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Spreading Peace in the Middle East, Virtually

Posted by Hsing Wei on 11-28-07

The Peres Center for Peace is distributing 100,000 copies of PeaceMaker to Israelis and Palestinians. 

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The mass distribution of the game comes at a timely moment— on the heels the meeting in Annapolis meant to restart peace negotiations, convened by U.S. President George W. Bush and attended by Arab countries and dozens of other nations.


In PeaceMaker, players are put in the shoes of a Palestinian or Israeli leader.  Obstacles mirror the dilemmas of the real world conflict—Palestinian suicide bombers, Israeli attacks in the West Bank and Gaza, hawkish Israeli groups, Palestinian militants and the deteriorating humanitarian situations in refugee camps.


The game requires players to take into account the pressures facing the other side.  It will be distributed with leading Arabic and Hebrew newspapers.  Copies will also be sent to leaders Olmert and Abbas upon their return from Annapolis.  The Peres Center for Peace hopes that the game will help encourage Palestinians and Israelis, including their leaders, to try switching roles—a key step towards reaching agreement on peace.