Peace behind pair's journey from Israel to Islands

By Mary Kaye Ritz
Advertiser Religion & Ethics Writer

Eliyahu McLean, left, and Rami Mahamid met a year ago through a peace activist. They're trying to raise awareness that there are Israelis, Palestinians, Muslims and Jews working together for peace in the Middle East. Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser

They're appearing at two public events, sponsored by the Aloha Peace House:

• A panel discussion at McCoy Pavilion, Ala Moana Beach Park, at 6:30 p.m. tomorrow.
• A question-and-answer session at 12:30 p.m. Thursday at Leeward Community College, Room GT105, marking the second anniversary of Sept. 11 and discussing the possibility of peace in the Holy Land.

The pair stopped long enough to answer a few questions, with McLean translating. (Mahamid speaks little English.)

Q. Eliyahu, you grew up one local boy in Pupukea, and now you're a Hasidic Jew living in Israel. How'd that happen?

A. (McLean) I moved to Hawai'i when I was 2; my dad (David McLean) was studying for his master's at UH and teaching. I went to Sunset Beach Elementary and Waialua High.

When I was 12 years old, the one Jewish kid I knew invited me to his bar mitzvah at Temple Emanu-El on the Pali. I walked in and knew instantly I found my way home.

A year later, for my bar mitzvah, my grandfather, Oscar, flew in from New York and gave me my Hebrew name, which I've used since. (Before that, he went by the name Olan.)

Q. How did you two meet a year ago?

A. (McLean) A peace group was meeting in his village. ... Rami's aunt, Ibtisam, a religious Muslim woman peace activist whom I've been working closely with, introduced him as an activist.

Since that time, we've become closer and closer friends. If a bomb goes off in Jerusalem, he'll call me up to see if I'm OK. That's very meaningful for me.

Q. What's the message you're spreading during your visit here?

A. (McLean) We're trying to raise awareness around the world that there are Israelis, Palestinians and Jews and Muslims working together for peace in the Holy Land. We come to share about specific peace projects. For example, I started the Old City peace vigil ...

(It's a group of Arab and Jewish activists who came together to pray for peace in a overlook above the Western Wall and Al-Aqfa Mosque at the start of stepped-up violence in 2000. Clashes were imminent. As people rushed forward to see what was going on, police cleared the square. One sergeant, however, pointed to McLean's group, saying "They can stay." To no one in particular, she added, "Who knows? Maybe what they're doing might help." They've met weekly since.)

... and Rami works with Arab and Jewish youth filmmakers, and opened an Internet cafe with an Israeli Jewish businessman in his village catering to the youth.

Q. What do you hope to accomplish?

A. (Mahamid, translated by McLean) My dream was to be a young Arab actor in the state of Israel. When I saw there was discrimination for Arab citizens, I decided to go to Egypt. There, I received even more discrimination because I was an Israeli. I saw many dreams of young people destroyed. ...

I dedicated my life so dreams would not be shattered."

For details, e-mail nationsofpeace@yahoo.com or call 780-9540.