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Those Penguins and Those Kids from Gaza: “Man is Wolf to Man”

JL;DR SUMMARY Set against the backdrop of the Seeds of Peace Camp and later ventures, this narrative weaves a personal story of friendship and cross-cultural bonding between the narrator, an American connected with the Seeds of Peace program, and Mohammed, a Palestinian professor from Gaza. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

JerusalemFriendshipGazaEducationPeacebuildingCross Cultural DialogueSeeds Of PeaceCommunity CenterMohammed

Places mentioned

Otisfield, Maine, United States
"It was late June, 2004, my first summer working at The Seeds of Peace Camp on the shores of Pleasant Lake in Otisfield, Maine."
Gaza, Palestinian Territories
"Getting old is different in Gaza than in America, he said."
Jerusalem, Israel
"In the fall of 2006, I accepted a full-time position with Seeds of Peace and moved to Jerusalem."
Jericho, Palestinian Territories
"We met in Ramallah, in Jerusalem, in Amman, by Petra, in Wadi Rum, in Cyprus, in Manhattan, at a retreat center in New Jersey, at the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine."
Amman, Jordan
"We met in Ramallah, in Jerusalem, in Amman, by Petra, in Wadi Rum, in Cyprus, in Manhattan, at a retreat center in New Jersey, at the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine."
Petra, Mafraq, Jordan
"We met in Ramallah, in Jerusalem, in Amman, by Petra, in Wadi Rum, in Cyprus, in Manhattan, at a retreat center in New Jersey, at the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine."
Wadi Rum, Aqaba, Jordan
"We met in Ramallah, in Jerusalem, in Amman, by Petra, in Wadi Rum, in Cyprus, in Manhattan, at a retreat center in New Jersey, at the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine."
Cyprus
"We met in Ramallah, in Jerusalem, in Amman, by Petra, in Wadi Rum, in Cyprus, in Manhattan, at a retreat center in New Jersey, at the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine."
New Jersey, United States
"We met in Ramallah, in Jerusalem, in Amman, by Petra, in Wadi Rum, in Cyprus, in Manhattan, at a retreat center in New Jersey, at the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine."
Manhattan, New York, United States
"We met in Ramallah, in Jerusalem, in Amman, by Petra, in Wadi Rum, in Cyprus, in Manhattan, at a retreat center in New Jersey, at the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine."
Shijayea, Gaza, Palestinian Territories
"I would be walking around Jerusalem; he would be at the grocery store in Shijayea or at the nearby ice cream parlor."
Gush Etzion, Southern District, Israel
"In June of 2014, members of Hamas kidnapped three Israeli teenagers in Gush Etzion, a settlement bloc in the West Bank, also a Jerusalem suburb where my cousins live."
Palestinian Territories
"In June of 2014, members of Hamas kidnapped three Israeli teenagers in Gush Etzion, a settlement bloc in the West Bank, also a Jerusalem suburb where my cousins live."
Maine, United States
"Late that summer, Mohammed joined me at the Seeds of Peace camp in Maine."
Ramle, Central District, Israel
"In 1975, when he was about eighteen, Mohammed started working at a gas station in Ramle."
Tel Aviv, Tel Aviv District, Israel
"By the flags at the entrance of the Seeds of Peace Camp, Mohammed said to Orli in English, I used to go to the demonstrations in Tel Aviv."
Morningside Heights, New York, United States
"Not long after, I remember taking Mohammed to visit my father. The two of them stood on the balcony of my father's 17th floor apartment on 123rd Street, in Morningside Heights, across the street from The Jewish Theological Seminary."
Bethlehem, Central District, Israel
"In April of 2015, Mohammed, the Palestinian educators, and I, organized a spring camp at the Murad Hotel in the hills outside of Bethlehem."
Damascus Gate, Jerusalem, Israel
"On a beautiful spring afternoon around Easter, I sat in the restaurant of the Jerusalem Hotel, across from the Palestinian bus station and The Garden Tomb, around the corner from The Old City's Damascus Gate, waiting for Mohammed and the children to arrive."
Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Israel
"After lunch, we walked as a group to The Haram al-Sharif, also known as The Al Aqsa Mosque Compound and as The Temple Mount."
Troy, New York, United States
"I said goodbye to Mohammed. I sat down on a rough wooden bench by the Poestenkill Creek in the woods by the local cemetery in Troy, New York."
New York, United States
"I made a new life with my partner Celia in upstate New York."
Nahal Oz, Southern District, Israel
"On October 7th, 2023, Orlis Kibbutz, Nahal Oz, was one of the targets of the Hamas terrorist attacks."
Texas, United States
"We adopted a rescue dog from Texas."
Columbus, Ohio, United States
"Hours after those attacks started, Mohammed called Orli from Columbus, Ohio."
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
"Orli was in the suburbs of Boston."

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Cairo Item ID 52837
Cairo Source ID 32
Retrieved 2025-05-31 05:30:31 UTC
Curated 2025-05-31 08:31:03 UTC