Seeds of Peace is a

peacebuilding Peacebuilding is an activity that aims to resolve injustice in nonviolent ways and to transform the cultural and structural conditions that generate deadly or destructive conflict. It revolves around developing constructive personal, group, and ...

and

leadership development Leadership development is the process which helps expand the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles within organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of an organization's strategy through building alignmen ...

non-profit organization headquartered in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. It was founded in 1993. As its main program, the organization brings youth and educators from areas of conflict to its summer camp. It also provides local programming to support Seeds of Peace graduates, known as Seeds, once they return home. It is a non-political organization that teaches youth peace-making skills.

History

Seeds of Peace began in 1993 as an idea of the

America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

n journalist John Wallach. At a

state dinner A state banquet is an official banquet hosted by the head of state in their official residence for another head of state, or sometimes head of government, and other guests. Usually as part of a state visit or diplomatic conference, it is held ...

with politicians from

Israel Israel, officially the State of Israel, is a country in West Asia. It Borders of Israel, shares borders with Lebanon to the north, Syria to the north-east, Jordan to the east, Egypt to the south-west, and the Mediterranean Sea to the west. Isr ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, and the

Palestinian Authority The Palestinian Authority (PA), officially known as the Palestinian National Authority (PNA), is the Fatah-controlled government body that exercises partial civil control over the Palestinian enclaves in the Israeli occupation of the West Bank, ...

, Wallach proposed that they bring 15 youngsters from each of their respective countries to a new camp he was founding in

Maine Maine ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the United States, and the northeasternmost state in the Contiguous United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Provinces and ...

. These 46, including 3 Americans, ranging in age from 13 to 18, comprised the first session of the ''Seeds of Peace Camp,'' founded on the site of the former Camp Powhatan in

Otisfield, Maine Otisfield is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. Otisfield is included in the Lewiston-Auburn, Maine metropolitan New England city and town area. The population was 1,853 at the 2020 census. Otisfield is a summer recreation area and ...

. The campers from 1993 were later present at the signing ceremony of the Declaration of Principles (better known as the

Oslo Accords The Oslo Accords are a pair of interim agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO): the Oslo I Accord, signed in Washington, D.C., in 1993; and the Oslo II Accord, signed in Taba, Egypt, in 1995. They marked the st ...

) in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

President

Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton (né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician and lawyer who was the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, ...

, Israeli Prime Minister

Yitzhak Rabin Yitzhak Rabin (; , ; 1 March 1922 – 4 November 1995) was an Israeli politician, statesman and general. He was the prime minister of Israel, serving two terms in office, 1974–1977, and from 1992 until Assassination of Yitzhak Rabin, his ass ...

, Israeli Foreign Minister

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

, and PLO Chairman Yasir Arafat were photographed holding Seeds of Peace T-shirts. From its start in 1993 through 2010, Seeds says that over 4,000 children have attended the camp. Children have attended from a wide variety of countries, with Seeds offices in

Amman Amman ( , ; , ) is the capital and the largest city of Jordan, and the country's economic, political, and cultural center. With a population of four million as of 2021, Amman is Jordan's primate city and is the largest city in the Levant ...

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

, Gaza,

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

Kabul Kabul is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan. Located in the eastern half of the country, it is also a municipality, forming part of the Kabul Province. The city is divided for administration into #Districts, 22 municipal districts. A ...

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

, Otisfield,

Ramallah Ramallah ( , ; ) is a Palestinians, Palestinian city in the central West Bank, that serves as the administrative capital of the State of Palestine. It is situated on the Judaean Mountains, north of Jerusalem, at an average elevation of abov ...

, and

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

as of 2010.

Organization

John Wallach's vision focused on leaders of the next generation. The need to establish its legitimacy at home inspired the creation of the Delegation Leaders Program. Delegation Leaders are educators from the countries in conflict; they take part in the selection and orientation of Seeds at home. They accompany the Seeds to and from camp. While at camp, participants speak English as the common language of the camp. The organization supports returning Seeds with year-round programming, including dialogue sessions, cross-cultural visits, educational and leadership development workshops, and outreach events. In 2001, Seeds of Peace expanded to

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, bringing together conflicting sides from

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

Camper selection process

The selection takes about half a year, with most of the participants being 14–16 years old. Typically, applicants to Seeds of Peace apply through the school systems in their home countries. Applicants must demonstrate proficiency in English, leadership skills, and local politics. They are selected on the basis of interviews and written essays. Many of the first-time campers are chosen by the Ministries of Education or other government agencies in their respective countries.

Leadership

John Wallach, the founder of the organization, also served as its president until his death in 2002. He was succeeded by former

State Department The United States Department of State (DOS), or simply the State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs o ...

official Aaron David Miller, who left the job early in 2006. Later, Janet Wallach, wife of John Wallach, was named president

emeritus ''Emeritus/Emerita'' () is an honorary title granted to someone who retires from a position of distinction, most commonly an academic faculty position, but is allowed to continue using the previous title, as in "professor emeritus". In some c ...

, and Steven Flanders served for a time as the executive officer in charge. Starting in the spring of 2007, Nicolla Hewitt served briefly as president, until her departure in 2008. Leslie Adelson Lewin served as director from the fall of 2009 to 2019. In 2020, the organization announced Fr. Josh Thomas as its new Executive Director.

Offices

The organization's U.S. headquarters are located in New York City. Seeds of Peace has also opened central offices in

and smaller offices in

, Gaza,

, Otisfield,

, and

as of 2010. Programs for people in their 20s are expanding.

Life after camp

Approximately 350 new Seeds graduate from Seeds of Peace every summer. After camp, the organization runs year-round regional programs for graduates in their home countries that focus on "four of the most important assets and abilities that leaders in conflict regions need to create meaningful change: strong relationships across lines of conflict; a sophisticated understanding of core conflict issues; practical skills in communication, critical thinking, and change-making; and the ability to take action on behalf of peace." Author John Wallach himself dedicated his book, ''The Enemy Has a Face: The Seeds of Peace Experience'', to the organization.

''The Olive Branch''

From 1996 to 2012, the organization's graduates published a magazine, ''The Olive Branch'', that summed up their activities over a period of several months. It included reports, poetry, essays, and photos.

Alumni

Asel Asleh

On October 2, 2000, Asel Asleh, an

Israeli Arab The Arab citizens of Israel form the country's largest ethnic minority. Their community mainly consists of former Palestinian Citizenship Order 1925, Mandatory Palestine citizens (and their descendants) who continued to inhabit the territory ...

and graduate of the program, was killed by Israeli security forces during a demonstration. He was wearing the Seeds of Peace T-shirt at the time of the shooting and was subsequently buried in it. Gracie Abrams American singer-songwriter

Gracie Abrams Gracie Madigan Abrams (; born September 7, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter. The daughter of the director J. J. Abrams, she signed with Interscope Records in 2019, and gained recognition after releasing her debut extended play, '' Minor' ...

attended the program in 2016. The pop artist released a statement to social media referencing her time in the camp in the wake of the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

Criticism

In a fantasy-theme analysis of Seeds of Peace publications, Engstrom (2007) argues that organizations like Seeds of Peace unknowingly participate in sustaining the conflicts they seek to eliminate by rhetorically promoting peace, which places the burden of ending the conflict on future generations. Politicians and other stakeholders in the current conflict use their support for Seeds of Peace as a signal of their commitment to peace while remaining committed to military engagement.

Hands of Peace

In 2024, Hands of Peace, a smaller U.S.-based nonprofit that held summer programs for Israeli, Palestinian and American youth closed down and merged with Seeds of Peace. A notable alum of the program is Naama Levy, one of the Israeli soldiers taken captive by

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

when the Palestinian militant group stormed the Nahal Oz Army Base on October 7, 2023 and released on 25 January 2025 after 477 days in captivity.

References

Sources

Seeds of Peace official website

''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 3 September 1995 * ttp://www.nytimes.com/1999/08/29/nyregion/in-search-of-peace-on-common-ground.html In Search of Peace On Common Ground''

'', 29 August 1999
Mideast teens plant Seeds of Peace
CNN.com, 14 August 2001
Seeds of Peace camp plants seed of hope
CNN.com, 19 July 2002
Arabs, Israelis Hold Peace Reunion

Fox News The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conservatism in the United States, conservative List of news television channels, news and political commentary Television stati ...

, 16 August 2005
Peace Camp's Sense of Hope Unshaken

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...

, 7 August 2006

External links

*
Omer Goldman Shministim and Daughter of Deputy Director of Mossad Official Israeli Students who refuse to enlist in the IDF Website:"People who use violence are wrong!" - www.omergoldman.com (In English with video and radio interviews including kidnapping/torture of Palestinian children and IDF)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Seeds Of Peace Organizations involved in the Israeli–Palestinian peace process Israeli–Palestinian peace process Organizations established in 1993 Summer camps in Cumberland County, Maine Peace camps Otisfield, Maine Jews and Judaism in Maine Peace organizations based in the United States 1993 establishments in New York City