GROWING UP IN AN ARAB-JEWISH
VILLAGE IN ISRAEL
Rami Mana and Omer Schwartz have
grown up in a very unusual place. Rami is a 17-year-old
Palestinian. Omer is a 17-year-old Jew. In Israel, Jews
and Palestinians do not generally live in the same
villages, go to the same schools, work or live together.
Jews and Palestinians, especially children and
teenagers, have only rare chances to meet one another.
This is not the case for Rami and Omer who have lived as
neighbors and friends since they were little children.
They grew up together in the village of Neve
Shalom/Wahat Al-Salam (NSWAS).
Neve Shalom is Hebrew and Wahat Al-Salam is Arabic.
Both translate to mean the “Oasis of Peace.” This
village was founded 25 years ago as a place where Jews
and Palestinians could live together peacefully. Today,
there are more than 50 families living in Neve
Shalom/Wahat Al-Salam, half are Palestinian, half are
Jewish, all are Israeli citizens.
“Its like any regular city, but its Arabs and Jews,”
says Rami. “We live together like its usual.”
In fact, NSWAS is the only village like it in the
Middle East. This past summer 2001, Rami and Omer were
selected to represent this unique place as part of the
Youth Empowerment Summit at the United Nations in
Geneva, Switzerland. The teens participated in a
three-week delegation to the U.N. where they, along with
other teens from around the world, spoke on issues
facing young people globally.
“I see myself as an example in Israel,” explained
Omer. “I want to let people know that it is possible to
live together. It is not scary. We are all human beings
and we should respect the other side.”
The pair had an opportunity to share this message
with thousands of UN delegates and diplomats from around
the world. They presented a speech to the working
committee of the U.N. Sub-Commission on Human Rights.
They highlighted their elementary education at NSWAS
during their speech.
EDUCATION
“Omer and I went to the primary school in our village
with other kids from the village and kids from around
the area,” said Rami.
“We learned in both Hebrew and in Arabic,” explained
Omer. “I learned Arabic, as did my little brother and
now my youngest sister is still in the school.”
The dominant language in Israel is Hebrew. Arabic is
not taught in the schools. But in NSWAS, both languages
are taught equally. In every classroom, there is both an
Arab and a Jewish teacher.
Today, there are more than 300 children who attend
the Primary School at NSWAS. More than 90 percent of the
children come from outside the village. It is the only
school in Israel where children are taught bilingually
and biculturally.
“In Israel, I still don’t feel like there is
equality,” said Rami. “Jews and Arabs are not treated
the same. But in this village – and in this school – I
do feel equal.”
“We learned about each other’s holidays and
traditions,” said Omer as he explained how Jews, Muslims
and Christians experience and celebrate their various
religious holidays during the school year.
Rami, Omer, and the other children of NSWAS can only
attend the Primary School in the village through the
sixth grade. After that, the Arab children attend a
school in one of the surrounding Arab villages and the
Jewish children do the same in one of the area’s Jewish
villages.
“What I really hope is that kids can go to high
school like this one day,” said Rami. “The situation in
the country is really bad, but in Neve Shalom/Wahat
Al-salam it is open for both sides. And it’s at our age
that we develop ideas and thoughts.”
SCHOOL FOR PEACE
The village is also home to a second school -- School
for Peace. This school is a conflict management program
for high school kids from around the country to come to
attend 3-day workshops. Most of the teens that attend
the workshops have never met anyone from the “other
side.”
“What I’ve gotten out of the village is that everyone
should have respect and understanding for each other,”
said Rami. “The way to solve problems is through
dialogue, not violence.”
Those are the very skills that participants at the
School for Peace are given. Through constructive
workshops, teenagers have a chance to deal with the
dilemmas that they face every day. They are given a
chance to explain to other teens what they are
experiencing, at the same time, hear the other’s
perspectives.
Today, more than 25,000 teenagers have participated
in School for Peace workshops. The workshops are intense
and emotional, and not everyone leaves as friends. But,
participants do leave with a better sense of how
complicated the situation is in the Middle East and the
role they need to play to make things improve.
AFTER SCHOOL
Back in Geneva last summer, Rami and Omer continued
struggling with some of the issues of the
Israeli-Palestinian problem themselves. This year, Rami
and Omer will both finish high school, but Omer will
first have to complete three years of compulsory
military duty.
“I can’t serve in the Army,” said Rami. “And, I
wouldn’t even want to, but then I won’t get all of the
benefits.” (Army service guarantees awards such as low
cost student loans and mortgage loans, better health
care coverage, retirement benefits, and even better job
opportunities.)
“And you will never have the chance of being equal,”
said Omer. “Its not fair. Arabs aren’t allowed this
chance. And, yet for me, it is important that I serve my
country. I want to support Israel.”
The boys are engaged in a difficult and strained
conversation. But, for them, it is just one of many in
their lives. These conversations, like those at the
School for Peace and the Primary School, shift rapidly
between Hebrew and Arabic. “It’s good that we speak
fully – about all issues,” said Rami.
“The situation outside [the village] is bad,” Omer
agreed. “We have to still be able to speak.”
Rami and Omer ended their visit in Geneva this summer
by representing an Award of Excellence at the Fete
d’Excellence to another program that is working to unite
children globally. The village had been given the honor
the previous summer. Last year, it was Rami and Omer who
had set the example for peace.
This month, January 2002, Rami will travel to the
United States to talk with teenagers, adults and the
media about Neve Shalom/Wahat Al-Salam. Ori
Sonnenschein, another 17-year-old from the village will
travel with Rami to San Francisco, Los Angeles, New
York, Boston and Washington, DC to spread the message.
As Rami puts it, “we can all do it – we can all work
toward peace.”
Written by Deanna Armbruster, Executive Director
American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat Al-Salam
For more information about Neve Shalom/Wahat
Al-Salam, contact the office of the American Friends of
NSWAS at 212-226-9246, or visit http://afnswas@oasisofpeace.org/,
http://www.oasisofpeace.org/
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