PEACE TEAM

The Peace Team comprising of 13 young Israelis and 13 young Palestinians competed among 16 national teams at the AFL's last world championships held in Melbourne in 2008. The concept was a raging success and drew compliments wherever they travelled during the tournament.

The objective of the Peace Team jointly sponsored by the Peres Center for Peace & Al Quds Association for Democracy is to promote dialogue between the two peoples and to ultimately bring about peace in the region and a film about the team's tour of Australia recently won an international award for best documentary.

However, not everybody supported the Peace Team back then. The paradox is that pro-Palestinian groups claiming to be in the "peace camp" opposed it vehemently. The team was fiercely opposed by Australians for Palestine and by others who are now in the BDS movement, the phony Free Gaza movement and the ISM.

No surprise there because these people, particularly their slimy "movers and shakers" and the media pack that supports them have no interest in bringing about a reconciliation between the people and achieving a peaceful two State solution. They are in fact "the war camp".

I understand that during the championships of 2008 threats were made to the courageous young Palestinians by such groups even before they entered the country.

During one of the games a war camper turned up at a Prace Team game with an Istael Apartheid banner.

Now imagine that!

There's a mixed team of Israelis and Palestinians out there playing a game of footy together and some cretinous supporter of the terrorists has the gall to waive a placard alleging apartheid. That's how stupid the war campers are.

This fellow fully deserved the wrath of a burly British footballer who told him to "p___ off". And being the gutless wonder that he was, that's exactly what he did.

The majority of people on both sides of the conflict want peace and it is a pity that there are extremists that want to make mischief, especially in a country like Australia.

In the meantime, please read this Op-Ed piece from Ynet about the supposed blockade in Gaza entitled "Blockading the Truth", which highlights just how much aide is going into Gaza and exposes claims of a siege as complete falsehoods.