首页
登录
职称英语
"There is no real border between Israel and Palestine," says Muhammad Hamudi,
"There is no real border between Israel and Palestine," says Muhammad Hamudi,
游客
2023-12-26
19
管理
问题
"There is no real border between Israel and Palestine," says Muhammad Hamudi, an olive farmer and olive oil producer from Asira al-Shamaliya, near Nablus in the West Bank. He has been working with the ongoing USAID-funded project Olive Oil Without Borders (OOWB) since its start in 2011. Hamudi is in his mid-50s, with smiling eyes and palms so big that an olive looks tiny in them. "Today the border is here, tomorrow it will be there. The olive oil market has no borders as well. The bridge to the global market is the same bridge for everyone."
OOWB is a
collaborative
economic initiative among 34 olive oil farming communities in Israel and the West Bank. It is spearheaded by the Near East Foundation (NEF), a 100-year-old nongovernmental organization working on economic development among poverty-stricken communities throughout Africa and the Middle East. The initiative is funded by USAID, which provides financial and operative assistance to foreign nations and regions in need. The program has been successful enough that USAID has just granted OOWB its second US$1.2 million round of funding, expected to serve some 2,000 Palestinians and Israelis working in the olive oil business over the course of three years.
Hamudi, one of the project’s success stories, points out Salah Abu-Eisheh, NEF country director for the Palestinian authority. "During the three-year run, he has tripled his production, improved significantly the quality and purity of his olive oil, and increased his income." Hamudi smiles when he hears Abu-Eisheh say this. "NEF helped me achieve a sustained level of productivity," Hamudi says. "No more bad years and good years; now I am in control of the yield."
This success is due in large part to direct grants farmers like Hamudi received for purchasing modern equipment, renovating facilities (such as mills), and planting new varieties of olive trees. The rest of the USAID funding goes to conducting seminars and hands-on workshops led by industry consultants, from agriculture and olive oil production to business management and marketing.
Yet Palestinian farmers are only half of the OOWB equation: Israeli farmers and producers provide the necessary cross-border collaboration for this innovative and seemingly conflict-free program.
When I ask Hamudi about his experience collaborating with his Israeli-Jewish counterparts, his answer is
pragmatic
. "I see it as an exchange. We have things to teach, and they have things to teach. They use modern techniques, we have experience and knowledge. The benefits are for both sides. We have no other choices."
But for a region stuck in political conflict, collaborating is a choice — and quite an unusual one. Ayala Noy, a 40-year-old farmer and producer from the Israeli side, approaches the project from a different perspective: "It was a very important and empowering experience. Sitting down with a Palestinian farmer who tells me, with tears in his eyes, that his orchard was burned to the ground the previous night by Israeli settlers was very emotional for me. ’How do you sleep at night?’ he asked me. I told him not very well. That was the biggest challenge for me — being a representative of Israel, dealing with the hard feelings they have toward us."
Although one of OOWB’s stated goals is to "leverage economic cooperation to promote peace and reconciliation," according to NEF President Charlie Benjamin, the organization approaches its work from "a completely depoliticized perspective." The focus is on "building economic relationships. We don’t touch the border issue." At the same time, Benjamin does acknowledge the growing trust, communication, and interaction outside the program.
Noy agrees that the project has strengthened more than economic ties. "We brought Palestinians to our house, we showed them our mill, and we try to keep in touch by phone," she says. "I think it gave them a chance to see ’other’ Israelis. Many of them told me that was their first time to meet an Israeli who is not a soldier, or a settler." [br] The word "pragmatic" underlined in Paragraph 6 is synonymous to______.
选项
A、ironic
B、realistic
C、majestic
D、enthusiastic
答案
B
解析
语义题。pragmatic意为“实际的,实用的”,B选项的语义与其最接近,故为正确答案。
转载请注明原文地址:https://tihaiku.com/zcyy/3306432.html
相关试题推荐
Thedichotomypostulatedbymanybetweenidealismandrealismisoneofthestan
Isolatedcasesofdisaffection—orharbingersofamasscross-bordermovementt
Beingcolour-blind,Sallycan’tmakea______betweenredandgreen.A、differenceB
Thelaserrepresentsatruemarriagebetweenscienceandtechnology,themenwho
Thedichotomypostulatedbymanybetweenidealismandrealismisoneofthestan
Astechnologicaladvancesputmoreandmoretimebetweenearlyschoollifeandt
Nomatterhowhardyoutry,youcanfindnoparallelexistingbetweenthem.A、ana
Eventomanyscientists,theproblemsresultedfromtheconflictbetweeneconomi
Evenifamarriageisdoomed,thefinancialdisputebetweenhusbandandwife,wh
Itisevidentthatwhenthedistancebetweentwoobjectsistripled,thegravita
随机试题
Formostspeciesofanimals,thenumberofindividualsinthespeciesisinverse
金某(15周岁)在课间因小事与同学沈某发生争执,金某一拳击中沈某头部,致使沈某倒
两个或两个以上的当事人按共同商定的条件,在约定的时间内定期交换现金流的金融交易是
结核分支杆菌检查最适宜的尿标本为A.随机尿B.3h尿C.首次晨尿D.12h尿E.
关于权益报酬率计算正确的是()。A:权益报酬率=销售净利率*权益乘数 B:权益
上述化合物以甲苯-甲酸乙酯-甲酸(4:5:1)为展开剂,进行硅胶薄层层析时,其R
危机公关是指由于企业管理不善、同行竞争甚至遭遇恶意破坏或者是外界特殊事件的影响,
发生发票丢失情形时,应当于发现发票丢失的()向税务机关书面报告。A.当日
A.防御反射 B.对侧伸肌反射 C.状态反射 D.牵张反射 E.翻正反射
最新回复
(
0
)