Racing for Peace Formula Vee style

What a cool story, Rasheed and Aric just want to race at Silverstone in the treadmarks of the greats like Schumacher, Senna and Hamilton. Its an ambitious project from a region with little history in motor sport and less of a history in this type of cooperation. So its refreshing to see that they have got so far already. When two individuals want something as much as these two do - nothing stands in their way. Not even the barriers of politics.

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Care2 : The Petition Site : For the Sake of Peac

Reuven Jacobs has started an ambitious new movement to support peace in the middle east. Sign his petition here

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Dror Etkes takes to the Israeli Courts

As Dror Etkes leaves his excellent legacy at Peace Now's Settlement Watch program to a new venture that will use the Israeli courts to force the state to address the issue of illegal seizure of private lands, he tells Akiva Eldar a little of what he has discovered works in his battle with the settlers. As he states, "Instead of looking in the mirror and berating themselves for the sin of stealing, which is included in the Ten Commandments, they (the settlers)chose to accuse the person who held this mirror up to them."

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Boycotting Israeli Academics damages peace making

Academics, researchers and writers have come together to condemn the boycott voted in by UCU members in May. "Bad for Britain. Bad for academic freedom. Bad for Palestinians. Bad for peace." read more | digg story

"The future for Israelis and Palestinians will be bright only when there is co-operation and partnership rather than wholly misguided attempts at division." Dr Kenneth Collins Research Fellow, Centre for the History of Medicine, University of Glasgow
In the month since this ridiculous and divisive resolution was voted through, there has been wholesale condemnation of the idea and the motives behind its instigation.
Rather than writing any more lets allow the academic voices to highlight the destructive and ignorant nature of this boycott. Eight pages of statements can be found here

Peace Now Israel advocates fewer checkpoints in West Bank

that Peace Now in Israel has stated that Israeli army could do without many of its checkpoints in the West Bank.They were visiting two of more than 500 roadblocks that operate in the West Bank. Hagit Ofran of Peace Now Israel questioned the efficacy of many of the checkpoints and called on Olmert to honour his promises to ease travel restrictions for Palestinians.Many of these roadblocks do not prevent direct access to Israel and as such are not preventing terrorists from entering Israel. they do however place huge obstacles in the paths of Palestinians attempting to maintain a day to day normality.

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Taiseer Elias conducts first performance of Classical Arab Music Ensemble

Taiseer Elias will conduct the premier performance of the Classical Arabic Music Ensemble that he established as a professor at the Rubin Academy in Jerusalem, in cooperation with the Mishkenot Sha'ananim Music Center. This is an orchestra of 20 Jewish and Arab instrumentalists - all of whom are students at the academy.Elias, a resident of Shfaram, founded the department for Eastern Music at the Rubin Academy together with Avner Biron nearly 10 years ago and has had 40-50 students, Arab and Jewish, every year. Among the students was Darwish Darwish who won first prize in the all-Arab oud competition in Egypt and the title "The Best Oud-Player in the Arab World in 2003." "A tremendous accomplishment," says Elias, "especially for an Israeli Arab."

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The Gaza Strip is Closed- Gideon Levy from Haaretz

"We're done, halas" says Levy's Gazan friend as the last Westerner in Gaza does indeed turn out the lights.As Hamas completes its takeover of the Gaza strip, we can but sit and watch and wonder what happens next



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