Not northern California related but an interesting read

PeacePlayers International lends assist to groups with long-standing conflicts
Jorge Castillo
Washington Post
July 7, 2010

Amir Abu Dalu grew up in the village of Beit Safafa in East Jerusalem, skipping school and causing trouble on the streets with his friends. And like the great majority of Palestinians, he rarely interacted with Israelis.

"I grew up knowing that any Jew was like an enemy of mine," Abu Dalu said, speaking fluent English in a telephone interview. "To tell you the truth, with Jews I didn't have a connection. It was, 'I hate them, they don't know about me' and it was just no connection at all."

Now, at just 17, Abu Dalu has spent four years playing basketball side-by-side with Israelis and counts Jews among his friends. He also volunteers to help coach a girls' basketball team made up of 15- and 16 year-old Palestinians and Israelis. The team will soon become one of two mixed girls teams ever to join Israel's national basketball league, the highest level of club basketball in the country. Arabs have played on Israeli teams in other parts of the country, but not in Jerusalem...

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