Honoring Seeds of Peace for its promotion of understanding, reconciliation, acceptance, coexistence, and peace among youth from the Middle East and other regions of conflict.

Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the concurrent resolution (H. Con. Res. 288) honoring Seeds of Peace for its promotion of understanding, reconciliation, acceptance, coexistence, and peace among youth from the Middle East and other regions of conflict.

Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks and include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 288, honoring Seeds of Peace for its promotion of understanding, reconciliation, acceptance, coexistence, and peace among youth from the Middle East and other regions of conflict.

I commend the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) and the other cosponsors of this resolution. Seeds of Peace is a courageous organization that prepares youth from conflict-ridden areas and trains them to be leaders of tomorrow. Seeds of Peace was founded in late 1993 by the late John Wallach, an award-winning author and journalist in order to bring together Arab and Israeli youth as a way for them to learn conflict resolution skills necessary for making peace. While the primary focus is on the Middle East, participants also come from the Balkans, South Asia, and Cyprus.

Since 1993, over 2,000 teens from 22 nations have graduated from Seeds of Peace. Every year hundreds of Arab and Israeli teenagers are brought together and learn to recognize the humanity within each other. Seeds of Peace makes it possible for people who are blinded by hatred and prejudice to see the value in coexistence and mutual understanding. Seeds of Peace programs expose young people to critical thinking, respect for the rule of law, human rights, participatory decisionmaking, nonviolent dispute resolution, and a free press.

The invaluable lessons learned and lasting friendships made through Seeds of Peace programs provide hope that respect and tolerance can prevail in communities where hate and ignorance have tragically hallmarked social interactions.

For participants, Seeds of Peace takes the war out of the streets and puts some of the most difficult issues on the table in an environment free from violence. In a period of self-reflection, teens are challenged to deal with complicated and emotional issues. They are given a candle of hope to take back to their home societies, and are prayerfully provided the determination and will to participate in civil society discussions and initiatives that can lead to a more civil region and world.

Negotiations and treaties are the responsibilities of governments. Peace, on the other hand, is made by people. In this context, Seeds of Peace are seeds of hope. I strongly urge the passage of this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-Lehtinen), distinguished chair of the Subcommittee on the Middle East and Central Asia.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I would conclude by thanking the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) who has so thoughtfully brought this resolution before us. Congress is in the gentleman's debt.

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

I rise in support of H. Con. Res. 288, and I want to thank the gentleman from Illinois (Chairman Hyde), the ranking member, the gentleman from California (Mr. Lantos), and the gentleman from Iowa (Mr. Leach) for helping bring this resolution to the floor.

Treaties are negotiated by governments; peace is made by people. Seeds of Peace is grounded in this truth. Seeds of Peace, founded by the award-winning author and journalist John Wallach in 1993 is a program which brings together young people from regions of conflict to study and learn about coexistence and conflict resolution.

The program initially focused on Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and Egyptian youth, but has expanded over the past decades to involve youth from Greece, Turkey and divided Cyprus, the Balkans, India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and other countries.

H. Con. Res. 288 honors the accomplishments of Seeds of Peace, and offers the program as a model of hope that living together in peace and security is possible. I want to thank my colleagues, the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Knollenberg), the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Michaud), the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. Chabot), and 46 other Members who have cosponsored the resolution.

At the summer camp in Otisfield, Maine, and at the Jerusalem Center for Coexistence, the young people of Seeds of Peace come face to face with those whom they have been taught to hate and mistrust. An Egyptian wrote to his peers following this past summer at camp, ``This camp changed things in my character, in my thoughts, and in my whole life. I really loved the people there without looking to where they are from or what is their religion. This is really the beginning of the road.''

Recently, two new grassroots initiatives for peace in the Israeli- Palestinian conflict have emerged. These efforts present much hope. Sustained progress, however, ultimately depends on a new generation of leaders. Youth must be involved in long-term visionary solutions to conflicts perpetuated by cycles of violence.

Participating governments and world leaders strongly support Seeds of Peace. Previous Federal funding for the program demonstrates its importance in promoting United States foreign policy goals.

Seeds of Peace is even working with youngsters in Maine where a large influx of refugees and immigrants has contributed to an increase in racial and ethnic tension. As we honor Seeds of Peace today, we should remember that it offers priceless lessons to our communities at home, as well as nations abroad. I have visited the Seeds of Peace camp up in Otisfield; it is a moving and inspirational experience, and congressional support over the years has been vital to the continuation of this particular undertaking.

Mr. Speaker, I urge support for the resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. First, I want to pay tribute to my distinguished colleague, the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen), for introducing this resolution. This resolution brings about the realization of an important dream. It honors the organization Seeds of Peace for promoting understanding and coexistence among young people from the Middle East and other areas of conflict all around the globe. It praises Seeds of Peace for demonstrating that Israelis and Palestinians, Greek Cypriots and Turkish Cypriots, Serbs and Bosnians and others can live together in peace and prosperity.

Seeds of Peace reflects the vision of my late friend, John Wallach, who founded this organization 10 years ago. John believed that real peace is made by people as much as by treaties, and he believed that peacemaking starts with the attitudes developed in youth.

More than 2,000 young people from nearly two dozen nations in areas of conflict have participated in Seeds of Peace programs mainly at the Seeds of Peace summer camp in Otisfield, Maine. Here they encounter, work with, play with, and argue with each other, and far more often than not befriend their counterparts from the other side of their national conflict.

Seeds of Peace works to dispel the mistrust and prejudice that are among the root causes of violence and to build a generation of leaders committed to achieving peace.

Of course, Mr. Speaker, Seeds of Peace does not guarantee peace, and it is certainly not an alternative to patiently negotiated peace treaties among governments. It does, however, ensure that there will be a growing core of high-quality people on both sides of the Israeli-Arab divide, and other conflicts as well, who will view one another as flesh and blood human beings and not as dehumanized enemies. The mutual understanding fostered by Seeds of Peace reinforces negotiations in good times and helps buffer conflicts in bad times.

For that reason, Seeds of Peace deserves our respect, our appreciation, and our commendation as a successful venture in people- to-people peacemaking. It serves as a model for what a world which is violence-free could be in the future.

I urge all of my colleagues to support H. Con. Res. 288.

Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from California (Mrs. Capps).

Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Texas (Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson).

Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding me this time.

Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this important resolution honoring Seeds of Peace. I thank the gentleman from Maine (Mr. Allen) for authoring this resolution.

In describing the Day of Redemption, the Prophet Isaiah tells us ``a little child shall lead them.'' During the past 3 years of violence and bloodshed, it is clear that the leaders of Israel and the Palestinian Authority have failed their people. The beauty and wisdom of the Seeds of Peace program is to instill within Israeli and Arab children a sense of understanding, reconciliation, and acceptance so that some day these future leaders can bring peace to their embattled peoples.

Mr. Speaker, my office is well acquainted with Seeds of Peace through its relationship with one of its most illustrious graduates, a young man named Fadi El Salameen. The oldest of nine children from a Palestinian family in Hebron, Fadi has overcome incredible hardships in his life and is currently studying at Earlham College in Indiana. He tells us that he owes his success, self-confidence, and his optimism for peace in the Middle East to his experiences in the woods of Maine with Seeds of Peace.

Finally, Mr. Speaker, I would like to think after months of such terrible news, perhaps the seeds of peace are finally growing roots in the region. After so many acts of Palestinian terrorism and Israeli reprisals, after the deaths of dozens of innocent people on both sides, we are seeing some hopeful signs. In particular, I think the upcoming signing of the Geneva Accord and the continued strength of a grass roots peace petition called the People's Voice hold out hope that a comprehensive political settlement of the conflict is not an impossible dream.

And if Israeli and Arab children are willing to live together in Maine each summer to participate in Seeds of Peace, we owe it to them to continue working as hard as we can to bring peace and security to their homelands. I support this resolution.

Mr. Speaker, I am delighted to be able to make a statement on this group because the program of Seeds of

Peace since 1993 has really made a difference in communication, most especially with young people. They have brought together people like Indians and Pakistanis and Israelis and Arabs, as well as teenagers from Cyprus, Afghanistan and the U.S. to understand that peace really is possible. They have helped young people from all conflict areas see each other as human beings, not as the enemy. They have helped them to break down the barriers of hatred and distrust.

In March of 2003, two Seeds of Peace students joined me in a peace dialogue that I had here at the Capitol. The Israeli student said when she joined Seeds of Peace, she felt she was doing something significant. The change was not aimed to change the world right away. It started out small, giving her an opportunity to change her own personal world. It gave her the opportunity to talk about the other side in terms of friends instead of saying ``those Palestinians.''

The Palestinian student said she first participated in a Seeds of Peace camp in 1999. She said 4 years have passed since then and she cannot recognize the person she was before. She also said that at Seeds of Peace, you get to open up, actually listen to each other, listen to different views and points of view and not toward just rebutting their argument, but to understand and eventually find respect for the argument.

We must voice our support for grassroots institutions that are mobilizing for peace. It might start small, but when young people in this number begin to speak about peace and trying to understand each other around the world, we will see the impact in the future. Institutions like Seeds of Peace can be instrumental in changing this world. They have helped the world to remember one thing, that peace begins with each of us.