Working for Peace and Reconciliation, One Frisbee at a Time

The world's eyes are obviously on a certain sporting event going on in South Africa, where 32 of the globe's most elite soccer teams are duking it out for the chance to snag the World Cup title. But while the soccer tournament and its accompanying vuvuzelas have everyone's attention, there's another sport thousands of miles away that may be seeding the path to peace in one of the most war torn and conflicted regions in the world.

That region? Israel/Palestine, of course. And that sport? Ultimate. As in "ultimate frisbee" or "frisbee football." But no matter what you call it, in Israel/Palestine, you can definitely call it transformative.

The organization behind an outbreak of Ultimate in Israel/Palestine is the aptly named "Ultimate Peace," started with a pretty noble vision by three folks in the Spring of 2008 — Dr. David Barkan, Dori Yaniv, and Linda Sidorsky. Back then, David and Dori were in charge of coordinating a trip to Israel for an all-star Ultimate team, known as the Matza Balls, to hold workshops about the sport, facilitate trainings, and encourage Israeli children to get involved in the game.

But they were bothered by the fact that Ultimate was not being played in neighboring Palestine. Seeing the sport as an opportunity to facilitate collaboration, sportsmanship, and nonviolence between both Israel and Palestine, David and Dori joined with Linda to launch "Ultimate Peace," as well as what became known as "Ultimate Peace in the Middle East," a series of camps where Israeli and Palestinian children come together to learn about the sport of Ultimate, and play some spirited matches.

"Ultimate Peace has a clear vision for the future: Israeli and Palestinian youth playing side by side, forging new connections, developing a deeper understanding of one another, and bonding through the shared athletic experience of playing one of the fastest growing sports in the world, Ultimate Frisbee," the folks behind "Ultimate Peace" say. "Ultimate Peace aims to promote peace in the Middle East, one game at a time."

It certainly wouldn't be the first time that sports have brought a region together, as anyone who has seen Invictus might agree. So could a frisbee game (co-created by Hollywood big wig Joel Silver, no less, to give this even more of a pop culture twist) really build bridges between two populations with a grim history between them?

You betcha, and the proof is in the pudding. Or, rather, the proof is in a major event scheduled for July 14-20, where 150 Palestinian and Israeli youth will come together for an overnight summer camp where teamwork will be on full display. And not just in games of frisbee, either.

"Our overnight camp will offer a unique opportunity for youth to have a fun, active, inspiring week away from home, all while living communally in a relaxed comfortable setting," Ultimate Peace says. "Time will be split among learning/playing Ultimate, playing other disc sports, and engaging in special activities and classes involving music, dance, art, language, communication, and peace-building. Sharing aspects of mutual cultures will be integral to the experience."

As Change.org's Travis Wheeler noted the other day, sharing experiences and exchanging ideas with people from different cultures is one of the secret ingredients toward staving off war, violence and hatred. Travis was writing about this in the context of why the U.S. needs to nix its decades-long ban on travel to Cuba, but the lesson in his post rings pretty universal, and is especially relevant when talking about Israel/Palestine.

If we can get youth from both camps working together to not only acknowledge each other as people, but also recognize each other as teammates, there's no limit to the reconciliation and future peaceful relationships that might spawn. Forget bombs and sanctions. Maybe it's time for a little ultimate frisbee.

For more information on "Ultimate Peace," check out their site here. Their historic summer camp is slated to kick off in just about three weeks, and as you'll see, they could use all the resources they can get to pull this off. Show them some love. After all, you just might be sowing the seeds of a peaceful Middle East tomorrow.

Photo credit: chetbox