From December 1 - 6, 2007, over seven hundred students from four different middle-schools in the Haifa region of Carmel took part in a program that promoted sportsmanship and religious understanding through competitive sports. Under the banner of "One Family under God," these schools participated in a 5-day basketball tournament, despite their different religious backgrounds. Two of the schools had a majority Christian student body, while the school from the Nazareth area was predominately Muslim and the host school was in a Druze community.
The IPSF believes that positive events can help shape understanding and cooperation among children and provide a vital ingredient to securing an environment that will support peace and reconciliation. For this reason, the IPSF staff recently joined in the Universal Peace Federation"s 33rd Middle East Peace Initiative (MEPI) and helped to organize a local sporting event designed to support the peace initiative through grassroots activities.
The final day of the competition, December 6th, brought students of the various schools together for a day of celebration. Classes were organized in the morning to discuss good sportsmanship, and the final games were introduced by the music of marching bands. Award ceremonies and special presentations from international guest speakers followed the boys" and girls" finals games. The girls" team that came the furthest distance for this competition - a Muslim school near Nazareth - were the happy winners of the final game.
The IPSF will continue to work with the UPF on future events in the Mid East region to support initiatives that promote religious cooperation and peace-building.
