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Segment 1: Grassroots Efforts. Our guest on this edition of the Doug Noll show is Dr. Frank Romano, professor, peace activist and author three books, including his most recent, Love and Terror in the Middle East. Frank earned a PhD at University of Paris I, Pantheon Sorbonne, and a JD at Golden Gate University in San Francisco. Originally Dr. Romano wanted to become a diplomat, but after spending some time abroad he realized, with the help of a vision that came to him, that he would rather go to the Middle East and do interfaith casework. He’s now engaged in dialogues and projects to bring Christian and Muslim groups together in peace. He is also involved in peace marches and demonstrations. His goal is to bring people’s attention to Israel and the West Bank via grassroots efforts.

Segment 2: The Bonding is Intense. Dr. Romano organizes dialogues and marches to bring the conscious awareness of the world to what’s going on in Israel. He feels strongly that we can’t just talk; we need to walk the talk. Do something. Work on projects. Start with conversations and go into ruined schools and businesses and fix them. Replant trees. In his work he has had Muslims, Jews, Christians, Atheists, and agnostics all working together. Few words are exchanged, but the bonding is intense.

Segment 3: When Money, Power and Greed Get Involved. Frank feels that only with strong leadership can a country attain peace. Most politicians listen to the masses before they make any decisions. A real leader take steps to do the right thing --- perhaps even compromising his or her own political career in the process of making tough, sometimes unpopular decisions. They leave money, power and greed aside. And despite the challenge, they are ready to step up, take risks, and do the right thing.

Israel is the largest recipient of U.S. aid, as well as the largest recipient of non-military foreign aid. We subsidize the Israeli military and much of the Israeli government each year, to the tune of billions of dollars. We give three billion dollars to Israel, without any conditions. We have leverage, so why don’t we use it? Because politicians are afraid to confront AIPAC, for one reason. They are afraid to step up. When money, power and greed get involved, some politicians lose the ability to feel empathy and compassion, and become instead a machine to be used.

Segment 4: Divided by Walls. Frank tries to give equal time and attention to the West Bank and Israel, but in practice he goes to the West Bank more often because there is a greater need. Many people are afraid to go there for peace work, although in reality there is little risk. Getting into the West Bank is a real challenge, however. There are many checkpoints and walls. In fact, large Palestinian communities cannot connect with others because they are divided by walls that protect the settlements, as well as the highways used by the Israeli Jews to travel between Israel to the settlements. Palestinians are excluded from those roads. To learn more about Dr. Romano’s work, please visit his website: www.frankromano-lt.com.

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Segment 1: A Multi-Faith, Multi-Cultural Student Group. Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show is Shannon Thomas, Berkeley Delegate and founding president of Olive Tree Initiative in Berkeley. Olive Tree Initiative (OTI) is a diplomatic and educational program that’s goal is to educate students about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The group is comprised of multi-faith, multi-cultural students from various backgrounds coming together to reach a more holistic understanding of the conflict.

Shannon, raised in a global family and community, came to Berkeley knowing that she wanted to focus her degree on the Middle East. She felt called from an early age to pursue something that would make a tangible difference in the world. Part of that goal was realized last summer when she had the unique pleasure of traveling with 40+ peacemaking students via OTI to Isreal and the West Bank. Shannon stresses that you can’t truly understand the conflict until you experience it for yourself, in person. With OTI she was able to explore personal lives and narratives. She found there was a clear disconnect between the political rhetoric and the personal side of the conflict.

Segment 2: Peace First. Shannon says (all opinions are her own) that the top priority of all the policy makers in the Israeli region needs to be PEACE FIRST instead of personal goals and national interests. She thinks one thing that is overemphasized in the media is the intractability of this conflict. Of course there are clear issues are around water, which territories are included, and Jerusalem. However, the technical issues have been worked out and the outline is already there. What they need now are politicians who can pull it together and have the courage to follow through with open dialogue and peace building at the forefront.

Segment 3: Reflection and Transformation.The word Shannon uses to describe her trip to Israel and the West Bank is transformative. However, it was also very difficult, as the students were in a constant state of cognitive dissent. They had different opinions and different narratives thrown at them daily. Their own beliefs were constantly challenged. It was tiring physically, emotionally and mentally. One of the most meaningful outcomes was recognizing that this was not just a conflict to be studied on paper; it is a human conflict. At the end of each day they engaged in a reflective discussion about what they experienced during the day. Reflection was where they tied everything together, academically and personally. Sometimes it was difficult to find common ground, but being forced to actively listen and respect other people’s opinions and viewpoints was really an amazing growth experience for someone trying to grapple with the multiple dimensions of this conflict.

Segment 4: Person-to-Person. Shannon knows the most immediate and effective means of resolving conflict is usually person to person. There are many different directions she can go with her career, whether it’s on the ground or higher up in an organization. This summer Shannon is honored to lead another OTI group to Israel and the West Bank, and she wants to keep the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on the top of her career agenda.

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Segment 1: Conflict is Caused by Fear.

Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show is the esteemed Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian medical doctor who has dedicated his life to raising awareness for peace between Israel and Palestine. Dr. Abuelaish is also the founder of Daughters for Life, a foundation established to advance the education and health of girls and women from the Middle East.

Dr. Abuelaish believes the Palestinians need to be responsible for their own lives and for their own health and well-being, but the world needs to help them. It’s a mutual responsibility. A lot of conflict is caused by fear. In order to overcome that deep seated fear we need to be open and honest. Most fear comes from misinformation, a psychological barrier or ignorance. It’s easy to hide behind fear, but we must take responsibility to face our fears and learn about other cultures in order to find common ground.

Segment 2: No Child is Born a Warrior.

It is fear, ignorance and greed that drive the vast majority of violence and conflict. Humans become habitual in the way they view the world and violence becomes a means to an end. It is difficult to end that cycle. Dr. Abuelaish thinks once we have justice in life, we can attain peace. Once we have the human values we were born with, we have no need for violence. Violence is a disease and must be studied and treated as a disease. This disease is man-made; it is manufactured. No child is born a warrior. The best thing to do, if you want to remove violence and fear, is to change the environment in which children are raised.

Segment 3: Wisdom is Stronger than Bombs.

Dr. Abuelaish says it’s time for the international community to step up and tell the Israeli government that its attitude toward the Palestinians is not tolerable and we need to have peace in the region. Any progress in the peace process is for the interest of the world, not just for the Palestinians. It will save the Israelis from their self-destructive behavior. The solution is there; now all it takes is the governments to come together and make it happen. It’s time to start to build some trust. Let the actions speak. It’s time for us to ask, “What world do we want for our children? What legacy do we want them to have? What do we want them to inherit?”

Despite unimaginable tragedy, Dr. Abuelaish says he is not a victim. The death of his daughters just strengthened his resolve to work tirelessly for peace and justice and freedom. Anger and violence is a destructive disease to the one who carries it. Wisdom and good deeds are stronger than bullets and bombs.

Segment 4: Daughters for Life Foundation.

The Daughters for Life Foundation was established in memory of his daughters. Its goal is to promote education of girls and women from the Middle East --- girls who have the potential but not the resources. The most efficient and effective means for change is to invest in the education of girls and women and to enable them to reach their full potential. The child who is educated will have educated children. With that, Dr. Abuelaish can keep his daughters’ memories alive. To learn more about Dr. Abuelaish and his invaluable work, visit http://www.daughtersforlife.com/.>

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Segment 1: Born In the Occupied West Bank.

Our guest on this edition of The Doug Noll Show is Soha Al-Jurf, a Muslim woman born the occupied West Bank to Palestine parents, and raised in an Arab community in Iowa City. Soha is the author of a new "fictional memoir" Even My Voice Is Silence. Although she is a speech pathologist by profession, her true passion is understanding and communicating the plight of the Palestinians.

As a Palestinian-American raised in the USA, Soha’s mother made sure she was intimately connected to her heritage. For as long as she can remember, Soha has always been trying to find ways to relate to her heritage culturally and as an activist.

Segment 2: Peace Starts by Humanizing Each Other.

Soha was raised in Iowa, but travelled back to Palestine in 2004-2005 and again in 2009. She also spent summers there as a kid. She believes the current Palestinian conflict has been a difficult conflict to get resolved because there are many layers, and the fact that much of politics today is fraught with deep self-interests. No solution is going to be achieved by putting our faith and trust in government heads who we think will suddenly become less self-interested and more altruistic. In order for the Israeli-Palestinian issue to be resolved, enough of a critical mass must stand up and say “no, we’re not going to take it anymore.” Peace starts by humanizing one another and finding basic common ground. That’s the only way a shift will happen.

Segment 3: Find Peace Within.

Soha says we need to find a balance between the non-violent, passive approach and the ultra-violent extremists. She believes the only way for things to change is for people to take conscious responsibility for their own self-awareness and self-evolution, and aim toward a higher consciousness. To reach genuine peace, we need to step back and ask, “What’s my role in the world? How can I shift my own consciousness to heal what is broken in me and in my community?”  We must deal with the trauma within ourselves and find peace within ourselves before we can deal with external violence.

Segment 4: We Can’t Source-Check Scripture.

Religion is different than spirituality. What we find in many conflicts is that religion is a very important identity driver. People start to identify themselves and justify themselves through a narrow view of what they believe in religiously. In terms of Palestinian society, certainly the society is religious, and much of the Arab Muslim world has become more religious in recent years. The zealots on the other side are the Orthodox Jews, who are making the claim that God promised the land to the Jews. Unfortunately, scripture has descended from a source with which we can’t communicate. We can’t source-check the scripture.

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