Thanks to a good friend from Jerusalem (Prof. Richard Cohen, co-founder of the project "Town & Gown", now "Good Neighbour" at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, which we supported), we got in touch with Prof. Kenneth Mann, a very committed Israeli lawyer and law professor, who is particularly committed to supporting people in need of help in the West Bank. Prof. Kenneth Mann is one of the directors of the non-profit organisation "Legal Aid for Palestinians (LEAP)" www.legalaidforpalestinians.com. This organisation assists Palestinians living in the West Bank by providing volunteer legal assistance to the Israeli authorities, particularly in connection with the necessary official permits to pass through border crossings between the Palestinian territories into Israel in order to work and earn a living for their families. With an astonishingly high success rate, the lawyers working for LEAP lobby the relevant Israeli authorities and, if necessary, also the courts, to ensure that refused or revoked permits are issued or re-issued. For many Palestinians, the ability to cross the border on a daily basis is essential for survival. This legal support is increasingly in demand. The lawyers working for LEAP are completely overworked and urgently need reinforcement. However, this can only come from young Arab lawyers with a degree in Israeli law who still need a year of practical training. Prof. Kenneth Mann has asked us if we could cover the costs of training such young lawyers. 
Unfortunately, this is currently beyond our financial means.  The recent resurgence of violence between Palestinians and Israelis makes it very clear how important peaceful coexistence between the people living in the region is. Such a coexistence requires, as a minimum, a perspective for Palestinians living in the West Bank to be able to pay for the livelihood of their families through work and income. In Israel, on the other hand, the labour of Palestinians living in the West Bank is urgently needed, especially but not only in manual jobs. The illegal border crossing through "holes in the fence", on the other hand, is not suitable for ensuring peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis who depend on each other. Together with co-sponsors who, like us, are enthusiastic about this project idea, we will co-finance the training of the young lawyer. It is not easy to find motivated and committed applicants for this specialised training. For the position of the young lawyer, whose training we are co-financing, this has now been achieved. Ali comes from the Israeli town of Taibeh, which is close to the border between Israel and the West Bank. He has a law degree and a master's degree in political science and Middle Eastern studies from Haifa University. In 2021, he was admitted to the Israeli Bar. As a young student, he participated in Seeds of Peace www.seedsofpeace.org/ in the US, an international programme that trains young leaders from around the world in peace action and reconciliation. Ali started his training at LEAP in August 2022, he will be trained for one year and hopes that LEAP will be able to hire him as a permanent staff member after his training. We were able to meet Ali in person at a Zoom meeting. We were impressed by his dedication and commitment to the needs of the Palestinians who seek and depend on LEAP's help.