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| By israelinsider staff March 24, 2007 |
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The Massachusetts Institute of Technology hopes to bribe the world's brainiacs to solve the a portion of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, aiming to find a way to make Jerusalem "just, peaceful and sustainable" by 2050 so that Palestinians and Israelis can live side by side in a city both consider their capital.
The school will accept entries between March 31 and Dec. 31, the Boston Globe reported. MIT plans to announce the winners next March.
Diane Davis, co-director of the project and associate dean of MIT's School of Architecture and Planning, said there has been interest in the Mideast and throughout the world. MIT can bring a "veneer of neutrality" to the issue, Davis said. "We have a reputation for using serious, scholarly methods to solve problems. We're a science and technology institution, and there's a sense that science stands above politics."
Dennis Ross, a former Mideast negotiator during the Clinton Administration, said the chief problem has long been what to do about governing and sovereignty in the Temple Mount complex. "These are problems that should be solved, and I believe can be solved," he said.
"The main value of a contest like this is to show that people care enough to try to find solutions," he said.
The competition's nine-member jury includes a Palestinian scholar and a former deputy mayor of Jerusalem. A winner will be selected in each of five categories, with each getting a $50,000 fellowship.
Those interested in entering can go to visit the website here.
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