Racing Toward a New Understanding
November 18th, 2007There are a lot of grassroots collaborations between Israelis and Palestinians that take place in a variety of arenas, but which get little attention and tend to be marginalized because of the larger political agendas that separate the two groups. The general lack of awareness about such endeavors is really a shame because youth need more hope, and and more examples of positive interaction, to create a critical mass willing to cooperate.
I found the following article interesting for a variety of reasons, particularly that a partnership between an Israeli and Palestinian significantly increases their chance for success … and this comes at a time when so many people around the world seem to want to separate in order to take care of themselves.
Aric Lapter and Rasheed Nashashibi aren’t political activists or peace campaigners. They don’t take part in rallies or demonstrations. They are just a couple of guys who are passionate about motor racing and who share a dream to race Formula One cars. The only hitch is that Lapter is Israeli and Nashashibi is a Palestinian. However the pair have decided to exploit their differences by racing together in the British Formula Vee Championship next year in an effort not just to further their dream, but also to take a stand for peace.
“At some point you have to change the situation,” says 31-year-old Lapter, an engineer and single-seater racer. “There are so many negative things occurring in this region, you just have to do something positive that will change the balance. Right now there is nothing to hope for, and there should be something to hope for. People need it. So many people talk about peace, but we believe in just getting on and doing it. We want to prove that Israelis and Palestinians can collaborate together and work as a team.”
“We want to show the world that there’s hope for Jews and Arabs to live together in peace,” adds 23-year-old Nashashibi, the 2006 Palestinian go-kart champion. “It’s not just about war and people killing each other. Israelis and Palestinians can work together. There’s an alternative. We want to show people a better image of both nations.”
“We are pioneering something new,” says Lapter, who has ploughed every penny he has into racing. “We don’t like to tell people what they should or shouldn’t do, define who is good or bad, innocent or guilty, right or wrong, we just want to show people that though we’re on opposite sides, we work well together.
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Very good point about cases of cooperation going under the radar of mainstream media. I am really excited to learn about this webiste that seems to go beyond that. Great job!
This is a lot like the soccer games who have both Israelis and Palestinians on the team. The coaches say it’s great watching these kids play and work together regardless of what’s going on around them.
There’s actually a lot of such stories, it’s just a matter of digging for them.
That’s my point exactly Ezra! And i hope that we, the younger generation would be able start shifting the focus towards a more positive perspective.
[...] and tend to be marginalized because of the larger political agendas that separate the two groups, writes Matthew in Mideast Youth. Share [...]
[...] and positive stories, that seem to escape mainstream media radar. For example here is a story of Israeli and Palestinian formula one enthusiasts who are going to compete together. And here is [...]