2015 YEAR END NEWSLETTER

Transcription

1 2015 YEAR END NEWSLETTER Letter from the President of AFNSWAS Here is our story of the breadth and depth of work being done by Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam. Each branch- -the Primary School, the Spiritual Community Center and Museum and the School for Peace--is responding to the current complex challenges with long-term programs that hold the promise of embedding a deep change. The community itself is experiencing a surge in growth that will increase its size in the next few years from its present 60 families (30 Jewish and 30 Palestinian) to 94 families in equal numbers! The work of Neve Shalom/Wahat al- Salam is a trustworthy light in a dark time. They know there is no quick fix for a conflict that runs deep. There is, however, the innovative, steady, responsive work of people who have given their lives to being a living laboratory--to educating, modeling and preparing the generations that are here now so that all ages can be part of creating Israel s future with the conflict transformed. They are our heroes. We, here in the United States, can do our part by making their work possible, by offering what support we can so that the schools, programs and projects of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam can grow in response to the need. I ask you to join hands with us in this work. Judy Dubin, President of the Board Scott Brockman Dear Friends, I am excited beyond measure to be the new Executive Director of the American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al- Salam. My own professional journey of over 25 years has led me to this wonderful organization, with a touch of destiny and serendipity. I see my many years of non-profit work as not work but a labor of love and an obligation borne out of my own upbringing, where the pursuit of justice and peace and the call to repair our broken world are paramount values. As I am writing to you for the first time, I am reflecting on how fortunate and blessed I am to be able to live out not only the role of executive director but the calling of my soul as well. In the short amount of time I have been a family member here, I have deepened my understanding of the importance of our organization s mission and vision. In my first weeks on the job this October, I had the honor of traveling with Dr. Nava Sonnenschein, Director of the School for Peace, as she spoke with donors, community leaders, foundation members and friends about the many programs we support, like the Primary School, the Spiritual Center and many others you will be reading about here. In two short weeks we visited supporters in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York, Boston and Baltimore. We met countless new and From the Executive Director s Desk old friends in living rooms, social halls and boardrooms. By the time you are reading this newsletter, I will have just returned from a ten-day stay in the village to observe firsthand what you have built and to learn what needs to be imagined for future support. I am excited about the growth of the village itself from 60 to 94 families in the coming few years. This growth will present challenges as well as wonderful new opportunities. Here is what I do know already. Collectively we are the supporters of a small village halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, a deliberate community fostering understanding and peace, but we are much more than that. We are an oasis of hope. People now need stories of hope more than ever. Through old and new relationships, a new website, improved usage of social media, live video conferencing with the village and new promotional materials, we will expand our reach and our mission and vision. Now more than ever the work and presence of NSWAS need to be known and supported. In the coming months I am looking forward to hearing about your own connections to American Friends of NSWAS and sharing strategies to expand our reach. This year may we all go from strength to strength. Shalom & Salam, Scott Brockman, Executive Director Find us on Facebook: americanfriendsofneveshalomwahatalsalam

2 Page 2 The Little School That Does Primary Values Preparing for elections Because equality, respect and acceptance of the other are not just slogans but guiding principles of Neve Shalom/Wahat al- Salam, the village developed the first binational, bilingual and multi-cultural school in Israel, run jointly and equally by Jews and Arabs. Recognized for its groundbreaking work supporting diversity and both cultural and national identity, the Primary School has provided the model and inspiration for the newly developed Hand in Hand schools and the bilingual Hagar School in Beer Sheva, and it continues to welcome an ongoing flow of teachers coming to learn how to create classrooms that promote tolerance, prevent racism and build trust. It is time to move on and to live together in peace however challenging it is to teach in two languages at the same time. (Shiraz, Shiraz with 5th the new 3rdgrade student 5th grade learning needs specialist) And So We Grow Instead of being dismayed by conflict beyond the village, the Primary School decided to grow by 12% this fall as it welcomed a second first-grade class and plans to admit two first-grade classes each year for the next five years, effectively doubling the student body. The place where today 200 Jewish and Palestinian Israeli children live, learn and play together in Arabic and Hebrew, will grow into a community of 400 children whose families experience, directly, the empowerment of The new 1st grade working together, building for a common future of peace and possibility. Our Children Bring Us Together With the first generation of village children having moved on to high school and college, currently 90% of the Primary School students come from more than a dozen towns outside Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam. The newest community members are younger families, many of whom applied for membership because they believe that giving their children this bilingual, bicultural, binational start in life is the most important thing they can do for the future. At a time when hearing Hebrew or Arabic spoken can foster a sense of either belonging or Recess at the Primary School mistrust, the bilingual village of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam finds itself doubling in size. Growing from the first few members to the recent 60 families, our intentional community continues to have a waiting list of applicants. Steadily and without haste, more Jewish and Palestinian families are now in the home construction stage, with more beginning the membership application phase. Imagine it more than 90 Israeli Palestinian and Jewish families committed to being a living laboratory for peaceful coexistence. It Takes A Village The village community is the context for the living laboratory known as the Primary School. The Working at the greenhouse village is integral to the school s courage and capacity, providing evidence every day of the way it can work - a different way, based on equality, mutual respect and shared responsibility. The Primary School impacts the children and their extended families and friends in every way. Take the olive harvest, for example. In a region where everything, even the olive harvest, is politicized, Palestinian and Jewish Primary School classmates picked olives together. Surrounded by their teachers, parents and community members, the pupils worked together to harvest the fruits of their common land, coming together afterward for a well-deserved Bar-David and Khoury in concert lunch at the village Guest House. Sweet Sounds An open-air concert performed by Palestinian violinist Hanna Khoury, originally from Tarshiha in the Galilee, and Jewish Israeli cellist Udi Bar-David was part of the Primary School s emphasis on music as a medium for peaceful dialogue. And this event had everyone talking, or rather singing, as Khoury and Bar-David led the students in classical and folk music sing-alongs. Such musical programs will continue to inspire our students as they participate in the Primary School s new guitar, oud and ney (classical Arabic lute and flute) programs. Students Voice Their Demands for Peace We the students of Wahat al- Salam-Neve Shalom School call on everyone to strive for human unity, advance tolerance and understanding, and put an end to wars and violence. Now is the time to strengthen our determination and remind the world that a different way, based on equal coexistence, mutual respect and sharing of responsibility is possible. (Quotes by Primary School students commemorating the life and work of Yitzhak Rabin) As in other schools throughout Israel, the Primary School marked the 20 th anniversary of the assassination of Yitzhak Rabin with a special program dedicated to his dream for a peaceful resolution of the conflict between the Jewish and Palestinian peoples. The 6th grade class prepared the program, held in the Eisenberg Auditorium in front of the entire school, parents and family members. The students spoke about the meaning of democracy and narrated key events of Rabin s life and tragic death. The commemoration provided a fitting opportunity for the Arab and Jewish classmates to showcase their bilingual skills as they took turns presenting in Hebrew and Arabic alike, voicing messages of hope and peace. Rabin concert

3 Page 3 The School for Peace Brings Dialogue into Action The School for Peace (SFP) at Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam brings each student s experience and perspective into the center of the dialogue process. Changing the Way Business is Done This spring, 30 Jews and Palestinians participated in the School for Peace course, Dr. Sonnenschein with Urban Planners students Changing the Urban Landscape: a Program for Arab and Jewish Urban Planners, Civil Engineers and Architects, with the goal to change the way city planning business is done. The Urban Planners participants met with students in the course for Building Leadership in Mixed Cities. Here are some concrete changes resulting from their collaboration: -Jewish and Arab planners and community leaders from Lod decided to work together to file an objection to the city s master plan because it did not take into account the needs of the Arab residents. -Arab and Jewish planners prepared a master plan for the unrecognized Bedouin village of Al-Awaan. -Jewish and Arab planners visited and reviewed the difficulties faced by Jisr al-zarqa, a town contained on all sides by the sea, another city, fishponds and the Tel Aviv-Haifa highway. In consultation with the city engineer and an urban planning professor from Tel Aviv University, the SFP participant teams developed actionable planning alternatives for this town. Creating Leaders for Peaceful, Positive Transformation Building Leadership in Mixed Cities is an ongoing program that includes 30 Jews and Arabs from seven mixed cities in Israel: Ramla, Lod, Beersheba, Haifa, Acre, Jaffa and Nazareth. These citizenchange-makers began as a group of ten in the School for Peace Facilitators Course for Groups in Conflict. Dr. Roly Rosen, a graduate of the SFP Facilitators Course who now works for Shatil, the New Israel Fund Initiative for Social Change, spoke to the Leadership participants about her work and book on transforming a mixed city into a city for all citizens, with equal Dr. Sonnenschein with Mixed Cities student rights and equal access to city services. Outcomes of this program include: An educational kit to be used in mixed cities; a WhatsApp group to support dialogue between meetings; and strategies for accommodating Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious holidays falling on the same days. Resisting Racism & Promoting Community Everywhere The School for Peace Facilitators Course for Groups in Conflict continues to attract Jewish and Palestinian participants. Many of Israel s younger citizen-changemakers began their careers in the first 120-hour facilitator training course offered in the spring. Many more will become active in the School for Peace Alumni Forum, meeting in different parts of Israel to share ideas on advancing projects that resist racism and promote shared community. Much to Celebrate Among numerous accomplishments, the School for Peace celebrates: -The second group of Jewish and Palestinian literature teachers who have begun a two-year course Teachers Bringing Change - Two Peoples Write from Right to Left, a program that addresses conflict issues raised in classrooms and serves to humanize the other through the study of each other s literature; -The SFP s Kibbutz Movement Teachers Seminar on peace education; -A seminar devoted to pluralism, tolerance and understanding for 60 educators from the Israel Movement for Reform & Progressive Judaism; -SFP s international conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in a comparative perspective; -Completion of a research study on the impact of the School for Peace on participants lives; -The second year of the encounter course for Palestinian and Jewish students of Azrieli College of Engineering. Look forward to an update on the SFP Change Agents course for Jewish and Arab environmentalists currently underway. The School for Peace is a major catalyst putting dialogue into action for participants of all ages, nationalities, and professions. Planned Giving The life-giving work of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam is strengthened by those who have named American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam as beneficiary of their wills and estate plans. Such legacies help us sustain and expand the innovative Neve Shalom/Wahat al- Salam bilingual, binational education and conflict transformation programs recognized around the world. Perhaps you have already named American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam as a beneficiary of your will or trust. If you have, please let us know. We would like to thank you personally. Please contact Executive Director Scott Brockman scott@oasisofpeace.org for a conversation about the impact of your legacy and for any information you and your attorney may need.

4 Page 4 World Peace College Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam s World Peace College will open in fall The college will be run by the University of Massachusetts Boston graduate program in Conflict Resolution, one of the oldest and most respected conflict resolution programs in the United States. Jewish and Arab students will attend the college to earn a Master of Arts in Conflict Resolution, awarded by UMass Boston. The curriculum will be modeled on the one that UMass Boston has offered for twenty years, adapted to the setting in Israel and at Neve Shalom/Wahat al- Salam. In particular, students will study the methods developed in the village s School for Peace workshops and in the seven levels of its Primary School. These two schools are pioneers in the teaching of coexistence and dialogue to Palestinians and Jews of all ages in Israel. NSWAS is the only place in the world where Arabs and Jews have made the deliberate decision to live, work, and create together a living laboratory for coping innovatively and successfully with the serious differences between Arabs and Jews in the region. The village has won many international awards and has three times been nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. Locating the graduate conflict resolution program in the village will enable its students to observe and Fred Segal World Peace Library learn firsthand what it means to engage and manage the conflict. Professors for the World Peace College will be drawn from UMass Boston Conflict Resolution faculty and from experienced and credentialed Arab and Jewish instructors in the region. Primary School students experience art at the Peace Museum The Peace Museum, in its first year, has held public interactive workshops for Israeli Palestinian and Jewish artists: showcased the 30- year history of the Primary School, hosted two Honoring the Righteous events, hosted special exhibits of sculptures by Palestinian artist Nihad Dabeet from the city of Ramleh and Jewish artist Aharon Adni of nearby Kibbutz Nachshon, and welcomed the Earth Caravan, commemorating the 70th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Honoring the Righteous On November 4, the Peace Museum hosted members of the Armenian community in Israel and guests from abroad for a second event in its series Honoring the Righteous, recognizing those who in times of genocide or human catastrophe have acted to save the victims, often at great risk to themselves and their communities. The event at the Peace Museum highlighted stories of Armenians saved by Turks during the Armenian genocide from the end of the 19th century to 1915, as well as stories of Armenians who had acted to save Jews during the Shoah. The guests included Fr. Emmanuel Atanjanyan, Archimandrite and Fr. Korian of the Armenian Patriarchate at St. James Cathedral, Jerusalem as well as many Turkish and Israeli scholars, who had just participated in an international conference, the first of its kind in Israel: "Genocide, History and Memory, One Hundred Years since the Armenian Genocide." In a significant moral and political act, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin received the conference participants at his residence. The Peace Museum program, chaired by director Diana Rizek, included welcoming remarks by NSWAS member and genocide researcher Professor Yair Auron, who explained that Armenians, after experiencing a genocide themselves, had been among the most active in saving Jews during The Peace Museum Guests of Honoring the Righteous event the Holocaust. According to his research, Armenians saved more Jews than any did any other people. Q&A and more discussion followed the presentations, which were interspersed with vocal music by Tomas Galstian from Jerusalem. The opening of the Peace Museum, including a garden for the righteous, is a dream fulfilled. This will be a place where young Palestinians and Jews can come to learn and be inspired by stories of the righteous those who acted bravely and humanely to save others in their time of need. (Professor Yair Auron)

5 Page 5 The Village in Print Amia Lieblich Amia Lieblich s book on Wahat al-salam/ Neve Shalom, Against All Odds: The Story of a Binational Village, tells the story of the village through the personal stories and narratives of village members. Lieb lich, psychologist and writer, is well known in Israel for her books on three other communities. The book is available as a paperback or e-book from American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam ( or from Amazon. Dr. Nava Sonnenschein, Director of the School for Peace, and Scott Brockman, the new Executive Director of the American Friends of NSWAS, were on a tour of the United States in October. Pictured with Nava (L) is Barbara Meislin aka the Purple Lady of Tiburon. Friends: Nava and the Purple Lady Barbara has been a strong supporter of NSWAS for many years and was instrumental in building Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam's If ordering from Amazon, consider using their charity donation service "Smile" and choosing "American Friends of Neve Shalom - Wahat alsalam". I soon discovered a very basic fact: In Neve Shalom, nothing is agreed upon, other than the agreement to disagree. (Amia Lieblich, author) community playground with its signature rainbow entrance. Why a rainbow? The answer can be found in Meislin s book "No one Can Ever Steal Your Rainbow," which takes the reader on a journey of renewal and hope. You can purchase the book by following this link shop-for-peace. ALL PROCEEDS FROM THE SALE OF THIS BOOK GO DIRECTLY TO AND BENEFIT Neve Shalom/Wahat alsalam. Living & Learning Together with Equality, Respect and Acceptance Student Council elections New music teacher New teacher Tamara First day of school year Primary School olive harvest 2015

6 Peace is Still Possible 229 North Central Ave Ste. 401 Glendale, CA We love peace, and our planet! Please help us reduce paper use and reduce cost by giving us your . Send it to The American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam is a not-for-profit organization with 501(c)(3) status under the Internal Revenue Service Code. We do not sell, trade, rent or otherwise disclose donor information. Our donor privacy policy is available on our website or by mail. The American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam 229 N. Central Ave Ste. 401 Glendale, CA Please Support Phone:(818) Neve Shalom/Wahat al-salam by afnswas@oasisofpeace.org Making a Donation! Donate: