January 18, 2007
Mackenzie Issler

AMHERST - It would be hard to find a more unlikely pairing than the one that will take center stage tonight in Amherst and Friday at the Northampton High School: a former Israeli soldier whose sister was killed in a suicide bomb and a Palestinian activist who spent four years in an Israeli prison.

And that, the two say, is why they hope their message of forging a new path for the Middle East carries some weight.

"People are really interested in hearing this new message," said Sulaiman Al Hamri, who spent four years in an Israeli jail and is now touring the United States with his speaking partner, Elik Elhanan, a former soldier in the Israeli army.

Elhanan and Al Hamri are a week into their 22-city tour by their group, Combatant for Peace, an Israeli-Palestinian organization working to promote peaceful solutions to the Middle East conflict. Their visit here is hosted by the western Massachusetts chapter of Brit Tzedek v'Shalom.

They have made appearances in Atlanta, Ga., Raleigh, N.C., New York City, Philadelphia, Pa., and in Connecticut.

"People listen to us," said Elhanan. "They show a great deal of interest in what we are saying."

The two men say they want to show that an Israeli and Palestinian have put their violent pasts behind them and are working towards peace.

 They will speak tonight at the Bangs Community Center in Amherst at 7:30 p.m. Their talk at Northampton High School on Friday is for students only and is not open to the public.

Speaking Wednesday by cell phone, the two said they are visiting the United States because they believe it is important that people everywhere, especially in the United States, get involved with resolving the conflict.

Elhanan, whose sister died in a suicide bombing in Jerusalem, served as a soldier in an Israeli Defense Force combat unit from 1995 to 1998. Al Hamri spent more than four years in Israeli prisons because of his participation in anti-occupation protests and demonstrations.

Elhanan and Al Hamri said they find it important to speak to the youth of the world.

 "They are the new generation and they can do a lot of things," said Al Hamri. At one of their talks, they brought two schools together, a Jewish and an Islamic school. Al Hamri described the meeting as a success.

Through their talks, both hope to educate audiences about the importance of collaboration between Palestinians and Israelis in ending the cycle of violence in the Middle East.