Violence in the Middle East hits the headlines daily: suicide bombings, assassinations of Palestinian and Israeli leaders, and the bulldozing of residences and orchards. The violence has battered the Israeli economy and brought the Palestinian economy into ruin. Tragedy has visited the doorsteps of too many Israeli and Palestinian families.

"My aunt was shot dead by Israeli soldiers while sitting on her balcony for no apparent reason. This only increased my dedication to do what I can to stop this insanity."   --Mazen, a Palestinian volunteer for APUME

"A few months ago there were terrorist bombers who exploded themselves right close to my home. I decided that I must use my knowledge and my ability to do what I can to change the situation. I felt that I am at an axis that might decide the future of the world."   --Azriel, an Israeli volunteer for APUME

Where will the conflict lead? Will the next step be extremists resorting to more destructive and devastating means? Will neighboring Arab states sympathetic to the Palestinians declare war on the Israelis? Will the Israelis resort to use of nuclear weapons? Will the U.S. and Western Europe be pulled into a violent confrontation?

Results of continued deterioration of the conflict could include:

  • Disruption of oil supplies and, consequently, disruption of the global economy.
  • Regional warfare.
  • Use of weapons of mass destruction with regional and possibly global consequences.
  • In short, the results are unpredictable but possibly catastrophic, not only for combatants, but also untold innocents in the Middle East as well as globally.
But all is not hopeless. In recent years, the world has seen many seemingly endless conflicts resolve: after 45 years of Cold War, the Berlin Wall fell; after a thousand years of ethnic strife, the peoples of the former Yugoslavia are struggling to build democracies together; after a generation of brutal apartheid, the races of South Africa are working together; and after hundreds of years of English/Irish warfare and hatred, peace is emerging.

The Association for Peace and Understanding in the Middle East is working to build mutual tolerance and understanding in the Middle East, as it has successfully been built elsewhere. And signs of peace in the Middle East are emerging. For more information, click on SIGNS OF PEACE.

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