Want to end the hatred spewing blood baths in Israel and Palestine?

Emulate America’s history. Integrate Brown v. Board of Education into our foreign aid policy.

Win peace in the Middle East?

Shock and awe them with books, chalk, librarians, and handholding kids… Send a mission, not missiles. Send can-do Americans, not cash-draining mega-corporations.

Israel, Palestine, Middle East. Quelled by the American World Service Corps

Dwayne Hunn

Some claim worldwide terror emanates from the Holy Lands, and the world expects America to return its grace.

For a graceful tomorrow, America needs to look to:

¨ Its history.

¨ Peoples Lobby citizen-initiated American World Service Corps (AWSC) Congressional Proposals.

In 1954 Brown v. Board of Education announced, "Separate educational facilities are inherently unequal.” Brown v. Board of Education (BBE) educated adults and built a black and white kiddies corps. In ensuing years, handholding kiddies dismantled segregation and built fairness and equality more than hand-shaking adults.

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 gave us the good cops to protect the Black and White kiddies corps, allowing America to take a “Giant leap for mankind.”

While these seeds were taking root through the 60’s, we grew a literate middle class. Having that growing middle class school together for generations erased much of America’s narrow mindedness, bigotry, and racial violence.

So, without consulting rocket scientists, why not repeat those grade school lessons in Israel, Palestine, and the Middle East?

Where do we start that education?

In our Congressional Reception Hall, where foreign aid proposals are betrothed to Israel, we engage our Civil Rights Act to the Brown v. Board of Education decision. Then, let marriage again quell bad behavior.

Israel Palestine foreign aid history

From 1949-2001, U.S. direct and indirect aid to Israel totaled $100 BILLION. For the last quarter century, annual aid has averaged $3 billion to Israel’s 6 million people.

Most of our aid to other nations is distributed in quarterly payments and for specified purposes. Aid to Israel, however, is given in one lump, and deposited in their General Fund, where they collect the interest. From there, it is generally used to update the world’s third or fourth strongest military, quell Palestinian unrest, establish or fortify segregated settlements, and build walls and private Israeli roads. To many, this is “segregation.”

Ending generations of Israel Palestine bloodshed

How can America help end generations of Israeli Palestinian bloodshed, growing Middle East and fundamentalist antipathy, and help spread peace in the global village?

Marry the lessons of our Civil Rights Act and Brown vs. Board of Education decision into our annual $3 billion Israeli foreign aid gift.

In Palestine, there is one university, in Israel 8. In 2001 about 50,000 Palestinian students could not get to school, at least 3 schools were occupied by Israeli soldiers and turned into military camps; over 2,000 students were injured and 137 killed on their way to or from school; many schools had no or few textbooks. Middle East sources say not one library functions in Palestine. In 2006, the situation has not improved much.

In America, on the other hand, equal and integrated education is erasing racial violence and hatred, and kids of every persuasion have many libraries to visit.
How much safer would the world become if it heard an American President say.

“Kids who school, play, and grow together don’t throw stones or bombs at each other. Kids who hang together erase the dangerous ignorance of segregation. Kids who grow up together build a region’s vitality, economy, and character. We know this because that’s what ended the violence underpinning our once segregated society.

“Israel, Palestine… today you should pick dozens of parcels of land that straddle the walls and roads now separating Israelis and Palestinians. Establish an organizing committee with chairs for Israelis, Palestinian, world educators, and representatives from organizations under the American World Service Corps umbrella. Have that committee draw up plans for turning those chosen sites into state of the art, fully integrated schools, recreational facilities, and a university.

“We will help you design and staff these schools and recreational sites to be among the world’s best. We’ll set up a 20 year escrowed college scholarship account established to help underwrite the future education of any Israelis and Palestinians who attend these schools.

“Once those educational enterprises take hold, establish another mixed committee that develops or redevelops integrated living communities around these schools.

“America’s 2007 Israel aid budget will be restructured, based on lessons learned from blood shed during and after our civil war. We learned that having kids learn and play together in fair, balanced, and high quality educational settings erased, in time, violence, and prejudice.

“We want Israeli and Palestinian kids to experience the same healthy growth our kids have learned by going to school, playing, holding hands, and high-fiving together.

“ Next year a meaningful percentage of our Israeli aid will be escrowed to this policy. We know education and integration works. Segregating doesn’t.

“Golda Meier once said, ‘The fighting will stop when both sides decide they love their children more than they love death.’ Both sides love their children that much. We will increasingly tie our foreign aid to education, so we all have more healthy children to love.”

How can we get Americans directly and cost effectively involved in bringing this peace to the Middle East and the warfare it engenders elsewhere?

Send a million can-do Yanks

Lead you representatives to understand, support, and pass Peoples Lobby’s citizen-initiated American World Service Corps (AWSC) Congressional Proposals. www.WorldServiceCorps.us Within seven years of enacting the American World Service Corps Congressional Proposals, a million more can-do Americans will voluntarily serve at home or abroad in their choice of the Peace Corps, AmeriCorps, Habitat for Humanity, Head Start, Doctors Without Borders, Red Cross, International Rescue Committee, OxFam, Mercy Corps and State Conservation Corps.

Assigning some of those AWSC volunteers to serving together on both sides of the Israeli Palestinian walls will:

· More quickly bring understanding and harmony to the overwhelming majority of Israeli Palestinian family who yearn for such a life.

· Show those who link terror to our non-concern about the Palestine Israel conflict that America is sending its most treasured assets – can-do, caring Americans – to build peace.

· Involve and thereby enlighten Americans on what is happening in that long troubled part of the world.

Selling our sophisticated military products to Israel has not won peace or stability in Israel, Palestine, Iraq, or the Middle East.

Sending peaceful, productive volunteers from a robust American World Service Corps will shock and awe the world with the patient education that has been the only way stable, peaceful nations have ever been built.

All the world’s religions have the tenet, “Do unto your neighbors as you would have done unto you.”

Emulating Kennedy’s call to serve gives us a chance to live that religious tenet:

And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you--ask what you can do for your country.

My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.”

When we lead the world in this way, we will spread civil rights and good graces on children that all true religions and mothers want.


Dwayne Hunn serves as Executive Director of People’s Lobby www.PeoplesLobby.us, sponsor of the American World Service Corps Congressional Proposals. www.WorldServiceCorps.us He has served in the Peace Corps, Habitat, and on the start-up team of the California Conservation Corps.

Dwayne Hunn

359 Jean St.

Mill Valley, Ca 94941

415-383-7880