The Israeli peace movement, relegated to silence following the escalation of conflict since the second intifada in September 2000, reasserted itself last weekend when almost 100,000 people turned up for a pro-peace demonstration in Rabin Square in Tel Aviv. Support for a just peace by progressive academics in the region through scientific collaboration has suffered. They now need the active support of the international science community to resuscitate and sustain collaboration. At stake is not only the contribution that this can bring to the peace process, but also the genesis of a viable scientific and technological base in Palestine and other Arab countries, which could play a key role in ensuring both future prosperity and a joint approach to common regional problems.

One impact of the profound polarization of Israeli and Palestinian societies is that, whereas collaborating scientists were once proud of their activities — often publicized by their institutions in the hope of attracting international funding — many now adopt low profiles. But collaboration between the research powerhouse that is Israel, which normally has a tendency to look to the West for cooperation, and its Arab neighbours needs to be protected as much as possible from the impact of the political conflict.

Science is one of the few areas in which Israelis and Palestinians can interact apolitically, and the importance of the trust and dialogue created by such second-track diplomacy to the political peace process should not be underestimated. Many Israeli scientists are committed to this cause and, more self-interestedly, collaboration is a means for Israel to win something it longs for: acceptance by Arab states. Palestinians, on the other hand, recognize that collaboration with Israel is key to gaining access to the scientific facilities they lack and the training of a new generation.

Track records

And there is the science itself. Almost two-thirds of joint projects involve applied science relevant to critical regional problems — for example, in medicine, agriculture, water and the environment. The Kuvin Center for Infectious and Tropical Diseases of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Hadassah Medical Organization has long collaborated with Arab scientists on diseases such as malaria and leishmaniasis. In one of its most notable successes, researchers at Ain Shams University in Egypt, with funding from the US Agency for International Development and the US National Institutes of Health, identified and developed a vaccine for Rift Valley fever, a Mediterranean disease that is fatal to humans and livestock. The collaboration published over fifty joint papers.

For all these reasons, international scientific communities need to redouble their efforts to promote peace and science through greater collaboration. What can be done? Benchmarking of what has been achieved so far, what the problems are, and how funds can best be invested is an essential and neglected task. Funds could be used to train Palestinian scientists and allow them to attend meetings and workshops. A high-level 'Science for Peace' conference, bringing together the main players from both sides, would also be worthwhile. More researchers outside the region could initiate three-way collaborations. Now is a good time to contact scientists in the region to offer support and learn of their needs.

Such ambitions are controversial (see page 221) and cannot ignore the painful practical realities of politics and security, not to mention the devastation of Palestinian infrastructure (see page 209). Funders should bring whatever influence they can bring to bear to minimize such damage and improve conditions.

Restrictions on freedom of movement are viewed by Palestinian researchers as the main obstacle to greater collaboration with Israel. Even in more peaceful times, Israel's arbitrary approach to awarding Palestinians permits to travel within Israel has been a source of humiliation and wasted effort for Palestinians. Israeli researchers may travel anywhere within Palestine, but Palestinian researchers wishing to visit their colleagues in Israel must apply for special permits— and, they say, depending on the mood of the Israeli official on duty, it may be for one month or one day. And they cannot stay in Israel after dusk.

Mutual respect

One Palestinian scientists sums up the resentment: “We want to cooperate but why should we go and normalize our relationships when the Israelis here make our life miserable, when we can't cross the border to meet in Hebrew University, which is just down the road?” To their credit, individual Israeli scientists often go out of their way to help them obtain permits. Security concerns will be paramount, but outside pressure needs to be applied to encourage greater action by Israeli research organizations, who have failed to use their considerable political clout to obtain decent travel terms for their Palestinian colleagues.

Similar concerns arise within science itself. When Israelis speak of collaboration, many Arab scientists fear that this will be overly dominated by Israelis' superior research infrastructure and funds, with Arabs used as technicians. What Palestinians want is better access to that rich infrastructure, and true collaboration based on 'mutual respect' and 'dignity'. Such terms are often vacuous, but in the context of the Middle East, they represent a profound aspiration that should not be ignored.

The term 'normalization' is key to understanding Israeli–Arab scientific relations. Palestinian universities refuse formal institutional links with their Israeli counterparts on the grounds that these are appropriate only after significant progress has been made towards peace. Many Israelis likewise prefer personal collaborations. But ultimately there needs to be a commitment to formal collaboration between institutions. Only then can the full potential of research collaboration be realized. Is it too much also to hope that institutions might take a public stand on issues of human rights and equality that are hindering greater Arab–Israeli collaboration and dialogue?

Palestinian universities such as Birzeit have struggled admirably to educate the next generation of qualified Palestinians, despite having often been cut off from the outside world for months at a time. The silence of its Israeli counterparts, who share the same academic values, in reaction to its plight says much about how far the conflict has damaged the values on which the scientific and educational enterprise depends.