The Creation story as depicted in Genesis is known to all Jews, Christians and Muslims. Sceptics in all these faiths devalue the story as a lovable myth. The culmination of the Creation story is the Garden of Eden where God placed early humanity which was Adam and Eve who lived in almost heavenly bliss without any stress or strife as their needs were limited and they could draw on the vast resources of the Garden. But as it so happened half of humanity represented in Eve wanted to reach out to the prohibited and the other half in Adam connived. That action opened their senses to deficiencies and the urge of possessiveness which ended in their expulsion from the Garden. The loving and caring God continued to look after them and their progeny. It is generally believed that the location of the Garden of Eden was in the area of present-day Iraq.

A long time later a man called Abram (re-named Abraham) who lived in polytheistic Ur in eastern Iraq had a vision that the one and true God had asked him to leave his home and proceed to a land that God would show him. The holy books tell us that Abraham was a wealthy man with large herds of cattle, sheep and camels. The well-known story teller, David Kossoff, tells us that Abraham was a prosperous export-import merchant as the cities of Ur and Haran where he traded were on the trade routes from Mediterranean countries to Persia and India and when he had the vision he disposed of his business empire, settled his father Terah in one of his houses on the river and acquired large herds of cattle, sheep and camels and hired retainers to look after his herds and proceeded as God would direct him.

Abraham became a mighty patriarch, father of Ishmael and Isaac whose descendents were the Arabs and the Jews. The Jews as known to-day are some of the descendents of Isaac through Jacob. There were a host of people, the descendents of Esau, brother of Jacob, and the ten tribes of Israel who were descended from the ten sons of Jacob represented in the lost ten tribes. In other words all Semitic people can claim descent one way or other from Abraham. They all live in the Eastern Mediterranean lands and Arabian peninsula which includes Iraq the fabled location of the Garden of Eden.

At the present time there is a seemingly irreconcilable and destructive fratricidal conflict going on in the Levent between Israel and Palestine. It involves emotionally all the peoples in the various Semitic countries. According to the book of Kings in the Bible (Torah) prophet Elijah bewailed his loneliness in seeking the true God and he was told that he was not alone as there are a large number of people who have not forgotten the true God. This message of optimism is evident in the Middle East of to-day both among Israelites and Muslims who yearn for the cessation of conflict and the establishment of peace. An outstanding Israeli leader, who is not a politician, who is working for peace is Stef Wertheimer, a visionary from Galilee.

Stef Wetheimer founded a tool cutting business in a blacksmith’s shop in Nahariya in Galilee, worked hard for 50 years to develop this business, Iscar, to be Israel’s biggest industrial empire which along with the industrial parks created by Stef account for one-tenth of the industrial product of Israel. In all his business life Stef firmly believed in the virtues of Arab-Jewish co-operation and practised what he believed. So what this man of vision from Galilee , in addition to employing an integrated workforce of Jews, Arabs and Druze, started the Arab-Jewish Executive Development Programme in co-operation with Tel Aviv University, aiming to train Israeli Arab and Jewish entrepreneurs. It will give the participants opportunity to work in mixed teams, to live together during the course and to develop their concepts into business plans for presentation to potential investors. He had also sought the help of a German Technical School to extend entrepreneurship and vocational training to Jordan and Turkey.

What Stef encouraged was export-driven entrepreneurship which can change societies in countries without a great deal of natural resources other than skilled labour as was seen in Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea and Ireland. He believed such development can help to narrow the economic disparities and foster mutual understanding and co-operation between Israel and its neighbours.

So in 2002 he had the courage to address them U.S. House of Representatives and propose to them the creation of a Marshall Plan for the Eastern Mediterranean. Another man of vision, George Marshall, an outstanding American Secretary of State made a historic speech at Harvard University on 5th June 1947 detailing a plan for the reconstruction of a miserable Europe after the devastating World War II. The proposal was approved by the U.S. Congress and it was called Marshall Plan. The United States offered upto 20 billion dollars at 1947 values for the rehabilitation of war damaged Europe. Marshall proposed to include Soviet Union but Stalin suspected a trick and rejected the help. The Plan was for European countries to work jointly and seek help by ordering the required plant and equipment which was aid from the USA. The boost to Western European countries like Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, France, Italy and UK was dramatic and these countries were able to have modern industries paid for by USA. Western Europe as we know it to-day took shape with the help of the Marshall Plan in the early post war years.

So what this man of vision from Galilee was proposing was a Marshall Plan for the Eastern Mediterranean, West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Turkey. Critics may say it is a vague dream but Stef knows what he is talking about. He understands that this particular area is devoid of raw material resources but is blessed with plenty of educated and skilled workforce who with proper direction can be very productive and competitive. If a Marshall Plan is created it can inject industries which can absorb the labour and produce goods for the rest of the Middle East and beyond. There is sufficient scientific and engineering expertise in the region to make this possible. Stef believes that within a short time the per capita GDP can be raised to six thousand dollars which is several times that of West Bank and Jordan and nearly double that of Turkey and Lebanon. Stef has the support of businessmen in the region like Omar Saleh of Jordan. There are enough men/women of goodwill in Israel and USA.

If Eastern Mediterranean flourishes, neighbours like Syria, Iraq and Saudi Arabia with their vast resources of oil will be inclined to join. The political process will be unfrozen to induce outsiders to invest in the region as is happening presently with China and India. Incentive for conflict will disappear and Israel and Jordan will become major players in the reconstruction of the whole Middle East. So the “swords will be beaten to plowshares and spears into pruning hooks”. Thus a Garden of Eden will be recreated. Doubters may say that it is an impossible dream but with God all things are possible.