[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 112 (Friday, August 3, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1530-E1531]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  IN TRIBUTE TO A PEACEMAKER, JOHN WALLACH, FOUNDER OF SEEDS OF PEACE

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, August 2, 2001

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, on behalf of Mr. Gilman, Mr. Baldacci, 
Mrs. Morella, Mr. Allen, Mr. Smith of New Jersey, Mr. Berman, Mr. 
Knollenberg, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Dingell, Mr. Lantos, Mr. Rahall, 
Ms. Lowey, Mr. Filner, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mr. Rothman, Mr. Sanders and Mr. 
Nadler, I rise to honor John Wallach, journalist and international 
peacemaker. Mr. Wallach has nurtured a belief that peace can be 
achieved when opponents humanize each other, get to know each other, 
and grow to respect and understand each other, and learn to live 
together. Mr. Wallach created a place where that humanizing and 
coexistence could take place. It is a camp called Seeds of Peace.
  Starting in 1993, Seeds of Peace has brought together Arab and 
Israeli teenagers, aged 13 to 15, to learn how to stop the cycle of 
violence and to learn conflict resolution skills. Since then, teenagers 
from opposing sides in the Balkans, Cyprus and India/Pakistan 
international conflicts have begun to participate. They participate in 
person-to-person peacemaking. They create the substance of peace--daily 
coexistence. They confront the most difficult issues facing their 
nations--refugees, water, borders, holy sites--issues that in many 
cases their leaders have avoided. No subject is left unaddressed and 
their hatred is raw, the pain is fierce and real. Unlike their national 
leaders, Seeds of Peace participants must live every waking moment 
together--sleeping, eating, playing, conversing, and understanding. 
Seeds of Peace is a supplement to international diplomacy. While 
governments sign agreements, it is up to ordinary people to fulfill the 
meaning of those documents, and they do it through daily coexistence.
  The Seeds of Peace Camp is set in Maine, a safe, neutral and 
beautiful environment. It is a physical location that reminds 
participants of what the world can be. Seeds of Peace fosters 
friendships among young people in order to facilitate an enduring peace 
in the future.
  An indicator of the program's success was the first Middle East Youth 
Summit (organized by Seeds of Peace) at Villars, Switzerland in May, 
1998. The Summit brought together Seeds of Peace graduates from Egypt, 
Israel, Jordan, the Palestinian National Authority and the United 
States to collaborate in figuring out how to end the stalemate of the 
peace process. The young delegates were presented with the areas in 
conflict, and they subsequently framed a Declaration of Principles, 
upholding conflict resolution methods and concepts. The final result of 
the Summit was the ``Charter of Villars,'' which was proposed as a 
starting point for Israeli and Palestinian leaders in going about 
resolving conflicting issues. The Charter serves as a paradigm for 
future attempts at peaceful conflict resolution.
  The short-term impact of the program is obvious, and its long term 
success will be measured by the continuing connections among graduates. 
Two-thirds of the teens, it is estimated, remain actively involved with 
each other and with the program.
  A total of twenty-one delegations participated in Seeds of Peace in 
the summer of 2000: eight delegations from the Middle East (Egypt, 
Israel, Jordan, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Tunisia, and 
Yemen), two from Cyprus (Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriot), Greece, 
Turkey, the Balkan nations, and the United States.
  For fostering peace through the Seeds of Peace program, Mr. Wallach 
has been recognized for playing a significant role in the Middle East 
peace process. He received the

[[Page E1531]]

UNESCO Peace Prize in 2000, and received the Legion of Honor of the 
Hashemite Kingdom from King Hussein in 1997. Mr. Wallach also founded 
the Chautauqua Conference on U.S.-Soviet Relations, for which he 
received the 1991 Medal of Friendship from then President Mikhail 
Gorbachev. President Clinton saluted Mr. Wallach by writing, ``Your 
commitment to spreading the message of tolerance, justice and human 
right has helped so many people . . . and planted the seeds for peace 
in the generation that will one day be leading our world.''
  Before embarking on a second career as an ambassador of peace and 
mutual understanding, Mr. Wallach had a distinguished career in 
journalism and as an author. From 1968 to 1994, he served as diplomatic 
correspondent, White House correspondent, and foreign editor for the 
Hearst Newspapers. He was named BBC's first visiting correspondent in 
1980, and contributed regularly to CBC, NPR, and BBC. He was also the 
founding editor of WE/Mbl, the first independent weekly newspaper in 
Russia. His articles earned many prizes, including two Overseas Press 
Club awards, the Edward Weintal Prize and the Edwin Hood Award, the 
highest honor presented by the National Press Club. In 1979, President 
Carter presented Mr. Wallach with the Congressional Committee of 
Correspondents Award for his coverage of the Egyptian-Israeli Camp 
David summit. As an author, he co-authored with his wife Janet Wallach, 
three books, Arafat: In The Eyes of the Beholder, Still Small Voices, 
and The New Palestinians. Mr. Wallach has also written The Enemy has a 
Face.
  When Mr. Wallach founded Seeds of Peace, many people told him it was 
a futile undertaking. They told him he would be risking his reputation. 
Despite the critics, Mr. Wallach persisted. Thankfully, he did, and 
through his example, he has demonstrated the power of hopeful vision, 
dogged determination, inspiring optimism, and faith in humankind. Let 
us join Mr. Wallach in the hope that one day, there will be a 
pathbreaking international summit, where the representatives of many 
nations have in common the experience of peacemaking at Seeds of Peace. 
That will be a great day indeed.

                          ____________________