In February of 2009 I arrived in the Middle East with a knapsack full of wetsuits to deliver to the Gaza Surf Club. I was motivated by a sense of utter despair over what appeared to be the hopelessness of the situation in the Middle East  and a belief in the importance of a shared passion between two supposedly adverserial people.

While surfing in itself won’t solve the problems of the Middle East it does create moments of peacefulness where the so-called enemy is demystified. Peace is a political process, but luckily friendship isn’t. Initiating actions on the grassroots level between common people is a much faster way to move things. Surfing as a peaceful way of living is just perfect for this goal. Why not just go out and forget about our worries for a moment? This is what the Arabs in Israel do when they go surf, this is what the Israeli surfers do when they go out, and it’s the same for the guys in Gaza.

 A year later on the...More >>