After twenty years of watching politicians frustrate the peace process it is time to fundamentally change our approach.

It is time to support the families of the Middle East who struggle to put food on the table and to teach their children that violence is not the answer.

It is time for American policy in the region to replace disillusionment and despair with opportunity and hope for Palestinians and Israelis.

We need to develop and fund more programs that provide educational, vocational and cultural enrichment for youth.

We need to finance cross-cultural exchanges that promote understanding and personal involvement across conflict lines.

I have been involved with many programs that work for peace and reconciliation in the region. But no meeting, declaration or ceasefire has brought me as much hope as the stories of children whose lives were changed by simple summer camps and the lifetime bonds forged among Palestinian, Israeli and American youth.

Building understanding is not only possible. It is essential to peace in the Middle East.

Obama’s justifiable pride in his past role as a community organizer suggests that as president, he would recognize the significance of people-to-people initiatives.

Surely, he must understand that a reversal of the deteriorating social and economic conditions of people on the ground is a prerequisite for any durable agreement.

This can be achieved only through concrete action by and for Palestinians, Israelis, and their friends and family members around the world.

We cannot erase the suffering created by generations of strife and political fumbling, but we can provide the education, economic opportunity and hope for tomorrow's youth in the Middle East.

If elected, Sen. Obama should dedicate significant resources to effective on-the-ground efforts to improve economic and social conditions. The neglect of an area so essential to global stability has gone on long enough.

I invite Sen. Obama to extend his promise of “change we can believe in” to the innocent and long-suffering people of the Middle East.

Hani Masri is the president of Capital Corporation and founder and president of Tomorrow’s Youth Organization. You can contact him at pmproj@progressive.org.

Copyright Hani Masri