Israelis never meet a Palestinian unless they are a soldier on a patrol or stationed at a checkpoint, and schools and society in Israel teach children, Arabs are not to be trusted and [that they] want to kill [Israelis]. The history and plight of Palestinian refugees is something few Israelis learn, a fact Keren says is a political choice to continue misunderstanding, making it easier for the government to promote lies and keep the people ignorant of their neighbors. If Israeli soldiers on the check points saw Palestinians as other human beings, then they could not stay. Although Keren says it is easy for the mass media to manipulate public opinion in Israel, the real information on what is happening on the other side of the security fence is there if people want to find out. Without the critical tools to dissect the mass media, we are vulnerable to manipulation. Keren began to use such tools from the remarkably young age of seven years old, when she saw a British journalist's photo of an Israeli soldier breaking the arms of Palestinian prisoners. Her mother understandably stopped her joining the demonstration she wanted to take part in, but the seeds of activism had been sown, and although Keren took no direct action until she was in her teens, she says she always felt the occupation was wrong. After the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995, Keren joined the civil society movement Peace Now, playing an active role in demonstrations and public dissent against the occupation. As the only student at her High School to refuse military service, she says those who believe serving in the army is a privilege and duty to Israel saw her as a parasite. Frustrated at the lack of real progress made by Israeli groups towards peace, Keren sought out organizations and civil action that had more direct results. Joining a peace camp in the Palestinian village of Mas'ha, Keren was one of the many Israelis and Palestinians living and protesting together on a strip of land due to be cleared for the so called Security Fence, which in reality is an apartheid wall that segregates people from their land, families and basic freedoms. The camp was not just a protest, but also about how Israelis and Palestinians can eat, talk, and live together in harmony. Despite the visit of over 1,000 Israelis to the peace camp, including reporters and camera teams from the media, security forces eventually drove the protestors from the site. The action may not have halted the construction of the wall, but the media coverage and the filming of an independent documentary, partly shot and directed by Keren, helped to raise awareness of the human rights violations still continuing, and also let the Palestinian people know that they are not alone in their struggle. It is this kind of interaction that dispels the illusion of blind hate between the two supposed enemies that is often generated in the media. Since meeting on their trip on Peace Boat in 2001, Keren and Rami have arranged workshops and meetings through their organization Breaking Barriers with over 200 young Israelis and Palestinians. Before acting you have to feel, Keren adds, remarking that the politicians have tried to stop her and Rami's efforts to bring the two sides together because it shows that war is unnecessary. As last year's recipients of the prestigious http://www.peaceboat.org/english/nwps/cn/arc/031115/index.html Mount Zion Award for Peace, Rami and Keren have shown that when people have the chance to meet face-to-face and talk about solving their conflict in a non-violent way, a real, just and lasting peace is possible.