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Two
sister chapters, one in Israel, one in the U.S., work
together, hand in glove, to distribute The Way to
Happiness booklets to Palestinians and Israelis.
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Tel
Aviv: Volunteers
of the Association for Prosperity & Security in the
Middle East (APSME). Volunteers: about 25.
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Los
Angeles: Fundraising
picnic of the Association for Peace & Understanding in
the Middle East (APUME) in Los Angeles. Volunteers: about
30.
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Palestinians:
Much
of the distribution of booklets among Palestinians this year
was coordinated by the Association for Prosperity &
Security in the Middle East (APSME) in Tel Aviv and carried
out by a volunteer network of about 100 Palestinian
university students.
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Clearwater:
Fundraising
event of the
Association
for Peace & Understanding in the Middle East (APUME).
Volunteers
in Clearwater: about 5.
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FOUNDED
IN THE YEAR 2000: Both
the Israeli chapter and the U.S. chapter were founded upon the
collapse of peace talks between Palestinians and Israelis and the
resumption of violence in September 2000. In Los Angeles, Joan
Lonstein, a Freedom Medal Winner and Hagit Raviv-Ron, an
Israeli-American, founded the Association for Peace &
Understanding in the Middle East (APUME) and asked Avi Lonstein to
become Executive Director. In Tel Aviv, Danny Vidislavski, a business
consultant, founded the Association for Prosperity and Security in the
Middle East (APSME). For the most part, the U.S. chapter raises funds
and provides overall direction and management. The Israeli chapter
originates, co-ordinates and carries out projects.
As
distribution of The Way to Happiness booklets accelerates in
the Middle East --- at last, a turn towards peace.
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The
suicide bombings and retaliations of the last three years have
claimed thousands of lives. The closure of Israeli borders has
prevented Palestinians from working at their jobs in Israel.
Both the Palestinian and Israeli economies have been battered
by the conflict. Palestinian suffering has become a cause
celebre throughout the Arab and Muslim world and has
polarized world opinion between those who side with the
Palestinians and those who side with Israel. The conflict is
considered to be key source of friction between the Arab world
and the West and a contributing factor to terrorism.
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Palestinian
refugees.
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Suicide
Bombing of an Israeli bus.
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APSME*
and APUME*, working together, greatly accelerated distribution
of The Way to Happiness booklets in 2003. From
2000-2002, we distributed about 645,000 booklets. We were able
to distribute an additional 1,275,000 booklets in 2003. While
we cannot claim that the accelerated distribution is
responsible, a swing of public opinion towards peace has
occurred this year. Middle Eastern leadership has responded
with several promising steps towards peace:
¨
In
June, Israelis and Palestinians returned to the negotiating
table and began the “Road Map” peace talks.
¨
In
the fall, Palestinian leadership shifted in a more moderate
direction.
¨
When
the Road Map peace talks stalled, a group of current and
former Palestinian and Israeli government officials unveiled
the Geneva Accord, a non-binding model peace plan which has
generated international interest and created new hope for a
solution to the conflict.
*
The Way to Happiness Fdn. chapters: Assoc for Prosperity &
Security in the Middle East and Assoc for Peace &
Understanding in the Middle East.
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APUME*
and APSME* bring The Way to Happiness materials
to
the Middle East.
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New
Materials
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Achievement
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Arabic
edition of The Way to Happiness booklet
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Re-translated
for increased accuracy.
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Russian
edition of The Way to Happiness booklet, for use in
the Middle East
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New
cover designed and printed by The Way to Happiness
Foundation.
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Association
for Peace and Understanding edition of The Way to
Happiness booklet, for use in the U.S.
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New
cover designed and printed by The Way to Happiness
Foundation.
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The
Russian edition of The Way to Happiness booklet for
the Middle East in one of the Russian newspapers which
distributed it.
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Palestinian
university student volunteer, unloading The
Way to Happiness
booklets from a truck.
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Israeli
women soldiers read one of the 12,000 The Way to
Happiness booklets distributed to Israeli army bases
through the Ma’ariv newspaper.
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Printing
of Materials
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The
Way to Happiness booklets,
Hebrew
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290,000
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The
Way to Happiness booklets,
Russian
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100,000
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The
Way to Happiness booklets,
English
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1,000
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Total booklets printed in 2003
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391,000
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The
Way to Happiness
posters, Hebrew
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4,000
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The
Way to Happiness
lesson plans, Hebrew
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1,300
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The
Way to Happiness
lesson plans, Arabic
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500
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Distribution
of Materials
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The
Way to Happiness
booklets, Hebrew
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680,000
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The
Way to Happiness
booklets, Arabic
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510,000
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The
Way to Happiness booklets,
Russian
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85,000
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Total
booklets distributed in 2003
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1,275,000
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Total
booklets distributed since start of project, Oct. 2000
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1,920,000
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The
Way to Happiness
posters, Hebrew
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4,000
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The
Way to Happiness
posters, Arabic
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3,000
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Total
posters distributed in 2003
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7,000
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The
Way to Happiness
lesson plans (teaching guides), Hebrew
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1,300
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The
Way to Happiness
lesson plans (teaching guides), Arabic
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500
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Total
lesson plans distributed in 2003
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1,800
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*The
Way to Happiness Fdn. chapters: Assoc for Peace & Understanding in
the Middle East and Assoc for Prosperity & Security in the Middle
East.
How
are The Way to Happiness precepts brought home?
The
School Program
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Hebrew-speaking
Israeli students at a The Way to Happiness workshop.
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Arabic-speaking
Israeli students at a The Way to Happiness
workshop.
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Children
acting out precepts at an Israeli summer camp in Kiryat Gat.
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A
volunteer workshop leader (right) poses with Israeli school
principal
(left) and supervisor (middle).
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In
2003, eight of our Tel Aviv volunteers began a new program
--- delivering workshops on The Way to Happiness
precepts in Israeli schools and summer camps. Sometimes the
workshops are delivered to teachers and principals so that
they in turn can deliver similar workshops to their
students. Many times, the workshops are delivered directly
to students. The workshops involve participants.
Participants come up with examples from their own lives of
times when a precept was followed – and what the happy or
unhappy consequences were. Participants also act out
precepts in skits.
Summer
camps and schools have responded with enthusiasm and are
added to the waiting list for workshops. Workshops have been
delivered in religious schools, secular schools, public and
private, Arabic-speaking and Hebrew-speaking ---about half
and half in regard to the two languages. At each workshop, a
The Way to Happiness booklet is given to each
participant, a poster is given to each class, and a lesson
plan (guidance for teaching the booklet) is given to each
teacher so that he or she can continue the lessons during
the year. In
2003, the Association for Prosperity and Security in the
Middle East gave over 300 workshops for over 15,000 children
and staff.
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Setting
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Number
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Workshops
for
Children
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Number
of Children
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Workshops
for
Staff/Adults
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Number
of
Staff/Adults
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Total
Participants in 2003
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Schools
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62
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152
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11,100
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77
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1,
624
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12,724
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Summer
Camps
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21
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30
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1,500
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--
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--
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1,500
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Other
Settings
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60
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550
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17
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485
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1,035
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All
Settings
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83
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242
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13,150
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94
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2,109
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15,259
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How
else are The Way to Happiness precepts brought home?
Contests
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First
Prize Winner, The Way to Happiness Children’s
Poster Contest in which over 100 paintings were received: “I
think that if we would all live and agree with each
other’s religion, we could live in harmony and we won’t
have any dispute – we would all be one people and more
united than ever. And that is how one should live. Isn’t
it?” --- Chen Shimoni, First Prize Winner, 6th
Grade, Israel
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First
Prize Winner, The Way to Happiness Adult’s Poster
Contest: "I
read the booklet The Way to Happiness and was very
impressed. I chose Chapter 3, ‘Don’t Be Promiscuous.’
My poster demonstrates the real love - strong love that
unites husband and wife…" – Moran, First Prize
Winner, Adult Contest, Israel
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CONTESTS:
In 2003, the Association for Prosperity & Security in the Middle
East held six contests to involve readers with the booklet. The
largest ran in a Hebrew newspaper and quizzed readers on The Way to
Happiness precepts. Over 540 entries were received and virtually
all included an answer to a final optional question, “How will you
use the booklet?” Here’s an example answer, “To read this
booklet several times and to try to apply the material that is taught
from it; to take care to pass this booklet to all my acquaintances and
my family so they will benefit from this booklet too and apply it.
This booklet is very good.” The Grand Prize Winner won two
round-trip airline tickets to North America.
Other
contests included a painting contest for children, to which 100
paintings were submitted; a painting contest for adults; a second
newspaper quiz; a photo contest for schools showing how they had
posted The Way to Happiness poster; and a contest in which
entrants submitted photos of special ecological projects they created
based on a precept of The Way to Happiness booklet.
In addition, Tel Aviv volunteers conducted six surveys so that
appealing promotional materials and products could be developed. More
than 230 Israeli school principals answered one survey. Their biggest
concerns are violence (both physical and verbal abuse) and lack of
values. The Way to Happiness school workshops program was
launched in response to these results. Another survey was sent to city
mayors asking about their biggest concerns. With 25 responses, the
biggest concern is unemployment. Two workshops were given to
unemployed persons. A survey of 100 car drivers found that the most
popular precept in The Way to Happiness booklet is #20, “Try
to treat others as you would want them to treat you.” The
Association for Prosperity & Security in the Middle East is
planning to create a bumper sticker featuring this precept.
Psychologists, judges and community center managers were also
surveyed.
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What
Middle Eastern Readers Say About The Way to Happiness
Booklet
“A
little advice which I am going to try to adopt to myself
from now on is, for example, not to take revenge on those
who are trying to hurt me. An offense causes an offense
---bigger damage. It might be that we are not saints to the
degree of loving our enemies, but for our health and our
people, let’s at least forgive them and also forget
them”. --- Avrech
in Jerusalem
“There
are also many other advices for all Muslims to follow,
not only for their own benefit, but also for the
benefit of all human beings as well. All those who read
the booklet meet me with big smiles and glittering eyes
saying Allah yisidik: ‘May God makes you always happy.’
The book is now flying like a butterfly from one flower to
another. I've also sent it to some VIPs of the Palestinian
government.” ---
Ms. Zeinab Habash, General Secretary, Palestinian Ministry
of Education
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Major
Achievements in the Middle East in 2003
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Our
major achievement for 2003 is the distribution of over one
million The Way to Happiness booklets to Palestinians
and Israelis. The cumulative total over the last three years
is almost two million, for a population of nine million
Palestinians and Israelis. We have received hundreds of
success stories from readers this year, 540 alone from one
Israeli newspaper distribution. While we have not measured the
impact, the fact is that popular support for peace has risen
concomitant with our distributions, and peace talks are at
last underway.
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Israeli
volunteer delivering a school workshop.
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Ms.
Zeinab Habash, the General Secretary of the Palestinian
Ministry of Education and a key supporter of our Associations.
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Israeli,
Palestinian and American executives of the Association meet in
Los Angeles in March.
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Special
Middle Eastern cover for the Arabic translation of The Way
to Happiness booklet.
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In 2003, the Israeli school workshops were launched. They have
already helped over 15,000 children and adults,
Arabic-speaking and Hebrew-speaking, to take their first steps
on the Way to Happiness. In addition to success stories by
workshop participants, the program received 50 letters of
endorsement from Israeli schools.
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Through the efforts of Ms. Habash, the Palestinian Ministry of
Education has committed to implementing The Way to
Happiness booklets as a part of the Palestinian school
system curriculum. It has also committed to implementing the
Study Technology of Applied Scholastics International (APS)
and is currently making arrangements to send its first four
master teachers for training, funded by APUME*, at the APS
campus in St. Louis, Missouri.
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In 2003, our American, Israeli and Palestinian executives met
four times for planning sessions, both in the U.S. and Israel.
Additionally, in October, both Ms. Habash, a key Palestinian
supporter, and Mr. Shuki Mariachi, President of APSME*, spoke
at the Grand Opening of the Way to Happiness Foundation building
in L.A.
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Working in conjunction with the Palestinian Ministry of
Education, APUME* prepared a new, more accurate translation of
the Arabic edition of The Way to Happiness booklet. The
translation is now fully upgraded for wide-scale distribution
throughout the Arab world.
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