Neve Shalom - Wahat al-Salam

Oxford Peace Forum

2009-06-10T13:29:00Z

The Oxford Branch of British Friends of NSWaS organised a 'Peace Is Possible' Forum at the Quaker Meeting House on Sunday 17th May; one of several fundraising events scheduled for 2009 which they hope will enable some children from the NSWaS Primary School to visit their Partnership Link School in Woodstock.

Bruce Kent, perhaps Britain's best known and life-long peace activist, and now Vice President of the 'Movement for the Abolition of War' (MAW) chaired the panel of speakers and was the first to speak. He reminded us that, in spite of media concentration on wars and violence, peace is the norm for most communities, most of the time. There are people everywhere working for justice and cooperation, but often using military language to describe their activities. One can live peacefully with one's neighbours without necessarily being close friends!

Chair of the Gandhi Foundation, Susan Denton-Brown, is herself trained as a facilitator in conflict transformation at the School for Peace (SFP) and facilitates workshops for teachers that British Friends has been organising over the past two years. She has seen how people living in uncertainty often deal with their fears by using aggression in language and/or action. An experienced teacher of RE and Citizenship, she has seen the need to teach skills to reduce prejudice, bigotry and unreality by making interchange, dialogue and listening a key part of the curriculum.

Lisa Slater, Head of Woodstock Primary School, has seen her school embrace these methods. At all levels children can learn that they are part of a global community. The link to the Primary School in NSWaS allows children to write letters, learn about each other, use computer skills and bring geography alive. Two 9 year-old pupils gave their own video presentation showing children in the two schools, in their own village and town and finding images of Israel and Woodstock from the web.

Imam Monawar Hussain spoke of his involvement in bringing together young and old of different faiths: as Muslim Chaplain at Eton College he works with boys of other faiths as well as the 15 Muslim pupils there this school year; in Oxford he encourages Muslim boys on a special programme within their own school context to engage with the whole school community; he was asked by government to set up a similar project in Birmingham which is already running well; at the Oxford Central Mosque he holds a silent meditation group after Friday Prayers which is also open to Christians and Jews ; and he encourages these ideas within his own family.

"Secular schools have their own ethos and values but it is important to engage in dialogue to recognise both difference and shared values. Monawar told the story of a young couple, one Jewish, the other Muslim, who wanted to marry and contemplated secrecy, He encouraged openness and patient waiting. Two years later they did get married, in Jerusalem, with both families present and happy with the situation. The key is education, dialogue between faiths with space to engage with others and learn to value the richness of diversity."

Benita Hide Director

WAS-NS interns: Faryal, Wilfredo and Megan

2008-08-03T07:30:12Z

How does one intern for peace exactly? Correct me if I'm wrong, but you either live peacefully, you don't, or you're somewhere in the middle trying to reconcile the two? Some leaning more towards one or the other. As interns, here at the village we try to learn more ways to develop peace building skills via the Communications and Development Department. The responsibilities include, but are not limited to, developing contacts with various people, corporations, and embassies, writing and editing funding proposals, writing articles for the website and hosting guests. Currently, we have three interns at the C&D office. This is a piece of their story:

Faryal Awan, of Pakistani-Algerian parentage joined the Communications and Development team of Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom in January 2008. After completing her masters degree in Politics of the Middle East from the University of London, Faryal worked in the financial district of London for a year, saving money for a future excursion to the Middle East. Faryal has been interested in the Palestinian struggle for self-determination from a very young age and it has been a life-long dream to work in the region.

She learned about WAS-NS from a British Jewish friend with whom she was involved in Pyschosemitic, an inter-faith events and education agency that uses celebration, music and art to bring people from the Muslim and Jewish faiths together. After a meeting with Raida Aishe-Khatib (primary school teacher) and the British Friends in London, she was very fascinated by this unique village and decided to check it out for herself. Her work at the C&D office has been interesting and diverse. Faryal's daily responsibilities include researching fundraising opportunities; writing grants, project proposals, articles and other PR material in English; and hosting visit groups and journalists. She was also involved in the preparation of the Annual General Meeting of the Friends Associations held in the Waha and the 'Raising Awareness Tour' in the UK. Besides her daily responsibilities, Faryal has tried to focus her time and energy on the humanitarian aid program of the village and the highlight of her work has been fundraising for the impoverished and alienated Silwan village in East Jerusalem. Besides the work itself, she really enjoys the people she works with and feels lucky to be working with a staff of such accomplished, intelligent and interesting individuals.

Faryal also worked with the youth in the Nadi (youth club) Along with Maisoun Karaman, Director of the Nadi; she initiated a program for the youth club entitled 'Nahki Inglezi / Speak English,' whereby she and some volunteers dedicate one evening a week to help 10th and 11th graders with their spoken English. Faryal learns a lot from these weekly encounters as the kids open up about their experiences in the country. She was very saddened to learn about what she and they knew to be the lopsided version of history they had been taught in their Jewish high school.

Faryal enjoys traveling and uses her weekends to travel across the country. She finds cities and villages in the West Bank most interesting because of the lovely, hospitable people; beautiful landscape, the great food, and because she gets a chance to practice her Arabic. After five months of being asked 'Inti Maghrabi? ('Are you Morrocan') whenever she uttered a word of Arabic; Faryal felt a great sense of achievement when a local Palestinian claimed 'Really, you are Algerian? You speak like us, not them!'

Faryal's internship ends in December 2008 and she plans to extend her time in Palestine by working for a local NGO.

Ahmad Hijazi, Director of the Communications and Development Office met Yehuda Lukacs, Director of the 'Center for Global Education' at George Mason University (GMU) this winter and decided to embark on a mutually beneficial relationship whereby WAS-NS would host and mentor two interns from the US. (GMU is located in northern Virginia, about a 30 minute drive from Washington, D.C.) The internship program lasts 6 weeks and offers an excellent opportunity for students wishing to obtain hands-on knowledge through working and living in Israel/Palestine. In mid-June, Wilfredo "Will" Tantoco and Megan Cipperly joined the C&D team after an intensive 10-day seminar, where they met leading Israeli and Palestinian experts; representatives from various Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs), think tanks, peace activists, and businesses and government officials. The following is their initial reactions to the village:

Will, a graduating-senior at George Mason University majoring in Government and International Politics, with a minor in International and Comparative Studies joins us from Herndon, Virginia. He began his internship at WAS-NS not knowing what he would actually be doing. When applying to the George Mason University's Center for Global Education program, students were asked to write a brief essay on what they are interested in and why they want to study in Israel/Palestine. After reading Will's paper, Luckacs, coordinator of the Israel/Palestine Internship and Director of the Center for Global Education, suggested WAS-NS.

"Everyone in the community has been very welcoming," Will says. "The village is very remote (compared to the suburbs that I'm used to), but peaceful. After all, translated, it is called 'The Oasis of Peace.'” It has one of the best views Will has seen in his life and he's promised himself to wake up for at least six sunrises for the six weeks he's here. There's always a lot to do in the C & D office, but Will sometimes feel as though because of his short time here, there's little he can really get his hands into. His responsibilities have been editing proposals for fundraising, researching grants, calling embassies for funding, and so forth and adds that his supervisors Ahmad and Faryal have been very helpful in showing him the ropes and giving him an in-depth understanding of how the village is run.

Will feels as though, in addition to learning from the job, he's been learning a lot from just interacting with the people. He's already met many people throughout the village. He finds it funny meeting a group of young adults in the village that he will be joking with, smoking shisha, and hanging out with, and then later meet their parents who are local officials, principals, or teachers in the village. The house he's living in is called the Volunteer House, but he often refers to it as the Hippie House. There so many guests that show up and spend anywhere from a few days to a few months. He says, "Although I've only spent very little time with these new friends, I find myself really sad when they leave." The program requires Will to keep a journal and he often times finds himself jotting down little notes – names, words in Arabic or Hebrew, or any sort of “moment” he feels that he's had. "Overall," he says, "the time has been very enjoyable and I know that the rest of my stay here will be great and I hope to learn more as the time passes."

Will has been thinking of law school and we wish him all the luck in the world! Perhaps he will return to Palestine/Israel championing human rights!

Weblinks for Wilfredo

Story in the Palestine Israel Journal

Blog

Picasaweb

Will is joined by Megan, a Junior from Yorktown, Virginia, majoring in International Conflict Analysis and Resolution and minoring in Women Studies. Due to the nature of her major, Megan figured the most appropriate place to spend her 6 weeks was in Israel/Palestine. The program suggested she intern at WAS/NS and here she is! Her primary goals while here are to get a basic understanding of how the conflict is embedded in society, learn from the peace process, and perhaps learn a few phrases in Arabic. She says it's very intimidating living here since most people in the community speak three different languages fluently.

When she first got here, she was surprised about how friendly everyone was. "It's not strange for locals that you just met to invite you into their house, make you food, and tell you their personal stories. The village itself is extremely beautiful, with a great view of the countryside and charming houses and gardens," she adds. She was happy to be assigned the project of writing about the community's efforts to be environmentally efficient, since back in the States she spends a lot of her time working on environmental advocacy. Megan might just be the village's first vegan.

Over the last couple of weeks Megan has been overwhelmed with culture, people, and conflict. "During the week," she states, "the village is a nice break from a lot of the tension on the outside." She finds it refreshing to live in a place where all of the people are aware and actively involved in changing the political situation in the country. She hopes to tell people back home about the political consciousness of the youth here, when she returns to the US. There are opportunities every week to travel to different conferences or events focused on the political tensions here. The conflict here is not something that the people merely read about, it is something they live every day. "I hope that in my brief time here," she says, "I will begin to understand the complexities of living in a coexistence based community within the context of a politically charged society."

Megan graduates in 2010.

2008 Annual General Meeting of the Friends Associations

2008-04-17T12:02:52Z

This year's annual meeting of the Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom friends' associations took place between April 13 and 16. Accommodations were provided by the Guest House and most of the meetings took place in the large hall of the Pluralistic Spiritual Centre. Twenty-one representatives came from nine different countries including, for the first time in recent years, Canada.

As every year, the work, finances and future plans of the various departments of the village were discussed in detail. Strategies for improving outreach, publicity and fundraising were raised and meetings between village members and representatives helped to cement or renew personal contacts. Among the highlights this year were a session with members of the younger generation who grew up and were educated in the village, and a heartfelt open discussion with members of the community.

Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom is privileged to have the firm and unwavering long-term support of this group of steadfast friends. Some have followed the development of the village from its earliest years; others are quite new and bring fresh energy to the challenging task. Their work is characterized by professionalism, emotional and intellectual involvement, and personal commitment. Without the support of the unique framework of its friends' associations, the development of the village and particularly its educational institutions would have been unthinkable. The Annual General Meeting plays an important part in keeping the work of the village and its friends' associations on track.

Slideshow from the AGM:

Photo album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/info.nswas/AGM2008

British Friends: A master class with Carlo Rizzi

2007-11-05T09:04:46Z

The Master Class conducted by Carlo Rizzi (Music Director of Welsh National Opera, 2004-2007) at Guildhall School of Music and Drama (GSMD) on Sunday 21st October was a resounding success. The concert hall was full to capacity and all listened with rapt attention as Maestro Rizzi, added perfection to already near perfect performances by five students of GSMD's Opera Course.

Daire Halpin, soprano, sang Adele's ‘audition' aria from Die Fledermaus Lukas Kargl, baritone, sang ‘Avant de quitter ces lieux' from Faust Sarah Power, soprano, sang ‘Deh vieni, non tardar' from Le nozze di Figaro. Amar Muchhala, tenor, sang the ‘Povero Ernesto' recitative and aria from Don Pasquale Lisa Wilson, soprano, sang ‘Come scoglio' from Cosi fan Tutte

Ana-Maria Dafova-Leather, Robert Gurvitz, Anne Larlee and Qin Wencheng accompanied them on the piano.

Maestro Rizzi listened attentively to each singer and then worked through their chosen piece giving much advice on breathing, vowel sounds and production and all aspects of their performance. He was kind, generous and humorous, setting the singers at their ease and giving them the benefit of his ideas and experience, with many amusing asides to the audience.

He was always friendly and courteous to the accompanists, often turning pages for them, mostly at the right point (‘Everyone makes mistakes', he said.)

The afternoon was a delight for the audience and a very good experience for the young singers. British Friends extends warmest thanks to Carlo Rizzi for giving so generously of his time and for providing such wonderful entertainment.

Further news from British Friends of NS-WAS.

Photo source: Loddingkonsert.se

Annual meeting of the German Friends of Neve Shalom - Wahat al-Salam

2007-10-01T12:00:00Z

At the annual meeting of the German Friends of Neve Shalom - Wahat al-Salam, in October 2007, NSWAS member Dr. Nihaya Daoud gave a presentation entitled "Envisioning the Future of Arab-Jewish relations in Israel".

Her full presentation (in English) is attached below.

This year's meeting was held in Koenigswinter over two and a half days, and was attended by more than sixty people.

Besides Nihaya, NSWAS member Hilal Rizek was also present and contributed an additional point of view of a member of the second generation in the village.


Envisioning the Future

Life as a Volunteer in the Peace Village

Kevin Dürr — 2007-08-25T20:32:31Z

My name is Kevin Dürr. I am 20 years old and from Frankfurt (Oder) in East Germany. I was a volunteer at the Primary School of Neve Shalom - Wahat al-Salam from September 2006 to August 2007. I chose to volunteer in the village as part of my Civil Service required by the German State. I discovered the village through a friend from my hometown who is also a former NSWAS volunteer. I was amazed by the philosophy of the village, especially by the fact that they don't try to make everybody the same or “equals.” They allow people to live together, while retaining their own cultures and differences. This, I believe, is the true challenge.

My duties in the Primary School ranged from cleaning or repairing the facilities to escorting the children on field trips. The teachers really try to educate the children on their own identities and collective culture and history. Instead of only focusing on their similarities, they wanted to strengthen the children's own self-identities. This is important because it allows children to develop self-confidence and self-esteem. When you are secure in your own skin, you are more willing to respect and tolerate other people's differences.

Outside my work in the Primary School, I felt very well integrated into the village. I discovered that a large majority of the families in the village were extremely welcoming and hospitable. A week wouldn't go by without me being invited over for a dinner or a cup of coffee. I even felt as though I was a semi-member of the family in some of the homes I frequently visited. Not only was this an enjoyable pastime for me, I realized that these visits offered me a deeper understanding of the country – its culture, society, history and modern-day politics.

I never expected the high standard of living as a volunteer, as we were fully equipped with air-conditioning and wireless Internet in the volunteer house. I can't imagine that volunteers at other places have such living conditions. It didn't fit into my picture of volunteer work, where I imagined you would “get your hands dirty” doing hard manual labor and live under simple living conditions. This is not the case at NSWAS. With so many volunteers, researchers, and other visitors from all corners of the world coming to live, work, study and/or just visit the village, you increase your horizons in many ways. Not only do you meet all these interesting people, you learn a great amount of information and new ideas. On the other hand, you see a lot of people coming and going, so it often became difficult to say goodbye to so many close friends and acquaintances.

The surrounding region of the village, the fields and the mountains and the forest; it is truly a remarkable sight. Even while the location of Neve Shalom - Wahat al-Salam is directly in the center of the country near Latroun Monastery, between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, it is often difficult for volunteers to leave spontaneously because they depend on public transportation. A volunteer should expect to live and work primarily in the village, only leaving once or twice a week to other locations throughout the country.

I really, really appreciate the time that I spent in Neve Shalom - Wahat al-Salam. If given the opportunity, I would do it all over again. Thank you to the residents of Neve Shalom - Wahat al-Salam for making my experience such a positive one.

(Thanks to Shelby Port in producing this article)

Annual Meeting of the NSWAS Friends' Associations - 2007

2007-05-01T05:29:00Z

From Thursday, April 26 to Sunday, April 29, the annual meeting of the friends of NSWAS took place. About 30 delegates from the various countries in which there are friends' associations attended the meeting. Sessions covered the activities and finances of each of the departments of the village. On Thursday there was a social evening to which village members were invited. On Friday evening, the participants visited parents of children attending the NSWAS primary school in their homes. On Saturday, the group paid a visit to Bethlehem, where they engaged in a tour and met with Noah Salameh of the Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation. On Sunday, following the meeting, the Pluralistic Spiritual Centre invited two village residents, Michael Karayanni and Boaz Kitain to discuss the document "The Future Vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel".

As usual, the meeting provided the opportunity to update the delegates on the work of the village, to clarify many issues regarding our work and to renew connections with friends around the world.

Neve Shalom Wahat al-Salam receives award of the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee

2006-12-05T07:16:51Z

Deanna Armbruster, executive director of the American Friends of Neve Shalom Wahat al-Salam, has been honored at the Arab American Anti-Discrimination Committee's (ADC) Annual Fundraising Gala in Dearborn, Michigan with the Building Bridges Award, which is granted annually to an individual who is working on efforts to build relations between groups.

The award was bestowed on December 1 at a fundraising gala titled "Opening Doorways to Peace". Keynote speaker at the event was HE Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani, first deputy PM and Minister of Foreign Affairs for Qatar. Altogether about 1,400 people attended.

As the largest Arab American organization in the United States, the ADC is committed to defending the rights of Americans of Arab descent and promoting their rich cultural heritage. The ADC's Michigan Director, Mr. Imad Hamad, championed the award to Ms. Armbruster as a way to raise the profile of the "Oasis of Peace" in the Arab American community.

Ms. Armbruster has earned the award through her strong dedication to developing the American Friends of Neve Shalom Wahat al-Salam in such a way that Arab and Jewish Americans (as well as others) are strongly involved. Like the village itself, AFNSWAS is engaged in building bridges.

Ms. Armbruster is, together with Michael Emery, co-author of Tears in the Holy Land: Voices from Israel & Palestine.

See also "Qatari foreign minister addresses ADC gala" in The Arab American.

International Peace Day

Benita Hide — 2006-09-21T13:05:00Z

International Peace Day 2006 - 21st September – was a beautiful, warm and sunny day. The children, parents and staff of Woodstock Church of England Primary School, near Oxford, celebrated the day by unveiling the Peace Pole that World Peace Prayer Society had awarded the school because of its recently established link with the Neve Shalom Wahat al-Salam Primary School, which also has been awarded a Peace Pole.

Although in very different political and geographical settings, the two schools share identical values of respect for difference and diversity and look forward to getting to know one another through sharing information about a multitude of subjects around their schools and families and every-day things about their life. In May, two teachers from Woodstock PS had the opportunity to stay at NSWaS and the pleasure of meeting the children and staff of the school as well as residents of the Village. They also took part in the opening ceremony of the Pluralistic Spiritual Centre (PSC). All this fired their enthusiasm to further the school link which is being encouraged by Oxfordshire Education Authority.


Unveiling of the Peace Pole

"Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr" for German volunteers

2004-06-07T10:38:52Z

Till recently the social benefits of the so-called "Freiwilliges Soziales Jahr" provided by the German government were available only for young German women who did that service in Germany or neighbouring countries. Now it is possible to get it also in other countries like Israel, if the participants are well prepared and sent through an organisation recognised by the government.

If young people from Germany wish to come as volunteers to Neve Shalom/Wahat al Salam they may therefore like to contact a recognised organisation and try to be sent through that organisation in order to get the social benefits they would lose without that procedure.

The office of Pastor Ramacher is such an organisation. The address is:

Arbeitsstelle für Kriegsdienstverweigerung,
Zivildienst und Freiwillige Friedensdienste,
Venusbergweg 4,
D-53111 Bonn.

Pastor Ramacher has expressed willingness to provide a framework by which volunteers could come to work in NSH/WAS.