Support science diplomacy in the Middle East

I appreciated the October 2024 Q&A with Tareq Abu Hamed (page 26), the Palestinian Israeli executive director of the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies, a nongovernmental organization in southern Israel that fosters cross-border collaboration on environmental issues during political conflict. The piece is refreshing in the wake of so much negative news from the region. I have personally visited the Arava Institute and experienced the Arab–Jewish collegiality that Abu Hamed describes.

Sadly, in the Q&A, Abu Hamed says he thinks that the Arava Institute is “the only organization in the region that uses science diplomacy with students and researchers.” Members of the region should work to create and support such organizations in their countries. Perhaps both the American Institute of Physics and the Arava Institute could advise, cheerlead, and uphold such efforts. I should hope that they do not let anti-Semitism, racism, political conflict, or cultural differences stand in the way.