AMERICAN FRIENDS OF NEVE SHALOM/WAHAT AL-SALAM Impact Report Winter 2013

Transcription

1 AMERICAN FRIENDS OF NEVE SHALOM/WAHAT AL-SALAM IMPACT REPORT WINTER 2013 AMERICAN FRIENDS OF NEVE SHALOM/WAHAT AL-SALAM Impact Report Winter 2013 PRIMARY SCHOOL: How Eid al-adha Becomes a Teachable Moment Primary School students work together on a word puzzle as part of the Eid celebration activities. On Thursday, October 17th, the last school day before Eid al-adha the Muslim Festival of the Sacrifice all the Primary School pupils took part in activities to acquaint them with the holiday s religious significance, history, legends, traditions, and customs. Most of the Primary School students live in towns and villages that are either Jewish or Muslim; rare is the opportunity to learn, together, about each other s sacred days. Eid presents an especially useful opportunity for such teaching, since it commemorates an event that is significant for both Muslims and Jews: the willingness of Ibrahim (or Abraham) to sacrifice his son Ismail (or Isaac) to Allah, who intervened at the last moment and provided Ibrahim with a lamb to sacrifice instead. The children built a model of the Ka aba, the structure housing the sacred Black Stone in Mecca, which is traditionally circled by pilgrims making their hajj (the Muslim pilgrimage) to the holy city during the Eid. Of course, the foremost symbol of the holiday, the sheep, needed to be honored as well. Children made model sheep (at right) from cotton, wool, and cardboard. During the Eid week, the Muslim children had a break from school, since another tradition of the holiday is a big family get-together with lots of good food! 1

2 AMERICAN FRIENDS OF NEVE SHALOM/WAHAT AL-SALAM IMPACT REPORT WINTER 2013 FRIENDS WORLDWIDE: A General Meeting Unlike Any Other At this year s General Meeting, old and new friends came to NSWAS from around the world. And it was the perfect opportunity to honor the Village s oldest friend of all: J. Zel Lurie, who turned 100 this year. Zel has been a steadfast supporter of the Primary School, helping to transform it from a one-room facility with about a dozen students into the well-equipped and fully staffed complex it is today, which educates some 250 May 2013: Friends of NSWAS representatives from Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands, Switzerland and the U.S. students from inside and outside the Village. The AGM Another long-term American supporter of included a ceremony honoring NSWAS, Richard Goodwin, was also in Hermann Sieben, chair of the German Friends of attendance. In collaboration with the Middle East NSWAS, who recently turned 80 and retired. Peace Dialogue Network, Mr. Goodwin has During his many years of supporting the village, supported the Village in numerous ways most recently by helping to raise funds for the Language Mr. Sieben helped raise funds for the hotel and guest house, which accommodate participants in Lab at the Primary School. youth programs like those described on page 3. The sessions of the general meeting extended Without Mr. Sieben s efforts, over three days in May, these programs would not be providing opportunities to cover possible. every aspect of the Village and Finally, author Amia Lieblich its edu-cational work. Updates, came back to NSWAS to discuss brain-storming, Q&As, and her book In Spite of It All, which group meals all had their places. chronicles the development of the Attendants toured the VilVillage and includes interviews lage with Eitan Kremer and with many Village members. Dyana Shalufi, who are both Lieblich, a psychologist and involved in the new Peace professor emeritus at Hebrew Rooms and Paths project University, is donating the royalties ( Shvileh Salaam ). The walking from her book to NSWAS. Her talk tour concluded at the cemetery, was a poignant moment in the to pay respects to former School Annual General Meeting, J. Zel Lurie with Dafna Kartafor Peace Director Ahmad reminding us that, in spite of the Schwarz, Director of the Hijazi and his son Adam. Pluralistic Spiritual Center ups and downs, the Village thrives. 2

3 SCHOOL FOR PEACE: The Ongoing Rewards of the Youth Encounter Workshops At the School for Peace, the impact of February s Youth Workshops remains palpable. Students came from three schools the Givat Brenner High School, the Arab Galilee School of Nazareth, and the El Hitmah School in Sakhnin for workshops, dialogue, and role-play games in which all the participants had opportunities to speak about their hopes and fears. Two high-school students from the Arab-Jewish Youth Encounter workshops. The feedback from these young people was extraordinarily positive and encouraging: It was very important for me to see that you understand our pain and especially the pain of the children in Gaza, said one Palestinian student. I see you as a future sensitive and creative leader who could lead us toward peace. A door to a new reality was opened for me, one Jewish student said. Some of my opinions have changed, we must change and compromise, we can reach peace together. I felt blamed sometimes but I could understand your pain. I feel I want to change the reality we live in. Building on the work of these local workshops, the SFP went global by developing the Change Agents program, a partnership between the SFP, the Palestinian NGO Tawasul, and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Change Agents facilitated dialogue among some 120 social activists journalists, environmentalists, political figures, and mental health professionals, among others. (The mental health course has been extended by the SFP over the course of the year.) Through these programs, the School for Peace empowers Jews and Muslims, Palestinians and Israelis, to work together for the common good. And those who have participated in programs at the SFP are using their tools and lessons to further social change throughout the Middle East. Moreover, peace organizations from around the world in such locales as Ireland and Kosovo look at the SFP for resources and guidance as they, too, try to promote dialogue and mutual understanding. 3

4 YOUTH CENTER: Highlights from the 2013 Palestinian Summer Camp Bringing Palestinian children from the West Bank into Israel for a week-long stay is not a simple matter. Working daily with the Israeli Civil Administration of the Occupied Territories, to secure entry permits into Israel for the children, is the first task. Usually, the children who attend this special summer camp come from the refugee camps. But this year, Father Paul from the Latrun Monastery reached out to a social worker from the Bethlehem region who identified 40 children between the ages of 7 and 14 who were not residents of refugee camps, but who lived in impoverished circumstances. It was the Latrun Monastery that made NSWAS possible when, in 1970, it offered to lease the land on which the Village was built. Thanks to the monastery s help, the 2013 Palestinian summer camp became a reality. Below are highlights from just a few of the many activities and adventures the young campers enjoyed. As in previous years, the experience gave all its participants a wider view of their world. Just as a previous camp volunteer said, You become attached to the children as the days go by. We learned more about responsibility and tolerance and giving from oneself. Above: The Biblical Zoo in Jerusalem. Below: Touring the port of Jaffa. A few of the children became a bit seasick. Above: At the ELMINA Theatre in Jaffa. Below: The moment all the children had been waiting for: beach time! 4

5 PLURALISTIC SPIRITUAL CENTER: Widening the Reach The PSC has continued to develop its relationships with other groups involved in the work of healing, inner peace, and social change by making the Center available for their activities. This enables the PSC staff to create a broader network of people who share the values that the Center and Village promote. In addition, by making the facility available to other groups for a small fee, they are able to pay for much-needed improvements to the facility. Rental income has helped the PSC in several ways, including expansion of the Peace Paths, a series of paved walkways and explanatory displays encouraging visitors to discover the ways peace has been built in this place and this land over the years. Also benefitting is the Massa-Masar Program, ongoing leadership development for Jewish and Arab young adults. Massa-Masar makes use of familiar and shared sacred sites as venues for building compassion, mutual understanding, and partnerships. More than ever, the Pluralistic Spiritual Center has become a nexus for travelers, scholars, and students who pass through the village searching for peaceful solutions. The House of Silence (Doumia-Sakinah) at the PSC. Where Your Money Goes: AFNSWAS Expenses $800,000 $700,000 $600,000 $500,000 $400,000 $300,000 $200,000 Grants Support Fundraising $100,000 $ !GRANTS: Direct funding transferred to Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam (Oasis of Peace) for supporting all initiatives, including classes and workshops, involving Jewish and Palestinian groups and individuals engaged in NSWAS-directed dialogue, team learning and peace-building exercises.!support: Funds allocated to provide all the resources and tools necessary to support the fundraising, education, outreach and awareness building efforts of American Friends on behalf of Neve Shalom/Wahat al- Salam in the United States.!FUNDRAISING: Funds allocated for developing and implementing fundraising strategies in the United States on behalf of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam, including direct mail, donor outreach, communications, grant-writing and proposal development. 5