Breaking Down Borders: Youth Self Discovery

Over three days from Thursday, December 16 to Saturday, December 19, a group of 25 young people, Israelis and Palestinians, gathered in the Arab~Jewish village of Wahat al-Salam~Neve Shalom for a dialogue around the theme: “partnership for change”. The purpose was to encourage the participants to find ways and create opportunities to work together for peace and justice in our region.

The activity was initiated in partnership with two other NGOs, the Sulha Peace Project and the Open House - Ramle, who also belong to the “Global Network of Religion for Children” (GNRC).

The young people, together with their facilitators and adult members of the three NGOs, took part in activities that included religious celebration and prayer belonging to the Muslim, Jewish and Christian traditions; singing of songs in Arabic and Hebrew, folklore dance and facilitated sharing circles to promote dialogue between the participants. The sharing circles enabled the young people to tell their personal stories – many of which were difficult and painful. The stories brought out the very different realities lived by Israelis and Palestinians. Yet by sharing in this way, it was possible to awaken empathy, bridge the gaps, and awaken a common yearning for peace and social justice. While the challenges remain enormous, it became possible to visualize a changed reality and discuss how to work together to realize this vision.

The venue chosen, Wahat al-Salam ~ Neve Shalom, as a village that symbolizes the possibility of an equal, shared existence between Jews and Palestinians, helped to concretize the vision. As part of the program, the group toured the various educational institutions of the village and received an explanation on these from GNRC Israel coordinator Dorit Shippin.

Links:

• Pluralistic Spiritual Center
• Sulha Peace Project
• Open House - Ramle

Twenty-two 15-17 years old Jews and Palestinians are still participating in the project. After the recruitment phase in February, they met in April during an introductory and dialogue workshop for two days. In May they had a two-day workshop in Nazareth in which they received training on human rights issues by the Arab association for Human rights and also had a field study tour in Nazareth and Natzeret Elite (Upper Nazareth). A one-day training on Human rights issues was organized in July, followed by a dialogue and training in field work to observe the implementation of human rights in the different environments.

Since then, the participants are doing filed work, observing and reporting on Human Rights-related situations in their communities, with supervision by the project facilitators.

In October the group will meet again to share their impressions and present their reports. After the workshop, they will submit these reports to the responsible bodies in the local authorities or the responsible body for the field they have studied.

In December, they will meet a Palestinian group from the West Bank who have been doing similar work to exchange experiences and impressions.

The group is very enthusiast about their collaboration and the analysis work they are doing in the field. They convey their gratitude to the donors of GlobalGiving for their support.

Links:

• American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam