Dear TalkMatters Supporters
As we enter the second week of 2024, I dread what lies ahead. The landscape has changed with a global war threatening. More and more polarisation within our UK communities. More and more fear and uncertainty for the Israelis and Palestinians who face the escalation of death and destruction.
We are crying out for a new way to counteract the growing schisms in society. How can our hearts and minds accommodate the horrific October 7th massacre and hostage-taking of Israeli men, women and children and the subsequent war and killing of Palestinian men, women and children that is going on as we speak?
Rachel Goldberg-Polin is my role-model. Her son Hersch has been held hostage since he was captured at the Nova music festival on that fateful day. Despite Rachel’s unbearable trauma, she insists on acknowledging the pain and suffering of those on the other side. In a speech at the United Nations, she read out a poem she had written, imagining a mother in Gaza:
“And I know that way over there
there’s another woman who looks just like me
because we are all so very similar
and she has also been crying,
All those tears, a sea of tears
they all taste the same.”
It takes an amazing person to suffer so and not take revenge. And this on a much smaller scale is the philosophy of the initiatives that TalkMatters supports. The initiatives, be they music, ecology, high-tech, religion, etc. enable Israelis and Palestinians to connect with each other’s pain and suffering. Thedarkness of the current situation requires us to recognise the shared humanity that unites all Israelis and Palestinians.
I am thankful for our community of cooperative Israeli Palestinian initiatives for cultivating empathy and open communication. This is the only way forward: building bridges of compassion and understanding together with, of course, a massively needed new political direction.
Today we bring you news of the Seeds of Hope Programme at the Leo Baeck Education Centre in Haifa, the annual report from the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies and an update from the Primary School at Wahat al Salam/Neve Shalom.
I hope you, like me, are heartened by reading about these inspirational people, and what they are doing. If so, please pass this email on to friends and colleagues and invite them to join the TalkMatters mailing list.
All good wishes,
Jenny and the TalkMatters Team.
Leo Baeck Education Centre Haifa (LBEC)
The LBEC is a vibrant, pluralistic education centre serving more than 35,000 Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Druze and Baha’i community members, working in the most dynamic and mixed neighbourhoods. Specific programmes support Ethiopians and other immigrant populations, vulnerable children and families in crisis. The LBEC is involved in numerous local and international peace-building programmes focussing on Arab-Jewish shared existence.
Rabbi Aaron Goldstein reports on his recent visits to the the Seeds of Hope Programme.
I have been fortunate to visit Leo Baeck Education Centre twice in the last month. There is so much to be inspired by but I want to highlight our Shared Society programmes and particularly the Community Gardens in Ein Hayam – Wadi Al-Jamal.
Based in this mixed, mainly low-income neighbourhood, the municipality has provided the land and LBEC the funding to enable over forty households to grow together. They grow food and community.
The gardeners are a mix of Christian and Muslim Arabs, Druze, and Jews of all descriptions.
The gardeners celebrate each other’s festivals and holidays including having a Bar Mitzvah ceremony for the garden.
They literally plant seeds of hope
The Leo Baeck Education Centre is featured in our directory and has their own website. There are details of how you can donate to help support their work on this page of their website.
The Arava Institute for Environmental Studies
The Arava is a leading environmental studies and research institute located at Kibbutz Ketura in Southern Israel. With a student body comprised of Jordanians, Palestinians, Israelis, and participants from around the world, the Arava offers students the opportunity to learn from leading professionals while forming friendships and developing skills that enable them to lead the region and the world in solving today’s most pressing environmental challenges.
“Here, the idea that nature knows no political borders is more than a belief. It is a fact, a curriculum, and a way of life”
For all of us the world that we were working toward changed on October 7th. The horror of the Hamas attack and the realities of war emphasize the importance of the Arava Institute as a beacon of hope and endurance. Our students and faculty continue to learn together at the Institute.
Now we are turning our attention to the day after. How will the unique capacities and relationships of the Arava Institute help build a future of shared society and hope? How can our experience in civil discourse and compassionate listening be a model for people at universities in the US? How do we move forward?
The Arava Institute is working to meet these challenges head-on; never losing sight of our mandate for environmental peacebuilding in the face of political conflict. We hope that you enjoy this report on the highlights of our work over the past year. Read the full report as a flipbook or as a PDF.
The Arava Institute is featured in our directory, has their own website and joined us for a webinar in March 2023. There are details on this page of their website which show how you can donate to help support their work.
The Primary School at Wahat al Salam-Neve Shalom
Wahat al-Salam~ Neve Shalom (WaSNS) is a unique intentional community of Jewish and Arab-Palestinian Israeli citizens, located midway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. The primary school is bi-lingual and bi-cultural MORE Its educational system paved the way for the growing number of Israeli Jewish/Arab-Palestinian primary schools. At present there are six schools in Israel that follow the WaSNS model.
The Primary School Celebrates Winter
“Because of the situation, we did not want to have a big winter party this year, for the entire school,” says primary school principal Neama Abo Delu. “But we still wanted the kids to have some fun, since it was Hanukkah and Christmas. So we had smaller parties in each grade. All the parents came together and participated, and it was really, really successful.”
The parties included a decorated tree and a visit from Santa Claus, bearing gifts.
In keeping with the holiday spirit, the children learned about light. Light, of course, has many meanings, and the lights of the winter holidays bring to mind many of these aspects. Light and enlightenment is also one of the sections of the HOTAM (Arabic-Hebrew bilingual education) curriculum, and the fourth-grade class helped the entire school open this section. They made a presentation called “The Light in our School,” explaining how it grew out of the village of Wahat al-Salam – Neve Shalom, which stands for coexistence, equality, respect, love, peace and more. The school kids then created a mosaic, sticking up individual notes depicting their ideas about light and enlightenment.
The first-graders began their HOTAM section by thinking about differences, drawing pict of themselves and comparing themselves with others to see how they are all different, yet much the same.
Getting back to normal
The primary school is not only getting back to a normal schedule, the emphasis is on creating a normal atmosphere and keeping to the regular flow of the school year. Thus, the first-grade class had a reason to celebrate: They finished learning all of their letters, in both Arabic and Hebrew. They had a day of special activities and fun events around their achievement. They also had the third graders come in to help them with activities around learning about the different kinds of lines and how to tell them apart.
The second graders missed their lessons in the forests, as they had to stay close to a safe space. Instead, they made up games that they then played, and they split up into groups to take responsibilities in the classroom.
The third-graders, in addition to their regular studies, had an activity called “a little peace between you and me – advancing togetherness in thought, tolerance and closeness.” While politics does not enter the classroom, every child comes with their own stresses and issues from home. The activity was a way for them to discover that others come to class with their own anxieties and traumas, and that they have the power to help one anther cope. Creating a cohesive group of children speaking two languages, who come from three religions and a variety of cultures is never easy, but the teachers are now working with kids who are hearing news of war and hatred. Such activities are thus essential to rebuilding the miniature community in the classroom.
In addition to opening the new HOTAM section, the fourth-graders held a long discussion about their return to the classroom, including their fears and feelings. That discussion turned into a poster, so that each could also write about their return to school and to thank their teachers.
The fifth- and sixth-graders found that the student council elections turned into a lesson in democracy. That lesson is more crucial than ever, and with that in mind, they prepared presentations on the responsibility of elected representatives and of voters in a democracy. The whole school participated in “democracy week” before the elections
The sixth graders are also beginning a project in which they assist or tutor in the lower grades. This project is meant to boost their confidence and help them learn to take responsibility.
Fun is still important
Arabic language day
Language is a big part of the school schedule, and a large part of this year’s emphasis is on teaching Arabic as a second language to Hebrew-speaking children. Visits to the language center resumed with the return to the classroom, as well. December 18 was International Arabic Day, and all of the classes celebrated with games and activities. International Hebrew day is coming up in January, and the teachers are prepared to celebrate when the Christian kids get back to school from their holiday.
“Of course, not everything is normal,” says Neama, “but we try to let the kids have fun. They need to have fun.” One day, for example, they decided to have a school-wide soccer match on the new soccer field. The winners would play the female teachers. Neama, herself, got out on the field, and they all felt, for a short time, they could simply enjoy themselves.
The female teachers challenged the winners of the soccer tournament to a game
The Primary School at Wahat al Salam-Neve Shalom is supported by the Oasis of Peace UK, which is featured in our directory, and have their own website . There are details on this page of their website which show how you can donate to help support their work.
Please pass on this information
Please pass on this information to your friends and colleagues. Please talk about the human stories that we share with you. In the horrendous circumstances we all find ourselves, TalkMatters continues to introduce the UK public to the people who refuse to see one another as enemies. We believe in supporting the grass-roots work in Israel and Palestine and we know that it is only by working together with you – our UK supporters – and with our Israeli-Palestinian Associates that we can ever walk another path. A path that leads to a future of peace, justice and equality for everyone.
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Thank you for your support.
Jenny and the TalkMatters Team.
