PEACE TEAM by Whispering Jack

Most of you would have noticed the recent return of AFL football and the fact that it didn't take long for our television screens and our newspapers to be filled with news of the exploits both on and off the field of the heroes and villains of the game whether they be Saints or Demons, Magpies or Swans or the latest additions to the retinue - Suns and Giants. If someone in this country ever took a poll on the subject it would come as no surprise that footballers are more popular in this country than politicians, scientists, artists, bank managers (I'm relying on the fact that mine doesn't read this) and yes, even religious figures.

While our brand of football is the nation's most popular spectator sport and attracts hundreds of thousands of participants of all ages, shapes and sizes, our game transcends the heroic exploits of its athletes and the salacious conduct of the "bad boys" who generate so much publicity. This is because at the very heart of the sport there are also some uplifting stories of courage and hope that are rarely told.

The story of the AFL 'Peace Team' is one of them.

In 2008 a team comprising Palestinians and Israelis came to Australia for an international tournament. Sixteen teams from Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and the Americas contested the Australian Football International Cup but this one team was unique.

The brainchild of Sydney woman Tanya Oziel and a product of the combined efforts of the Peres Center of Peace and the Al Quds Association for Democracy and Dialogue, the aim of the Peace Team is to break down barriers dividing people in an area that has endured more than a century of conflict by bringing them together through sport.

The Peace Team's twenty-six AFL participants (there are Peace Teams in other sports as well), half Israeli and half Palestinian took part in the tournament and received the support of Jewish and Muslim communities in this country. The lads were coached by Hawthorn's legendary Robert "Dipper" DiPierdomenico who later made the rare admission for a footballer with such a tough guy image of having shed a tear when he considered the importance of the team's mission. They really were playing more than just a game.

I came to support the Peace Team for its opening game against Great Britain at an oval in inner suburban Brunswick which ironically is not far from where my parents came to live after the horrors of wartime Europe among what was then a closely knit little Jewish community. Further waves of migration brought Italians and Greeks and today, the area has a thriving community from the Middle East. Arabic lettering adorns the shopfronts where long ago my parents bought kosher food.

The game itself passed without much incident apart from a lone protester who embarrassed himself by brandishing a sign saying "Apartheid Israel" (in front of him was the antithesis of Apartheid - go figure?) and the usual cuts and bruises that are part and parcel of the game.

When the outgunned (pardon my poor word selection) Peace Team finally scored a goal it provided one of the highlights of all my years as a watcher of Australian footy. To see Israeli and Palestinian kids hugging each other, smiling and enjoying this seemingly modest achievement really brought a tear to the eye. I'm sorry I missed their victory later in the tournament.

A documentary film about the Peace Team, "Tackling Peace," by Australian director Marc Radomsky won the Provincia Di Milano Award for Outstanding Film, and the Mention D'Honneur in the Sport & Society category of Sports Film Awards held in Milan, Italy last year. It tells of the trials and tribulations of the organisers and the participants and how they worked hard together in their quest to reject notions that lead to intolerance, bigotry and tensions in communities.

The film looks at some of the complex issues facing those who must live with the conflict, with the barbed wire, the checkpoints, the fear of terrorism, the attempted delegitimisation of the other and of the bravery of some of the players who defied opponents of the team. I have been told that for some of the Palestinians this went as far as having to endure threats to their families if they remained in the team.

One of the founders of the Al Quds Association for Democracy and Dialogue was once jailed for activites against Israeli soldiers but that was back in the "bad old" days and he now rejects violence in favour of seeking reconciliation, peace and harmony among the region's peoples.

The recent release of what were termed the "Palestine Papers" demonstrated the possibility that Israeli and Palestinian leaders can sit down and negotiate concessions in the hope of bringing about peace in the region. It's true that they failed in their efforts this time and the cause is not being helped by the shameful manipulation of the story behind the peace talks from those in the media whose agenda is to support the rejectionist elements in the equation. However, the need to prepare the region for peace in the future is clear and it can only be enhanced by initiatives that promote tolerance and the ability for people to listen to each other. Initiatives such as the Peace Team.

At a recent function at the Whitten Oval, the AFL's international ambassador, Brett Kirk (recently retired Sydney Swans captain) announced that the Peace Team is back in training and is slated to return to Australia for the next International Cup in August this year. The team deserves our wholehearted support.

The concept of the Peace Team has also spawned a round robin competition involving many of our local communities in an Australian Federal Police initiative that aims to strengthen the ties between the Muslim and other communities including the Jewish community. It has the backing of the AFL Multicutural Program, Victoria Police, Maccabi Victoria and the Islamic Council of Victoria. The AJAX Football Club is helping put together the Jewish team and it is hoped that with games played on Sundays, it will attract some of Orthodox members of the community who otherwise cannot participate in the game.

The competition will also involve Muslim teams and an Indigenous Australian team.

The past month has seen a grass roots movement in the Arab and Muslim world rise up against tyrannical leaders who have kept them poor and often fed them with a diet of antisemitism and Israel bashing while discriminating against Palestinian Arabs in their midst and keeping them in an abject state of poverty. Corrupt and unpopular leaders in Tunisia and Egypt have fallen and the Libyan madman who the world last year celebrated with the highest honours of the United Nations Human Rights Council, will soon be gone and nobody will shed any tears for him.

There are some good and bad signs in these developments but it is hoped that the people might consider the words I found on the Al Quds Association website that come from 16 year old Palestinian boy Husam who says:

"Peace is possible in the world we live in today, sport unites us; it doesn't separate us. Our project shows the whole world that Palestinians and Israelis live together, that they can be friends and allies, despite what other people say. My love for sport is like breathing, I cannot live without it. My dream is to become a famous football player. I want to establish football clubs for disadvantaged and mentally challenged children."

Whispering Jack travels to the region next week and hopes to catch up with a Peace Team training session. He will be back in time to watch the Demons beat the Swans in Round One

Great initiative. The football world needs more stories like this and less about that Nixon person.

For everybody's information there's been a fair bit of interest shown by various groups in helping out this initiative.

I'm hoping that an AFL club gets behind the project and it has had support from David Smorgon of the Western Bulldogs but what better than the MFC as a supporter of this enterprise?

Any thoughts?

Good luck with this - it's a tough ask to do something like this in that region if you go by newspaper reports.

I've seen the documentary. It's a beauty. I recall Dipper commenting that he thought the story of the Peace Team would be covered by Oprah (in her Chicago show, not her recent Aussie visit) and that he might be asked on the show. Did that ever happen?

And while we grumble, or not, about flood levies, Ricky Nixon, carbon taxes, Greater Western Sydney "poaching" players and the like, let's keep in mind that for the Israeli and Palestinian players, they've returned to a very dangerous world.

I've seen the documentary. It's a beauty. I recall Dipper commenting that he thought the story of the Peace Team would be covered by Oprah (in her Chicago show, not her recent Aussie visit) and that he might be asked on the show. Did that ever happen?

And while we grumble, or not, about flood levies, Ricky Nixon, carbon taxes, Greater Western Sydney "poaching" players and the like, let's keep in mind that for the Israeli and Palestinian players, they've returned to a very dangerous world.

The international award winning documentary Talking Peace will be shown tomorrow night at the Classic Cinema Elsternwick - TACKLING PEACE. It's being shown in conjunction with the AFL's International Cup which reaches the finals stages at the end of the week in Melbourne. The Peace Team plays France is the semi final of their B Grade International Cup game tomorrow at Royal Park (entrance through Park Street) at 11 am.

The showing of the film will be followed by a panel discussion including Age journalist Martin Flanagan who visited the area in June and has written some great pieces in the Age about this unbelievable innovation. I heard Martin and some of the team members speaking last night at the Melbourne launch and the story is riveting. The initiative is well supported by the AFL and there were two MFC board members at last night's reception as well as our own legendary Ron Barassi.

You can reserve your tickets for the Classic Theatre, Elsternwick by paying $20.00 to:

Account: Ameinu Inc.

Westpac Banking Corporation

BSB: 033047

Acct No: 375978

Once you pay your name(s) will be put on the list at the door and you will have automatic entry. There should also be tickets available at the door.

Please don't miss this - I'm not sure if it will be shown here publicly for some time and it is an incredible story!

WJ, are they playing in the International Cup? Got a fixture? Would love to pop along.

WJ, are they playing in the International Cup? Got a fixture? Would love to pop along.

Here's the FIXTURE:

France v Peace Team is on at 11:00 am but there are lots of other games on and I'm sure you can find a winner somewhere!

Here's a rundown of what's happened so far (assuming my sources are reliable):

The 2011 AFL International Cup began at Blacktown last Saturday week with a round of modfied games (2x15 min halves) for men to determine which teams went into Division 1 and 2.

The results were:

GROUP 1

PNG 6-8(44) def Tonga 1-1(7), PNG 10-10(70) def France 0-0(0), Tonga 7-6.(48) def France 1-1(7)

GROUP 2

New Zealand 6-5(41) def Sweden 0-0(0), New Zealand 15-4(94) def India 0-0(0), Sweden 7-7(49) def India 0-1(1)

GROUP 3

Sth Africa 4-2926) def Denmark 1-3(9), Sth Africa 18-6(114) def China 0-0(0), Denmark 10-8(68) def China 1-0(6)

GROUP 4

Great Britain 10-10(70) def East Timor 0-0(0), Ireland 14-9(93) def East Timor 1-0(6), Ireland 8-6(54) def Great Britain 1-0(6)

GROUP 5

Nauru 6-6(42) def Japan 3-1(19), Nauru 6-6(42) def Fiji 2-3(15), Japan 5-6(36) def Fiji 4-4(28)

GROUP 6

USA 2-3(15) def Canada 2-0(12), Canada 3-6(24) def Peace Team 0-0(0), USA 12-8(80) def Peace Team 0-0(0)

The teams were then graded into their respective divisions and the next two rounds were also played in Sydney (the women had three rounds in Sydney)

DIVISION 1 MEN FIRST ROUND

New Zealand 15-10(100) def Great Britain 0-2(2)

PNG 17-17(119) def Tonga 0-2(2)

South Africa 14-8(92) def Japan 1-4(10)

Ireland 15-12(102) def Sweden 1-0(6)

DIVISION 1 MEN SECOND ROUND

New Zealand 5-9(39) def Canada 3-2(20)

PNG 16-14(110) def Nauru 4-3(27)

Ireland 11-6(72) def Denmark 1-3(9)

USA 7-14(56) def South Africa 2-6(18)

DIVISION 2 MEN FIRST ROUND

Fiji 9-19(73) def Peace Team 4-2(26)

China 5-12(42) def India 2-2(14)

France 17-20(122) def East Timor 2-1(13)

DIVISION 2 MEN SECOND ROUND

France 14-15(99) def India 1-2(8 )

Peace Team 12-18(90) def China 1-1(7)

Fiji 21-16(142) def East Timor 1-1(7)

WOMENS DIVISION FIRST ROUND

PNG 9-3(57) def Australia IM 1-1(7)

Ireland 4-7(31) def Canada 1-1(7)

WOMENS DIVISION SECOND ROUND

Canada 3-7(25) def PNG 0-0(0)

USA 10-12 def Australia IM 0-0-0

WOMENS DIVISION THIRD ROUND

Ireland 12-8(80) def PNG 2-0(12)

Canada 4-5(29) def USA 1-5(11)

FIXTURE 25 AUGUST 2011

All games to be played at the Royal Park North Grounds at Park Street,Parkville. The grounds can be accessed by Upfield line train to Jewell Station then a 5 to 10 min walk to the grounds. By Tram to Stop 18 on Sydney Rd then about 10 min walk.

RANSFORD OVAL

9am Div 1 Men 5-8 Playoff Denmark vs Nauru

11am Div 1 Men Semi Final USA vs PNG

1pm Div 1 Men Semi Final Ireland vs NZ

3pm Div 1 Men 5-8 Playoff Sth Africa vs Great Britain

WESTERN OVAL

9am Div 2 Men India vs East Timor

11am Div 2 Men France vs Peace Team

1pm Div 2 Men Fiji vs China

3pm Div 1 Men 9-12 Playoff Sweden vs Tonga

MCALISTER OVAL

11am Women Australia IM vs Canada

1pm Women Ireland vs USA

3pm Div 1 Men 9-12 Playoff Sweden vs Tonga