The two schools - a girls’ school and a boys’ school - run by the Custody of the Holy Land in the Old City of Jerusalem hosted a very special gathering on Friday, October 23.
"You know, I’ve never met any friendly Arabs like you," Moshe said to Jameel, who hugged him and replied, "And I’ve never met any Israelis as nice as you."
These words were not heard on the street, nor were they even actually said in a real-life situation; they are from a skit that was put on that day by a group of 11-year-old Palestinian actors, who performed for their classmates and their visitors, Israeli students of the same age who had arrived that morning from Tel Aviv.
The skit did not beat around the bush. One by one, the actors showed how heightened tensions between Palestinians and Israelis have made dialogue difficult, and that there is a clear need for the two groups to learn more about each other, and learn to listen to, respect, and appreciate each other. For an hour and a half, the children were exposed to those realities firsthand.
On the bus ride to Jerusalem, the young Israelis were full of excitement. After arriving at Jaffa Gate, they only had to walk a few meters before meeting the Palestinians students that had invited them. Once they had reached the playground, the children felt particularly intimidated. It seemed like such a long time since their last gathering, which took place last May at their school in the north of Tel Aviv. Had they forgotten the kind words on the postcards they got for the Jewish New Year?
The Palestinians children awkwardly hid the flowers they each held in their hands. They followed their teacher, who was singing a song to welcome the visitors: "We shall live in peace someday; oh, deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall live in peace someday." English was the language of the gathering. Arabic is not taught at the Tel Aviv school, and the mandatory Hebrew classes at the school in the Old City are still very basic. This difference was highlighted in the skit: "You speak Hebrew," Moshe said, surprised. "Yeah, we learn it at school," Jameel replied. "But why do you learn Hebrew?" "Well, to be able to speak to our neighbors. What about you? Do you learn Arabic?" "No, why should I?"
The use of English at the gathering did not make things easy for the students, but it was as much a part of the pedagogical purpose of the visit as it was a part of the diplomatic precautions necessary for such a gathering.
All the children were there on a voluntary basis. They had gotten their parents’ permission to participate. Parents - on both sides - did not exactly jump for joy when the idea was proposed, but 66 of them agreed to embark on the adventure despite their reservations. The eight Israeli parents that accompanied the children, all the teachers present, and the three principals were convinced of the need to give the children this opportunity.
The first part of the gathering took place at the girls’ school, where a folkloric Palestinian dance was performed, inspiring cries of "She’s so well groomed!" and "She’s so pretty!" Then the children went on a tour of the school, and after that, their mouths began to water as they got together for a meal while the parents, teachers, and principals fielded questions from the media.
The initiative was born in 2000 out of the desire of an Israeli mother, Yisca, to see her children grow up with an awareness of and respect for Palestinians. Yisca had gotten in touch with Sr. Frida, the principal of the girls’ school, and a partnership was established. It was hindered by political developments (specifically, the breakout of the second Intifada), but it was eventually revived through an exchange of simple postcards.
Today, in 2009, Yisca is still on board, more convinced than ever of the need to build bridges between the two worlds and more conscious than ever of the obstacles involved. When Sr. Frida told her that this initiative was just a "drop in the ocean," Yisca appeared to lose heart, but Sr. Frida quickly boosted her confidence by adding, "But the ocean is made up of drops of water."
In Yisca’s opinion, mutual ignorance is the cause of barriers to understanding. "But our children are the children of the future," she says.
On the day of the gathering, all the children - Christians, Muslims, and Jews - walked together down the short path from the girls’ school near Jaffa Gate to the boys’ school near New Gate. After the skit, Br. Simon OFM welcomed the children to the theater at the boys’ school in St. Savior’s Convent for a round of questions: How many brothers and sisters to you have? What is your favorite color? How many languages do you speak? What makes you sad? What makes you happy? What is your favorite pastime? Who is your best friend? What is your favorite song? The Israeli children were surprised to discover that the Palestinian children had popular Hebrew songs on their phones and knew the words by heart. The children sang together, looking at and listening to each other while singing. They were doing the same thing with the same delight. The ice had been broken.
Relations among the students were so relaxed that they did not notice, while visiting the school’s museum of local flora and fauna, that the descriptions used different names to refer to the country depending on whether they were in Arabic or Hebrew. The children were simply fascinated in the same way by the same thing.
The lives, national histories, and futures of these 11-year-olds are inextricably tied to each other. The children, too, have developed strong ties to each other. When it was time to say goodbye, they told each other - and their teachers promised them - that it was just a "see you later." The boys expressed their interest in playing sports together, while the girls felt that it would be nice to have a picnic. Both the children and the adults hope that the children and all of their parents can get together in the near future.
Nobody today claims to have achieved peace, but all aspire to lay down the necessary foundations without which a common path to peace won’t be feasible: respect and dialogue.
Mab
"You know, I’ve never met any friendly Arabs like you," Moshe said to Jameel, who hugged him and replied, "And I’ve never met any Israelis as nice as you."
These words were not heard on the street, nor were they even actually said in a real-life situation; they are from a skit that was put on that day by a group of 11-year-old Palestinian actors, who performed for their classmates and their visitors, Israeli students of the same age who had arrived that morning from Tel Aviv.
The skit did not beat around the bush. One by one, the actors showed how heightened tensions between Palestinians and Israelis have made dialogue difficult, and that there is a clear need for the two groups to learn more about each other, and learn to listen to, respect, and appreciate each other. For an hour and a half, the children were exposed to those realities firsthand.
On the bus ride to Jerusalem, the young Israelis were full of excitement. After arriving at Jaffa Gate, they only had to walk a few meters before meeting the Palestinians students that had invited them. Once they had reached the playground, the children felt particularly intimidated. It seemed like such a long time since their last gathering, which took place last May at their school in the north of Tel Aviv. Had they forgotten the kind words on the postcards they got for the Jewish New Year?
The Palestinians children awkwardly hid the flowers they each held in their hands. They followed their teacher, who was singing a song to welcome the visitors: "We shall live in peace someday; oh, deep in my heart, I do believe, we shall live in peace someday." English was the language of the gathering. Arabic is not taught at the Tel Aviv school, and the mandatory Hebrew classes at the school in the Old City are still very basic. This difference was highlighted in the skit: "You speak Hebrew," Moshe said, surprised. "Yeah, we learn it at school," Jameel replied. "But why do you learn Hebrew?" "Well, to be able to speak to our neighbors. What about you? Do you learn Arabic?" "No, why should I?"
The use of English at the gathering did not make things easy for the students, but it was as much a part of the pedagogical purpose of the visit as it was a part of the diplomatic precautions necessary for such a gathering.
All the children were there on a voluntary basis. They had gotten their parents’ permission to participate. Parents - on both sides - did not exactly jump for joy when the idea was proposed, but 66 of them agreed to embark on the adventure despite their reservations. The eight Israeli parents that accompanied the children, all the teachers present, and the three principals were convinced of the need to give the children this opportunity.
The first part of the gathering took place at the girls’ school, where a folkloric Palestinian dance was performed, inspiring cries of "She’s so well groomed!" and "She’s so pretty!" Then the children went on a tour of the school, and after that, their mouths began to water as they got together for a meal while the parents, teachers, and principals fielded questions from the media.
The initiative was born in 2000 out of the desire of an Israeli mother, Yisca, to see her children grow up with an awareness of and respect for Palestinians. Yisca had gotten in touch with Sr. Frida, the principal of the girls’ school, and a partnership was established. It was hindered by political developments (specifically, the breakout of the second Intifada), but it was eventually revived through an exchange of simple postcards.
Today, in 2009, Yisca is still on board, more convinced than ever of the need to build bridges between the two worlds and more conscious than ever of the obstacles involved. When Sr. Frida told her that this initiative was just a "drop in the ocean," Yisca appeared to lose heart, but Sr. Frida quickly boosted her confidence by adding, "But the ocean is made up of drops of water."
In Yisca’s opinion, mutual ignorance is the cause of barriers to understanding. "But our children are the children of the future," she says.
On the day of the gathering, all the children - Christians, Muslims, and Jews - walked together down the short path from the girls’ school near Jaffa Gate to the boys’ school near New Gate. After the skit, Br. Simon OFM welcomed the children to the theater at the boys’ school in St. Savior’s Convent for a round of questions: How many brothers and sisters to you have? What is your favorite color? How many languages do you speak? What makes you sad? What makes you happy? What is your favorite pastime? Who is your best friend? What is your favorite song? The Israeli children were surprised to discover that the Palestinian children had popular Hebrew songs on their phones and knew the words by heart. The children sang together, looking at and listening to each other while singing. They were doing the same thing with the same delight. The ice had been broken.
Relations among the students were so relaxed that they did not notice, while visiting the school’s museum of local flora and fauna, that the descriptions used different names to refer to the country depending on whether they were in Arabic or Hebrew. The children were simply fascinated in the same way by the same thing.
The lives, national histories, and futures of these 11-year-olds are inextricably tied to each other. The children, too, have developed strong ties to each other. When it was time to say goodbye, they told each other - and their teachers promised them - that it was just a "see you later." The boys expressed their interest in playing sports together, while the girls felt that it would be nice to have a picnic. Both the children and the adults hope that the children and all of their parents can get together in the near future.
Nobody today claims to have achieved peace, but all aspire to lay down the necessary foundations without which a common path to peace won’t be feasible: respect and dialogue.
Mab