Since The October 2000 Trauma

I. Six Workshops

Despite a road with many ups and downs in the autumn of 2000, Peace Child Israel ran   6 new workshops throughout the country during the 2000-2001 school year. Due to the far-sighted vision of educators in the field, at a time when the move towards dialogue has been rejected by many, Peace Child Israel has successfully opened 6 workshops throughout the country. In every location, there was a rupture in the community which seemed insurmountable at the outset. However, the perseverance paid off. Some examples include:

Sakhnin-Misgav-Salame In the Arab town of Sakhnin in the central Galilee, in which took place 4 of the 13 funerals of Israeli citizens, the school principal decided to give the teenagers a chance to search for solutions which their parents hadn't found. While at the municipal level the rupture remains, at the grass-roots level, the work is going on by the youth. Sakhnin teenagers meet with Jewish counterparts from Qoranit and Bedouin teenagers from Wadi Salame.

Issawiye - Ziv Marks, Jerusalem A workshop for teenagers from east and west Jerusalem seemed unthinkable in October. Twenty-five teenagers are meeting at the Bet Nechemia Community Center in Abu Tor in Jerusalem, a neighborhood which literally has a street dividing east and west. After a month of unilateral meetings for preparation in each of the two schools, the teenagers had their first bilateral meeting in early January.

Plans for 10 Workshops during 2000-2001. Peace Child Israel had plans for opening TEN workshops during the 2000-2001 cycle. However four sites had to be abandoned due to financial considerations. This is perhaps one of the greatest tragedies of its history that , at this most critical of moments, money, rather than commitment, was the roadblock towards peace-making. It is hoped that by September 2001, the organization will be able to facilitate the model for at least ten partnerships.

II. "Volunteers for Peace" - Setting an Example in the Community

The song "We Brought Peace Upon Us", which once "belonged" to Peace Child Israel exclusively, as its anthem, was given a new arrangement, at the initiative of its composer, Shlomo Gronich and presented at as a gift to a country in severe pain in the autumn of 2000.

Based on Arabic and Hebrew texts written by the teenagers from the Peace Child Israel millenium year workshops, the song We Brought Peace Upon us" was composed in February 2000 by Shlomo Gronich, in consultation with Mikhail Marun, oud. Israel Prize winner Ehud Manor and Mr. Magid Abu Rokun transformed the text of the teenagers into lyrics for the anthem which was first performed with all the "graduating" teenagers of the 1999-2000 workshops on July 2, 2000.

In mid-November 2000, during a period comprehensive despair, at the initiative of composer Shlomo Gronich and with the support of Hed Arzi Records, JCS Productions and Next Generation Productions, a new arrangement of the song was recorded for video clip and compact disc. "Volunteers for Peace" is exactly what it says: individuals and corporations volunteering for peace, at a time when a majority of the populations, inside the Green Line and beyond, were committed to attack and revenge. 20 Arab and Jewish professional vocal and instrumental artists, together with Arab and Jewish teenagers from the Peace Child Israel workshops and elementary school children from Qalansua and Tel Aviv, set personal agendas aside and answered the call at a moment's notice, to share their talents in an effort to make a small contribution to healing in the community. The anthem was heard on radio and seen on television screens throughout the country.

III. Conference for School Principals in Light of the Rupture

· Reality Testing and Strategies for Coexistence Initiatives - November 5, 2000. In light of the traumatic developments, Peace Child Israel organized a conference for the school principals, community center directors and educators involved in the project for the purpose of allowing a venue for these individuals who are rarely provided an opportunity to meet in a cross-cultural environment to both share their concerns and brainstorm for solutions. Mr. Noah Salameh concluded the conference with his perspective of "The Rationale for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation in the Aftermath". Mr. Salameh, now director of the Center for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation in Bethlehem, served 15 years in an Israeli prison for his membership in PFLP.

IV. Emergency Staff Training in Light of the Rupture

· Two-day intensified facilitator Training - November 10 and 11, 2000 at Newe Shalom

The Peace Child Israel staff were no less subject to the challenges of the new political situation and the need to provide a venue for the staff to process the trauma themselves, before facing the teenagers, was recognized in late October. The format and objectives of the training was two-fold.

1) "After the Initial Trauma" MARWAN DARWIESH (IPCRI) and SHAI SCHWARTZ (Newe Shalom) co-facilitated the opening of the two-day summit. Stop-gap measures for "the meeting after the rupture" between teenagers were the opening item on the agenda.

2) "Psychology of a Conflict" Dr. Yitzhak Mendelssohn, worked with the group using portions of the "Face-to-Face" model which he co-facilitated in the early 1990's between Palestinian and Israelis for an in-depth look at mutual suffering.

As a relief from the very intensive work during the two days at Newe Shalom, the staff were treated to a brief respite with the guest musicians who have become a part of the PCI family.

From:

Givat Gonen
School in the Spirit of The Labor Movement Principals
Yael Burg, Principal

October 11, 2000