Advocating for peace

Drew Craig knows when many people think of the West Bank it evokes thoughts of youth hurling stones and military rocket attacks.

Craig, a 2013 University of Iowa College of Law graduate, conjures very different images.

One of the most vivid is a 7-year-old Palestinian girl wearing a bright pink dress. She dutifully stands guard at the edge of her family's farmland—protecting their vegetable fields and olive and almond trees and ensuring military members do not harm her family's only means of livelihood.

...While there, Craig also took a law class at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, gaining academic credit toward his juris doctor degree. Craig’s professor was formerly involved with negotiations on the Israeli side, his supervisor in Ramallah consulted directly with the Palestinian negotiation support unit, his roommates in Ramallah were Palestinian, and he attended dinners and parties with Israelis and current and former members of the Israeli military while visiting Israel.

“It was very interesting, going from class in Jerusalem to work where my supervisor at AMF was a Palestinian negotiator. I was able to gain different perspectives from every relationship and friendship I had,” Craig says.

Read more [here]