Airing tomorrow on Nickelodeon, ''Give Peace a Chance?" brings up just the right amount of information in its 30 minutes . It does not delve too deeply into political specifics, allowing the focus to stay on what the children think. Ellerbee, a journalist who has done other features for Nick News on topics such as the Columbine shootings and the Iraq war, hosts the documentary, once again bringing her no-nonsense reporting style to a young audience.
Standing in Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda Market, the site of several suicide bombings, Ellerbee spells out the meaning of the term -- ''when a man, woman, or kid straps explosives to their body, walks into a public place, and blows themself up along with their targets."
It's not exactly the usual children's programming, but it is refreshing, because at least for a minute it forces American kids to visualize the grave danger other children in the world face daily, and to appreciate the peaceful environment they live in.
The documentary begins with the voices of children from opposing sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, some passionately saying the Israelis should have the land, and others passionately saying Jews are brutal and unfair. Their voices set a pessimistic tone : The conflict has driven a deep divide even among children, and the future will probably look just as violent as the present.
But further interviews with Palestinian and Israeli children undermine such a clear-cut negative perspective. Although most of the children interviewed are not satisfied with the situation, they do not seem to harbor intense hatred for the opposing side.
Yehuda, a 12-year-old boy living in the Israeli settlement of Ganne Tal in the Gaza Strip, says he resists the evacuation of the Israeli settlements in Gaza scheduled to be carried out later this summer. He says further segregation of Israelis from Palestinians will not hasten the arrival of peace.
