On May 18th, the Slugs for Israel group at UC Santa Cruz brought renowned academic Michael Leitner to campus for a talk about Israel and the possibilities of peace and coexistence. Leitner’s philosophy is one that results in a productive, peaceful society as the result of “recreational programming”.
The intimate lecture and conversation that followed helped expose students to the conflict of the region in a different context. Leitner’s program, “United Soccer for Peace,” helps to train Jewish and Arab soccer coaches to build a peaceful foundation among youth in Israel. CAMERA liaison Josh Frank said that the talk was able to expose people to the impact of Leitner’s work and the psychological basis on which the Leitner’s program is based. In a society where soccer is so prevalent, Leitner’s work is truly groundbreaking.
Thanks to the intimacy of the lecture, the students who attended were able to not only learn from Leitner’s talk, but we also able to engage in conversation with him, opening them up to even more intriguing information.