Living in Michigan away from the Middle East had some interesting implications regarding the conflict in the Middle East. Michigan is known to have the largest populations of Arabs outside the Middle East. Studying at U of M, a very political school, created many opportunities to meet our "neighbors" away from home.
The Center for Middle Eastern Studies at U of M had two students who thought it would be a great idea to "use" these residents to help educate others about the Middle East and its inhabitants. Miriam (Mimi) Asnes and Laura Haddad, two MA students, arranged these panels. Mimi a Jewish American and Laura a Christen Jordanian contacted friends and students they knew and arranged for panels.
Two sorts of panels were arranged, one cultural about the Middle East with representatives from different countries, and one about the Palestinian Israeli conflict with representatives from both sides. I was contacted and was happy to be a panelist in both panels.
After Mim and Laura graduated, Ziv Ragovsky a Jewish Israeli and Carmel Salhi a Palestinian American took over the role of organizers and more panels were arranged.
With the panel I went to middle schools, high schools, and colleges. I enjoyed those panels very much and over the years participated in many. I learned from listening to my counter parts. I only wish I could have the chance to listen to and talk with Palestinians and other Arabs in a casual and respectful way as we did in those panels.
The contents of the panels were as diverse as were the participants. Each panel had a life of it own and was different than the one following it. I think we made the Middle East "more real" to the students, and it became more than just a news item. These panels provided a much needed service. We tried to voice both sides and attempted to be balanced.