USA TODA Y WEDNESDA Y , JUL Y 27, 2011 WASHINGTON 9A Rot em Gab ay,bornand rai sed in Israel, says she’d never met a Pales tinianbefore this summer. Samer Anabtawi , a Palestin- ian, says that while he had met an Israeli before, he has never spe nt somuch timewithone. Gabay, 26, and Anabtawi, 21, are two of 10 studen ts taking part this summer in New Story Lea der shi p fortheMiddleEast , a non-pr ofit intern ship progr am basedin Washing ton, D.C. The two are interning in the Washington office of Rep. Jared Polis,D-Colo. Fo unded in 2010 by Aus- tralian writer and educator Paul Costello, the program brings Is- raeli and Palestinian students to the nation’s capital to live and work alongside one another for the summer. Cos tello say s the pro gra m for cesthem to cre atenew expe- rie nce s andprov es tha t the y can disagree without losing respect forone anothe r. We’ve been laughed at, been told we are naive and it’s not going to work, ” says Costell o, who has also helped build pro- grams for Protestant and Catho- lic Irish youths and white and black South Afric ans. But we just need to create one contra- diction in the old story that will pro ve tha t peo ple from bot h sidescan worktogether.” Gab ay, a gra dua te student who hopes tobe a di pl omatone day , say s it’ s a hugechallenge.” I was raised in a very pro- Israel i home,”she says. It’s not about loving one an- ot he r .. . it ’s about le ar nin g to live with each other,” Anabtawi adds. Polis says having the two in his offic e has been an eye - openingexperien ce.” The y wil l bewhatshowspol- iticians that peace between Is- raelis and Palestini ans is pos- sible,”he says. Ana bta wi admits he fac ed skep tic ism from some in his communi ty,butsaysthathe and Gabayhave becomefriends. The re wer e some people whothoug htthis ide a wasridi c- ulo usand mad e funof mefor it, ” Anabtawi says. But I really be- lievein wha t we’ redoing. ” Wewill alwaysbe dis cus sing Isra el and Pal esti ne, ” Gab ay says. But I know that after this summer, Samer and I wil l be smarter thanwe werebefore.” Other programs have similar goals. In Rensselaer, N.Y., for ex- ample, the Doane Stuart School hos ts oneCatho licand oneProt - estant Irish student from Belfast each year as part of its Irish and Ameri can Exchan ge progr am whi ch starte d in 2004 , say s Richard Enemark, the prepara- toryschool’s headma ster. Michael McPhearson, spokes- man for United for Peace and Justice, a network of peace and justice organ izatio ns aroun d world , says any progr am that brings groups together to learn isgoodfor theworld . Organizations like these go a lon gway indisman tli ngthe ide a tha t we’ re all so alien to one another,” McPhearson says. It hel ps them to see whe re the oth erperson is comingfrom. ” De cl an He er y, 31, a 200 2 graduate of Costello’s Irish pro- gra m, says he remain s clo se friends with his Northern Irish counterpart. Exposing yourself to a pro- gram like this reall y makes you realize that, across cultures and bounda ries,we trulyare a globa l famil y,” he says. ByJackGruber,USATODAY Life lessons: Rep . Jar edPolis,D-Co lo. , say s it’san eye-o peningexperienc e” to havesummer interns Isra eliRotemGaba y,right,andSamerAnabt awi , a Pal est inia n, wor kin g inhis off iceforthe summer. D.C. summe r i nt erns f rom Mi de as t br idge di ff er ences By LukeKerr-Dineen USA TODAY rocks like nothing else. Introduc ing the 7 digita l music app. 13 million songs at your fingertips. © 2011 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. Not all apps available on all devices. All screen images simulated. Michael Phelps, Olympic Champion