JORDAN: PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI MOUNTAINEERS DO TRAINING CLIMB AHEAD OF MOUNT EVEREST CLIMB FOR PEACE

Record ID: 400336

  • Title: JORDAN: PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI MOUNTAINEERS DO TRAINING CLIMB AHEAD OF MOUNT EVEREST CLIMB FOR PEACE
  • Date: 6th April 2006
  • Summary: (MER-1) WADI RUM, JORDAN (OCTOBER 21, 2005) (REUTERS) 1. VARIOUS SHOTS OF SUNRISE AT WADI RUM 2. VARIOUS SHOTS OF MAIN TENT WHERE CLIMBERS SET UP EQUIPMENT 3. VARIOUS SHOTS OF ISRAELI CLIMBER DAVID IYFRHA AND PALESTINIAN CLIMBER ALI BUSHNAQ PREPARING FOR THEIR PRACTICE CLIMB 4. VARIOUS SHOTS OF BUSHNAQ AND IYFRHA WALKING TOWARDS
  • Embargoed: 21st April 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: WADI RUM, JORDAN
  • Country: Jordan
  • Reuters ID: LVAEGY4PD4EFHDKALZZROCD3E2MZ
  • Story Text: Palestinian and Israeli mountaineers do a training climb in Jordan ahead of their Mt Everest Climb for Peace in spring, 2006.

    Two mountain climbers, a Palestinian and and an
    Israeli, met in Wadi Rum in Jordan on the weekend of
    October 22-23 to practise for the Everest Peace Project,
    where a diverse group of mountain climbers are to tackle
    Mount Everest to promote cultural tolerance and peace.

    As the Everest Peace Project, due to take place March
    2006, approaches, participants like Palestinian Ali Bushnaq
    and Israeli David Iyfrha increase their training programmes
    to be able to complete their mission.

    Working as a team, Ali and David met two years ago
    through the Everest Peace Project, and have since then
    spent long hours training together forming a friendship and
    building bridges that filled the gap between them created
    by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The two-day training
    programme took place in Wadi Rum, a location where numerous
    mountain climbers go to due to its mountainous terrain.

    The Everest Peace Project was established three years
    ago to promote cultural understanding and tolerance through
    group work and mountain climbing. The project's main event
    is set for spring 2006 when a group of climbers from
    different religions and nationalities are to unite in a two
    month joint mission; to climb Mount Everest.

    According to Ali Bushnaq, 42, who has been climbing
    since his universities days in the 1980s, the idea for the
    Everest climb started three years ago.

    "It came from Lance Trembel, an American youth with a
    passion for climbing in the Himalayas," said Bushnaq.

    "He thought of setting up a team of climbers from
    different nationalities and religions to unite in climbing
    Mount Everest to prove to the world that people from
    different religions and nationalities can cooperate with
    one another to achieve a set goal like climbing Mount
    Everest."
    He added: "This is the first time I have dealt with the
    other side [Israelis] who have been our neighbours for a
    long time but we regard as very different from us. However,
    of course after dealing with the people who are going to
    climb with me for two years I found that we have a lot of
    things in common like our thought and outlook to the
    future."
    Meanwhile, David (Dudu) Iyfrha, who has been climbing
    for ten years, talked about the importance of friendship in
    such a mission and described his relationship with Ali,
    which he views as a starting point for other Israelis and
    Palestinians to communicate and form friendships.

    "I did not know what to expect. I didn't have any
    expectations. I just came to meet a friend and to climb
    with him. A friend that I'm going to spend with him two
    months in the Everest so he has to be a good friend of
    mine, because you know, we have to work like a team, our
    lives depend on each other," said David.

    "Look, me and Ali are friends, we don't even think
    about that we are Israeli and Palestinian. I mean we eat
    the same food, we talk almost the same language, so I mean
    we can be just friends. So maybe also the Israelis and
    Palestinians can be just friends so that you can share
    things together, I mean, you don't have to fight all the
    time about things that if you look from above maybe is
    stupid things to fight about," he added.


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