While diplomatic and military means have failed in halting regional conflicts, people are hoping that basketball might promote peace in the Middle East, local Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Friday.

With a donation from the NBA's Atlanta Hawks co-owner Ed Peskowitz, TAU will host The Second Annual Friendship Games basketball tournament in June.

Slated to begin on June 3 at TAU, the tournament will give Israeli audience a rare chance to watch the competitions of men and women's teams from 17 countries and regions including Palestine, Jordan, Russia, China, Serbia, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Turkey, Ukraine, Cyprus, Slovenia and Israel.

There will be an opening ceremony in the Arab village of Zemer on June 1.

Arie Rosenzweig, athletic director at TAU, was quoted as saying that, "It was important that Arab countries would participate and that we could find a vehicle for us to get to know each other. All of us have a mutual interest in basketball so this game was the natural choice."

The program was conceived in 2006 by Atlanta Hawks co-owner Ed Peskowitz after meeting with Arie Rosenzweig and Illan Kowalski, athletic director at the Interdisciplinary Center of Herzliya.

Their goal was to use the game of basketball to unify countries on a grassroots, person-to-person level.

"During the Friendship Games, Arabs and Jews, Christians and Muslims, and people of all faiths will live together, play together, explore together and grow together," Peskowitz said.

In addition to the tournament, The Friendship Games give college-aged students of different ethnic and religious backgrounds the opportunity to come together in friendship by touring Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Nazareth, Sea of Galilee, Tiberias and Tel Aviv.

This year's event will begin with a coach's clinic at Tel Aviv University featuring a former NBA all-star player and NBA coaches. A clinic is also scheduled in Amman, Jordan. Atlanta Hawks assistant coach Herb Brown will lead the clinics.

"We are not going to change the world," Peskowitz says. "But you can either wring your hands over seemingly insolvable problems or try to make a difference. This is our attempt to help people find common themes, common hopes, and common dreams, rather than focusing on their differences."

Source: Xinhua