For more informatio, go to SHARE’s Facebook page or archshare.org.
Can digging in the dirt resolve the ages old conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians? Maybe not, but Casey Sharp is willing to give it a try. The Powder Springs native is one of the founders of the Society for Humanitarian Archaeological Research and Exploration, or SHARE, a nonprofit that uses archaeology as a vehicle not only to unearth treasures, but also to promote dialogue among young people from Israel and Palestine. Then maybe, just maybe, that generation can be the answer to a more peaceful future. Sharp is currently living in Israel, working on a master’s in archeology from the University of Haifa, near the Lebanon border. He already holds a master’s from the University of Georgia in religion. “SHARE does not expect to solve the Israeli/Palestinian conflict,” Sharp says, “but we know that any solution will begin with real human connection between the conflicting groups.”
Q: Why did you start SHARE?
A: By working in this region, we are a part of its politics whether we like it or not. Why not confront that fact? Every archaeologist knows how intensive summer fieldwork can create lasting bonds.
Q: How can archeology promote peace between two groups that have such animosity for each other?
A: When you get kids and young adults working with one another in an outdoor educational environment that almost resembles a summer camp, the focus on the task at hand transcends their divisions. We allow dialogue to happen naturally in the background of archaeological work and education, which takes center stage. By learning about the history of this land together, we allow students to tell their own story as they discover it. This is why we call the current program in Israel the “Common Ground Initiative.” We are seeking common ground — literally and figuratively.
Q: Can you talk about the program?
A: We just finished our 2014 season with two groups of local teenagers. The first worked at the ancient site of Akko in northern Israel. We had a small graduation ceremony attended by the students’ families and the entire excavation. This happened just as the conflict in Gaza escalated, and seeing those young people come together while all that happened was extremely moving. I hosted our first summer with a new project in Jaffa, which is walking distance south of Tel Aviv. On the third day of excavation the rockets from Gaza began to reach Tel Aviv, and running to the bomb shelters became a daily reality. These excavations had to be cancelled for the rest of the season.
Q: Do you ever get scared?
A: I have spent a lot of time in the towns targeted by rockets from Gaza, but honestly I am not afraid. I always say that my home country scares me way more than anywhere I have been in Israel or the West Bank/Palestine. I love Georgia, and the U.S.A. will always be my home, but look at our homicide rate and the amount of random violence and hatred that occurs every day in our nation. Also, I live in Haifa, which is a relatively calm area in northern Israel.
Q: Other than the bombs going off, what are the challenges of doing archeology in Israel?
A: The archaeology in the territory of Israel is some of the best in the world, but the West Bank still has so many unexplored sites and some places have been looted, or sometimes the teams that excavated them were less than professional or had some political bone to pick. One of the main advantages of archaeology in this land is simply its unparalleled density. Where I worked in Ashkelon, you have civilization buried on top of civilization for more than 4,000 years. We are uncovering that story, and the dirt of this Holy Land still has so much to tell us.
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