Muhammad Ali to "make a stand in the Holy Land"

Steve Margulies sends a Jerusalem Post article "Muhammad Ali to 'make a stand in the Holy Land' by Hilary Leila Krieger . Here is an excerpt:

First there was the "Rumble in the Jungle" and the "Thrilla in Manila." Now Muhammad Ali hopes to "make a stand in the Holy Land." The heavyweight boxing legend intends to come to Israel this winter to strengthen One Voice, a grassroots peace initiative that seeks to find common ground between the "silent majority" of Israelis and Palestinians, according to Daniel Lubetzsky, president of the America-based PeaceWorks Foundation that launched the initiative. "Muhammad Ali transcends a lot of biases, and he's seen as a hero who overcame tremendous obstacles and ultimately became one of the paradigms of never giving up. He's a man of peace and he wants to support the process," Lubetzsky said. He stressed that no dates have been confirmed for the goodwill trip.

"We are very honored to have him," said Muhammad Darawshe, regional director of One Voice. He added that reports of imminent visits by other celebrity backers of the program Ð actors Brad Pitt, his wife Jennifer Aniston of "Friends fame", Edward Norton of "Keeping the Faith", Jason Alexander of "Seinfeld", and the husband and wife team of Danny DeVito and Rhea Perlman Ð are "not totally accurate, but they're not far from the truth." According to Lubetzsky, the celebrities will send the message that "in Hollywood, killing each other might be heroic, but in real life, a hero is someone who's encouraging everyone to work with the other side." He described the celebrities as "magnets to attract people to learn about the issues." Those issues will be the dozen key "pillars" for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as identified by experts on both sides who have already dedicated months to the project.

They will address problems such as the status of Jerusalem and refugees, and will be revealed to the public in the coming months. Palestinians and Israelis will then be able to engage in an interactive process of fine-tuning in the hopes of finding common ground and solutions. Perhaps there's no better magnet than Ali, one of the world's most recognizable people and a champion boxer turned humanitarian crusader. He became a UN ambassador for peace in 2000 and founded the Muhammad Ali Parkinson's Research Center after coming down with the disease.

Additionally, a Muhammad Ali Center is currently being built in Louisville, Kentucky, to promote peacemaking and cross-cultural education. The center has already sent a conflict resolution expert to help drafters of the One Voice plan. "The Muhammad Ali Center is honored to be a part of the One Voice process of helping people come together to reach consensus on conflicting issues at hand," said Jeanie Kahnke, vice president for communications for the center, adding, "Muhammad Ali... looks forward to his participation as a new board member of the One Voice honorary board." Ali, who converted to the Nation of Islam in the 1960s, also plays a special role as a prominent Muslim American. According to Nabil Kukali, president of the Palestinian Center for Public Opinion, he is extremely well-known and popular in Palestinian society. "It's a good thing to bring Muhammad Ali to talk about peace," Kukali said. "It's good to do something like this for a change in atmosphere, because people have forgotten about peace and talking together."

But Israeli sociologist Oz Almog dismissed the celebrity visits as a mere "gimmick," which he predicted will be met with wide indifference by the Israeli public. "We are not Americans. We don't think that celebrities have magic powers in their hands," he said. "We will clap our hands and smile, and then everyone will go on with his own business and more blood will be spilled and we will continue killing each other."

RH:
I am glad that entertainment celebrities have an altruistic side, but I am afraid that Oz Almog is right. There are several similar groups trying to bring peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but as yet we have seen no results.