Freedom

Ibrahim Issa
Hope Flowers School Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ [My Father] believed in freedom but he saw that violence brings only violence. What we need is to create a new generation of Palestinians and Israelis who believe in peace, coexistence and respecting each other's rights. ” [Source in Complete Interview]

Adele Zumot
All for Peace Radio Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ Since the beginning of the intifada there are military checkpoints at the entrances to all Palestinian cities. So, it was basically the restriction on travel. The checkpoint to the entrance of Bethlehem is a big one, and because I hold a Jerusalem ID, the soldiers would not let me pass to go to work. I started to go into Bethlehem using detours, very bumpy roads, very dangerous, and my car broke down several times. I was also stoned a lot. The Arabs would think that I was Jewish and the Jews would think I was an Arab.” [Source in Complete Interview]

Melisse Lewine-Boskovich
Peace Child Israel Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ We can't be right in their [Palestinians'] guts and stopping them from getting to hospitals and stopping them from going here and there. I talk to a [Israeli] taxi driver, and I say, "Imagine your daughter lived two kilometers down the road and you get a phone call, she's poured scalding coffee on herself by mistake, and you're ready to dash out the door to go see her and some 18-year-old punk in a soldier's uniform tells you that you can't go. What would you do? What would you want to do?" This is what I say to an Israeli taxi driver when we're having a discussion. Well, he says, "If it were my daughter, if it were me, I would be really quite capable of homicide." So that's what our presence does, and they don't get it.” [Source in Complete Interview]

Riyad Faraj
Parents Circle-Bereaved Families Forum Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ My wife is 27 years old. It's been 10 years since she's seen the sea. We can't even go see the sea, can you imagine? My children have never seen it. They only see it on TV, but they don't know what it is. Can you imagine not even having this dream? This is why when I talk with the guys and give them hope and ambition, there will be something to aim for--if not for them, then for their children. So when They're convinced, they will pass it along to the next generation, and so on.” [Source in Complete Interview]

Yana Knopova
Coalition of Women For Peace Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ I'm interested in people who seek justice, who want solutions based on justice; peace is part of the Israeli rhetoric. Palestinian rhetoric talks of liberation, forget about peace. Then they [the Israelis] say they [the Palestinians] don't want peace! Would you debate whether to adopt the Geneva Convention's resolutions with regard to your keepers if you were locked up in jail? Peace is void of content for me. It's very nice to talk of peace, today but I'm interested in justice.” [Source in Complete Interview]

Majed Tbeileh
Nablus Youth Federation, The Future Generation Hands Committee Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ A bigger victory is achieved when we succeed in convincing the Israelis that only by achieving peace will they be able to achieve security. They mustn’t think that there could be security without peace. They can see that we were able to come and attend the meetings here in the NSWAS even without permits. So if a Palestinian is able to reach them be for peaceful purposes, he will also be able to reach them for harmful purposes. That is why I think the millions of dollars spent on the separation wall are a waste, because no matter what, we will find a way. Look at us now, we are a group of thirty people that got out of Nablus without permits, we didn’t care if we had to climb over mountains for hours to get here. We had to reach them. They need to know that the security that the checkpoints provide is an illusion because if someone wants to carry out an operation and blow himself up, he will find a way.” [Source in Complete Interview]

Majed Tbeileh
Nablus Youth Federation, The Future Generation Hands Committee Portrait »
Interview Highlights »

“ There is a group of Palestinians and Israelis that are planning to meet in Europe. The Israelis reach the airport in two hours, and after a few hours on the plane they reach Europe. The Palestinians are forced to wake up at four in the morning. They reach the checkpoint in Hawara at seven or eight o’clock. When they reach the border crossing in Jericho they are searched by the Palestinian police who pass them on to the Israelis. The Israelis decide who can cross into Jordan and who can’t. You can do nothing without Israeli approval -- it is beyond our control. The Jordanians may also refuse your entrance as one now needs a permit to enter Jordan. The whole journey will take you about 48 hours, while it takes the Israelis only a few hours.” [Source in Complete Interview]