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A medical doctor from Dana Point has a long-board solution for fostering friendship between Israelis and Palestinians. According to a Richard Boudreaux LA Times story today, the doctor, Dorian Paskowitz, delivered 12 surfboards to Palestinians at the Erez border crossing in Gaza on Tuesday. It wasn't easy. Israeli soldiers required convincing. The retired doctor, 86, teaches surfing in Hawaii.
According to Paskowitz, he told an officer:
I came 12,500 miles from Hawaii to give away these boards. The guys who need them are standing 50 meters from here, and you're trying to stop me. How can you do that to a fellow Jew?
A different member of the Surfing for Peace movement started by Paskowitz and his son pointed out that: "Our people are fighting over land...when we're out on the water we can forget about all that."
Paskowitz addressed the larger political "realities," explaining that -- on land -- he was not immune to the desire to pick up a gun and shoot...but surfing was a different matter.