Surfing the Blue Line between Israel and Hezbollah
| Beirut, Lebanon
鈥� A local, slice-of-life story from a Monitor correspondent.
Jesse Aizenstat says he is 鈥渟urfing a d茅tente 鈥� one wave at a time.鈥�
Last summer, the California native embarked on a trip to Israel and Lebanon, chasing the region鈥檚 best waves and looking for new perspectives on the region鈥檚 conflicts.
鈥淎s a surfer, you鈥檙e always looking for new spots,鈥� says Mr. Aizenstat. 鈥淚 noticed that there was a question that both surfers in Lebanon and Israel had: What kind of coast is on the other side of the Blue Line?鈥�
The Blue Line is the UN-demarcated line of Israel鈥檚 2000 withdrawal from southern Lebanon. Despite travel restrictions, Aizenstat was determined to hear stories from surfers on both sides of the line, uniting them through a common interest across their political, cultural, and geographical divides.
鈥淚f I learned anything about coexistence, it鈥檚 that everyone in the region, at one point or another, has lived together,鈥� says Aizenstat. 鈥淚t鈥檚 only been the last 60 to 70 years that we鈥檝e seen the demographics shift.鈥�
Traveling with his custom-crafted surfboard in tow, Aizenstat received his share of strange looks navigating through Israeli Defense Forces checkpoints in the West Bank and hitching rides through Hezbollah-controlled areas of southern Lebanon.
While Israel has a developed surf scene, in Lebanon the majority of the country鈥檚 surfboards reside on the walls of themed restaurants as decoration.
In the northern Israeli city of Haifa, Aizenstat met a close-knit group of Israeli surfers 鈥� made up of both Arabs and Jews, some of whom have been friends since childhood 鈥� leading him to view surfing as a potential medium for mediation and understanding in the region.
鈥淢ost of the Palestinians and Jews in Haifa don鈥檛 mix,鈥� he says. "But through surfing, people are, at the very least, civil 鈥� some even good friends, best friends鈥� bound by the sea.
[Editor's note: The original photo caption misidentified Imad Mughniyeh as Khaled Mashal.]
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