Can hoop dreams help bridge Israeli-Palestinian divide?
Photos: PeacePlayers on court
Net gains – PeacePlayers International is an organization which uses basketball to bring youngsters together. It has programs in Israel, South Africa, Northern Ireland and Cyprus.
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Photos: PeacePlayers on court
On the court – The program encourages relationships between Israeli and Palestinian children with basketball at its core. There are also education seminars as well as leadership courses offered.
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Photos: PeacePlayers on court
Girl power – Over 50% of participants in the program are girls. Many of the Palestinian players have had to overcome cultural and political barriers to make it onto the basketball court.
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Photos: PeacePlayers on court
One team – At the start of the 2010-2011 season, PeacePlayers entered the first ever integrated teams from East and West Jerusalem in the prestigious Israeli National Basketball League.
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Photos: PeacePlayers on court
Star players – Toot, who is Israeli and Duha, who is Palestinian, are two of the programs most successful graduates. Both have played a key role in the group's ongoing success.
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Photos: PeacePlayers on court
Crossing the divide – Toot (right) says her experiences at PeacePlayers have completely transformed her opinions of Palestinians.
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Photos: PeacePlayers on court
Do the talking on the court – Duha, who lives in East Jerusalem, says basketball crosses cultural and language barriers. Since starting out at the age of six, she has now learned Hebrew and English.
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Photos: PeacePlayers on court
Champions – In May 2014, the under-18 girls team made history by winning the Israeli National League Championship for the Southern Division. Toot netted a last-second winner.
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