Extreme peace

THE Mountain of Israeli-Palestinian Friendship is neither in the Golan Heights nor in mountains of the Sinai where the Hebrews wandered in biblical times. It is 12,000 miles away, in the frozen wastes of Antarctica.

The desolate, never-climbed mountain was the destination of Breaking the Ice, an unlikely expedition that drew physically untested Jews and Palestinians together for a gruelling march for peace.

The idea was conceived by Heskel Nathaniel, an expatriate Israeli businessman, who enlisted Everest-trained Israeli mountaineer Doron Eel as expedition leader.

"The point is that Israelis and Palestinians have done something unique together, something that required the kind of cooperation and involvement that you rarely if ever find among us," said Erel in a later interview.

"I can't tell you how pleased I am about how well we've all gotten along together and how well everyone performed. No one thinks that we're going to bring peace by climbing mountains, but everyone should know what we as Israelis and Palestinians are capable of doing when we set our minds to it. That's what I hope that both our peoples will be thinking when they hear about what we've done."

Organized and partly funded by Extreme Peace Missions, a nonprofit committed to the idea that on-the-edge adventure experiences can fuel sustainable conflict resolution, the expedition gained the support of such peace advocates as UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the Dalai Lama.

The fifteen-day expedition began in southern Chile's Patagonia on January 1, 2004, with an arduous week at sea in some of the planet's most treacherous waters. Anchoring off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, the team began a trek toward one of the bleak continent's unnamed mountains.

Physically bonded by ropes that eloquently underscored their mutual dependence, Jewish and Palestinian climbers negotiated glaciers and sheer rock cliffs in high winds and near-zero visibility. Finally, on the fourth day of the ascent, the team reached the summit, where a joint declaration was read.

"We, the members of Breaking the Ice," the summit statement read, "the Israeli-Palestinian expedition to Antarctica, having reached the conclusion of a long journey by land and sea from our homes in the Middle East to the southernmost reaches of the earth, now stand atop this unnamed mountain.

By reaching its summit we have proven that Palestinians and Israelis can cooperate with one another with mutual respect and trust. Despite the deep differences that exist between us, we have shown that we can carry on a sincere and meaningful dialogue.

We join together in rejecting the use of violence in the solution of our problems and hereby declare that our peoples can and deserve to live together in peace and friendship. In expression of these beliefs and desires, we hereby name this mountain 'The Mountain of Israeli-Palestinian Friendship."

(Courtesy: World & I, November/December 2004).