Technology builds a bridge between Israelis and Palestinians

Each summer, Palestinian and Israeli teenagers come together speak the common language of technology -- despite a decades-old conflict that continues to tear a region with violence.

Along with technology skills, they are building leadership and cooperation skills that will last a lifetime.  This is the hope of Middle East Education through Technology (MEET).

The program, founded and run by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, operates on the belief that interaction among young people in the region will translate into healthier Israeli-Palestinian relations now and in the future. Their parents might not speak to one another, but sons and daughters from both sides of the conflict work together at MEET on non-profit initiatives.

"We think technology is pretty culture neutral," said Noa Sattath, executive director of MEET in Jerusalem. She said they target 15 to 17-year-olds in the Jerusalem area who show the most leadership promise.

This strategy is hard to execute, she admits, because the students are so young. But after IQ tests, social dynamics exercises, English exams and interviews, MEET selects about 40 high school students out of 500 or 600 applicants each year. 

MEET is just one of hundreds of peace organizations dedicated to solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The strife -- and the quest for peace -- began perhaps around the time the parents of MEET's students were born.

Areas A, B and C show different degrees of Israeli and Palestinian governenace.

Map from Wikipedia with Creative Commons copyright. Flash created by Andrea Posner.

Decades of Disagreement

In June 1967, at the end of the Six-Day War, Israel seized control of the West Bank, East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and Golan Heights, all former Arab territory.

Today, Israeli territory -- including controlled Arab (Palestinian) land -- is complexly settled by Israelis, Palestinians, Palestinian refugees, and Israelis in settlements established across Palestinian borders. An extensive system of Israeli checkpoints extends throughout Palestinian-populated areas.

According to Israel, Palestinian terrorism necessitates this measure, along with the ongoing occupation of Palestinian lands, to ensure Israeli protection. Israel contends Palestine does not have a legitimate political structure to stand on its own and that its leaders feed money into anti-Israel terrorist groups.

The Palestinians insist upon regaining complete control over the land seized in 1967. They denounce the checkpoints and restrictions on their way of life imposed by the Israeli government.

"They force us to live in a open-air prison," Palestinian peace activist Jala Basil Andoni said in Washington earlier this month.

Israel-based peace activist Ruth El-Raz said after the Six-Day War that she thought Israel would only be in the occupied territories for two years.

"First, I have to end the occupation, and then I can start talking about peace," she said.

The elusive solution

"Peace" has distinct definitions for Israelis and Palestinians. Israelis cite concerns for their security, and Palestinians for their freedom.

President Obama ordered Israeli President Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian National Authority President Mahmoud Abbas to more actively seek compromise and peace. So far, the leaders remain locked in the battle of conflicting interests.

Netanyahu is unsupportive of ceasing settlements in the West Bank. Palestinian leadership refined its operations, but not enough, according to President Obama.

Can technology bridge the gap?

"How can peace be established if there's no communication?" Andoni said.

Now, 42 years after the inital occupation, the world is vastly different, although the tension in the area remains all too familiar. Does the advent of recent widespread technologies hold a crucial key to communication?

Other organizations besides MEET use technology as a peace-promoting agent.  The Peres Center for Peace, an NGO founded by former Israeli president Shimon Peres, established peace computer centers in underprivileged Palestinian and Israeli communities to connect youth and teach valuable skills.

Peres initiatives also include a "Middle East Virtual Campus" for region youth and an "Internet Peace Ambassadors" program, which purports to overcome stereotypes and promote friendships, according to the Peres Web site.

Stateside, World Peace through Technology, a San Francisco-based non-profit, aims to use "benevolent" technology to promote peace. It interprets benevolent technology to include games that "teach cooperation over competition" and "reward diversity."

Technology is not only valuable because it empowers students and creates a strong common denomiator, MEET Executive Director Noa Sattath said; it's also practical.

"In Palestine, technology is one of the only growing fields, and certainly the fastest growing," she said.

MEET hosts its program in Bethlehem and draws students from 30 high schools in East and West Jerusalem, Ramallah, Bet Shemesh, Bethlehem and Mevasseret -- a mix of Palestinian and Israeli areas. As part of the code of conduct, students may only speak in English, preventing ethnicity-specific conversations in Hebrew and Arabic.

Only three classes have graduated from MEET's three-year program so far, and Executive Director Sattath said it's hard to say what the outcome of the project will be.

MEET alum maintain their own post-graduation network and currently work in in diverse locations, such as Italy, Russia and Jordan, Sattath said. But the hope is that they will return to their home region and to the ongoing struggle for peace.