Professor Yossi Leshem from Israel and Mansour Abu Rashid from Jordan have worked very closely together for many years. It has not always been easy, and sometimes even very complicated. But they both won't give up, because they have a dream of peace, co-operation and preservation of the Dead Sea and the wildlife of the region .
We asked them: What is it, that keeps you going?
Mansour Abu Rashid answered:
I'm an optimist that the future will be better than the past! I hope the Israeli government will accept the Arabic peace initiative because it is the only good proposal for the Israelis and for the Arabs to respect each other and to solve the Palestinian problem. This is my hope for the future. It will happen! Peace is the only option. If the Israeli government will think more closely about the future of their young generation, they will understand that they have to live together with the Arabs in peace.
Yossi Leshem said:
I'm not a sprinter, but a marathon runner. These things need time and a long breath. The Middle East is a very unstable area. Suddenly something can happen that changes everything. If we have good leaders for the Israelis, the Palestinians and the Arabs things can change very quickly for the better. It has happened several times. I'm optimistic but also realistic: I hope it will occur during my lifetime. But I'm not sure.