Ultimate Peace in the Middle East by Rebecca Polivy

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On the Arab-Israeli Conflict

Ultimate Peace in the Middle East

by Rebecca Polivy

28 May 2009

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JERUSALEM - A month ago, a new initiative, Ultimate Peace in the Middle East, introduced the sport of Ultimate Frisbee to the region. As part of a five-day event, 170 Israeli and Palestinian disadvantaged youth from all across the country learned the sport in workshops and clinics led by some of the world’s top Ultimate Frisbee players.

Group sports are known to be helpful as a means to deal with tensions arising from conflict situations. But the unique qualities of Ultimate Frisbee make it particularly interesting as a tool for transforming the way adversaries communicate with each other and we have high hopes that it will contribute towards improving Palestinian and Israeli youth interactions in new and exciting ways.

Like other sports such as soccer, basketball and American Football, Ultimate Frisbee is a high energy and extremely competitive sport that offers a shared interest and a common goal. It is known as an inexpensive method to alleviate the psychological effects of unemployment and trauma prevalent in conflict areas. However, what makes Ultimate Frisbee particularly interesting for people involved in conflict resolution is that it encourages character-building, engenders trust and develops communication skills and mutual respect, all of which make it a potentially effective tool for transforming conflict situations.

One of the core aspects of Ultimate Frisbee that sets it apart from other sports is that it is not presided over by referees or third party officials, but rather by the “spirit of the game”—a self-governing system that places the responsibility for fair play on the player. Spirit of the game requires players to make their own calls (i.e. foul, travel, out of bounds, etc.) and trust their opponents to make their own honest calls in order for the game to continue to move forward. It is a sport that requires its players to embody the values of mutual respect, trust, integrity, non-violence and—let us not forget—fun.

Moreover, it is a sport that rewards its players just as much for their spirit as for winning games. Players who have excelled in the sport notice that they begin to demonstrate “spirit” off the field, in everyday life, as much as they do on the field.

It is fair to say that this one-time event in Tel Aviv plus its pre-and post-event clinics and workshops were not enough for the Israeli and Palestinian youth to fully grasp the potential of Ultimate Frisbee. Spirit of the game is not easy to teach, especially given the language barriers between the American coaches and the Israeli and Palestinian youth. Spirit must be learned through repeated play and exposure to good role models.

Sports do not just magically unite players as was evident at this event. Though many of the Israeli and Palestinian kids had met before, it was apparent that they preferred to mingle and partner with their friends who shared their same language and culture rather than mix. However, the three teams of older girls who naturally assisted each other with language and translation, easily formed mixed teams and picked up the game faster than the other teams. It was also clear that they were having enormous amounts of fun throughout.

Some, myself included at times, may consider this another “normalising” activity, meaning an activity in which Israelis and Palestinians cooperate to create the impression of normality while in the “real world” the occupier-occupied relationship remains unchanged. I agree that there is a lot of work to do, politics to change, attitudes to shift, wars to end, barriers to fall (physical and mental), narratives to be heard, apologies to be made and perspectives to be understood. But sometimes, people also just need to smile and have fun. And for children, the need to have fun is even more pressing.

The event planted a seed and strategically introduced the participants to the fun qualities of Ultimate Frisbee with the aim of enticing the young players to continue playing and, eventually, really begin to understand the sport and its lessons. Since the event, Frisbees have been flying once a week in Tulkarm and have even infiltrated the streets of Jericho.

The dream is to see Israeli and Palestinian youth at the next Ultimate Frisbee World Championships. This is not necessarily about seeing a mixed Israeli and Palestinian team competing together, but rather an Israeli team playing a Palestinian team in the most challenging, exciting, fun game of the tournament with impeccable spirit of the game. Were this to happen, it would indicate a real transformation. It would prove that the youth of this region are gaining the ability to listen to each other, show respect and communicate effectively to keep moving forward.

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* Rebecca Polivy is the Regional Liaison for Ultimate Peace, an organisation that builds bridges of friendship and understanding for youth from different social and cultural backgrounds using the tool of Ultimate Frisbee. The event described was co-sponsored by Ultimate Peace, the Peres Peace Center and the Palestinian Al Quds Association for Democracy and Dialogue. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).

Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 28 May 2009, www.commongroundnews.org.
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