Avi Benvenisty

Avi BenvenistyAge: 20

Residence: Jerusalem

Occupation: Soldier finishing my service before we go to Australia.

Family & Childhood: My mother was born in Brazil and came to Israel at the age of 16 and my father was born in Jerusalem. I have a twin sister who is also in the army and a 15 year-old brother. I have lived all my life in Jerusalem; except for between ages 3-7 when my father got a job in Boston (he has a PhD. in biology).

Sport: always played different kinds of sports!

Politics & the “other side”: Eight of my friends and I initiated a “Mini-UN” project when we were in high-school for Hebrew speaking teenagers in order to get the East Jerusalem Arabs involved. Through the project we all got the chance to represent Israel in Qatar as a mixed East-West Jerusalem (Jewish-Arab) delegation.

Through the Peace Team, I hope to get an even more in depth understanding of “the other side” – not only the Arabs inside Israel but also the Palestinians. I hope to understand more than what one can from the newspapers and get to know my Arab teammates on a personal basis and experience and see how we can overcome our problems and differences.