"There is no real border between Israel and Palestine," says Muhammad Hamudi, an olive farmer and olive oil producer from Asira al-Shamaliya, near Nablus in the West Bank. He has been working with the ongoing USAID-funded project Olive Oil Without Borders (OOWB) since its start in 2011. Hamudi is in his mid-50s, with smiling eyes and palms so big that an olive looks tiny in them. "Today the border is here, tomorrow it will be there. The olive oil market has no borders as well. The bridge to the global market is the same bridge for everyone.”

OOWB is a collaborative economic initiative among 34 olive oil farming communities in Israel and the West Bank. It is spearheaded by the Near East Foundation (NEF), a 100-year-old nongovernmental organization working on economic development among poverty-stricken communities throughout Africa and the Middle East. The initiative is funded by USAID, which provides financial and operative assistance to foreign nations and regions in need. The program has been successful enough that USAID has just granted OOWB its second US$1.2 million round of funding, expected to serve some 2,000 Palestinians and Israelis working in the olive oil business over the course of three years.

Hamudi，one of the project’s success stories，points out Salah Abu-Eisheh，NEF country director for the Palestinian authority. ''During the three-year run, he has tripled his production, improved significantly the quality and purity of his olive oil, and increased his income.” Hamudi smiles when he hears Abu-Eisheh say this. “ NEF helped me achieve a sustained level of productivity," Hamudi says. "No more bad years and good years; now I am in control of the yield.”

This success is due in large part to direct grants farmers like Hamudi received for purchasing modem equipment, renovating facilities (such as mills), and planting new varieties of olive trees. The rest of the USAID funding goes to conducting seminars and hands-on workshops led by industry consultants, from agriculture and olive oil production to business management and marketing.

Yet Palestinian farmers are only half of the OOWB equation: Israeli farmers and producers provide the necessary cross-border collaboration for this innovative and seemingly conflict-free program.

When I ask Hamudi about his experience collaborating with his Israeli-Jewish counterparts, his answer is pragmatic. "I see it as an exchange. We have things to teach, and they have things to teach. They use modem techniques, we have experience and knowledge. The benefits are for both sides. We have no other choices.”

But for a region stuck in political conflict, collaborating is a choice — and quite an unusual one. Ayala Noy, a 40-year-old farmer and producer from the Israeli side, approaches the project from a different perspective: "It was a very important and empowering experience. Sitting down with a Palestinian farmer who tells me，with tears in his eyes， that his orchard was burned to the ground the previous night by Israeli settlers was very emotional for me. 'How do you sleep at night?' he asked me. I told him not very well. That was the biggest challenge for me — being a representative of Israel, dealing with the hard feelings they have toward us."

Although one of OOWB’s stated goals is to “ leverage economic cooperation to promote peace and reconciliation,"according to NEF President Charlie Benjamin, the organization approaches its work from “ a completely depoliticized perspective.” The focus is on “building economic relationships. We don't touch the border issue." At the same time, Benjamin does acknowledge the growing trust, communication, and interaction outside the program.

Noy agrees that the project has strengthened more than economic ties. "We brought Palestinians to our house, we showed them our mill, and we try to keep in touch by phone," she says. "I think it gave them a chance to see 'other' Israelis. Many of them told me that was their first time to meet an Israeli who is not a soldier，or a settler.”

What information about OOWB is released from the passage?

The word “ collaborative” underlined in Paragraph 2 is synonymous to ________ .

According to Paragraph 2， which of the following statements is NOT true of NEF?

From Paragraph 3, we learn that Hamudi's olive production before he received support from NEF could only be described as________ .

Besides providing direct grants to farmers, the USAID funding is also earmarked for________.

What role do Israeli farmers' play in OOWB?

The word “ pragmatic” underlined in Paragraph 6 is synonymous to ________.

What is the biggest challenge for Ayala Noy?

The main topic of Paragraph 8 is that OOWB ________ .

The Israeli-Palestinian collaboration in the project could be described as________ .