"For 2012-2013,
the Marc Rich Foundation has enabled KickStart Peace to expand. Palestinian girls and Israeli girls will form the second KickStart Peace team."
"With the guidance of
Arab and Jewish
youth workers from ICCI, the boys learned how to enjoy each others' religious observances, languages, and cultures. Little by little they learned to play and live in mutual respect, in celebration of difference."
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KickStart Peace began as the dream of a
Bar Mitzvah boy, Tyler Jackson.
Raised in London, the son of a Canadian mother and an American father, Ty always loved the "beautiful game," which most in the world call "football," although Americans call it "soccer."
As he approached his Bar Mitzvah, he wanted to do something to make the world a better place. Visiting Israel with his family, Tyler noticed that boys his age, both Palestinian and Israeli, played soccer as enthusiastically as he. Always dreaming of peace in the land of his ancestors, Ty wondered "Why can't they all play together?"
With his parents Stacey and Henry, and with his rabbi, Mark Winer, Tyler came up with a plan. Working through FAITH: the Foundation to Advance Interfaith Trust and Harmony and its partner in Israel, ICCI: the Interreligious Coordinating Council in Israel, the dream became reality. Beginning in October of 2011, the first KickStart Peace team started playing together.
Under their Arab coach and their Jewish coach, the team got better and better at playing their sport. With the guidance of Arab and Jewish youth workers from ICCI, the boys learned how to enjoy each others' religious observances, languages, and cultures. Little by little they learned to play and live in mutual respect, in celebration of difference.
The team created their own logo, intertwined Palestinian and Israeli flags, with Arabic and Hebrew prayers for peace. Tyler and FAITH sourced their "kit" of shirt, shorts, and socks.
In June 2012, wearing their new uniforms, KickStart Peace took first place in their league. Tyler and his parents were the first to donate money to FAITH to support KickStart Peace. They have since been joined by Jews, Muslims, and Christians in Asia, Europe, and North America. For 2012-2013, the Marc Rich Foundation has enabled KickStart Peace to expand. Palestinian girls and Israeli girls will form the second KickStart Peace team. The same formula: teams equally Arab and Jewish teenagers, Arab coach and Jewish coach, backing from their home communities, and financial support from FAITH to purchase uniforms and for peace-building work by ICCI.
KickStart Peace is an "idea with legs." Groups in Pakistan and Kashmir, Northern Ireland, and Orlando are starting KickStart Peace teams. Sunni, Shia, and Christians in Pakistan; Muslims and Hindus in Kashmir; Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland; Christians, Muslims and Jews in Orlando, are playing soccer together, learning to make peace. |
