Article February 12, 2001 Issue

The Hope Flowers School unites cultures

One effort for peace has its roots in a Palestinian's refusal to hate.

By Sentinel staff

News From The Middle East often overlooks the efforts toward peace and understanding that people living there are making. One such effort has its roots in a Palestinian's refusal to hate.

Hussein Ibrahim Issa was a child when his parents' farm was confiscated by the Israelis during the 1948 war. His father died within a year, leaving the family in a Palestinian refugee camp south of Bethlehem. Instead of bemoaning these hardships, Issa endeavored to cross the cultural divide so he could understand Jewish people better.

Gradually, he realized that developing an understanding between the two cultures would help eliminate war and open the door to peace. In 1984 he set up the Al Amal Child Care Centre for Palestinians in Doha, a community in south Bethlehem. The kindergarten emphasized peace education and included some interaction with Jewish children.

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