Mazen Abu-Hijleh, Vice President of our Association, delivers The Way to Happiness® workshop in Arabic for Em Al Maksoor Summer Camp, July 2005. Mazen did fast-track training on the workshops, and immediately put his training and fluent Arabic to work delighting kids with stories, skits and activities that introduce values like “Try to treat others as you would want them to treat you.”  

Volunteers Work Miracles in Middle East !

     Mazen Abu-Hijleh, Vice President for Palestinian Affairs of the Association, met with the Palestinian Minister of Education and achieved a breakthrough in the Ministry’s program to implement the Study Technology of L. Ron Hubbard, the largest such program on the planet – over 1,000,000 students.  On his trip to the Middle East, Mazen also co-ordinated with a local peace group on an exciting new project. Wendy Honnor, Freedom Medal Winner and International Ambassador for the Association, is co-ordinating with Israeli youth leaders, one of whom e-mailed her, “Your technology works like magic…[I’m] waiting for the next meeting. Israel is waiting for you.” Mazen’s and Wendy’s trips were partly funded by donations to our Association. They will be reporting to supporters on the specifics of what was accomplished and the exciting next steps at our August 27^th briefing in Los Angeles.

Mazen Abu-Hijleh with senior officials of Palestinian Ministry of Education: (right to left) Ms. Zeinab Habash, General Secretary; Dr. Abu Hommos, Minister of Education; Dr. Ghazi Abu-Sharkh, Director of General Training & Supervision

Wendy  Honnor (holding her birthday cake) and Danny Vididslavski, Executive Director (on her left) with volunteers of Israeli The Way to Happiness chapter.

Middle East Blossoms – With Hope!!

     I don't know when I've felt more INSPIRED and more EXCITED about what we are doing in the Middle East! A confluence (coming and streaming together) of amazing leaders are now making things happen in the Middle East. Details below. –Alexandra Hopkins,Editor

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     Palestinian and Israeli government agencies and other “Movers and Shakers” are joining The Way to Happiness^® Campaign and implementing the Study Technology of L. Ron Hubbard ~

¨                   Israeli Workshop Program. Over 50,000 Israelis have participated in workshops on The Way to Happiness in government agencies, classrooms, businesses, clubs and community centers.

¨                   Palestinian Ministry of Education uses The Way to Happiness booklet in student counseling

and has already trained 30 senior officials on Study Technology, with plans for more. 

¨                   Israeli youth leaders are in discussions to develop

Ashleigh Prince and Palestinian Children Want Peace!    Ashleigh traveled to the Middle East in July as both an APUME volunteer and Executive Director of the Foundation for Human Rights & Tolerance. Palestinian officials have requested a Human Rights program for kids which will teach about the value of core freedoms like those of religion and speech.

youth programs with us.

¨                   A Major Middle East peace group based in the Middle East, New York City and Los Angeles, is in discussions to co-ordinate with us on our programs.

Participants at The Way to Happiness Workshop given for an Israeli Lions Club of Haifa in late June.

¨                   Criminon is expanding to 9 Israeli prisons, with funding by the Israeli government.

¨                   Narconon International, in co-ordination with our Vice President, Mazen Abu-Hijleh, is exploring the possibility of setting up their first Palestinian drug rehabilitation program.

¨                   Two Israeli Applied Scholastics schools are thriving.

¨                   Debbi Mace, Freedom Medal Winner, spoke at a major European Fashion Industry benefit in July. She arranged that the proceeds, $120,000, be donated to benefit Palestinian children through a tutoring program and a peace group.

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From an Israeli reader of The Way to Happiness booklet – “People eat it up like hot rolls. I thank you very much from all my heart.” - Yakov

     Young artist is awarded first prize, a new bike, for his poster on  “Enough of Violence.” Danny Vidislavki (standing), Executive Director of our sister organization in Tel Aviv, the Association for Prosperity & Security in the Middle East, ran the children’s art contest in June. In the last few months, the Association has also run two other contests, one for songs and one for posters, with themes taken from The Way to Happiness^® booklet.

     100,000 more The Way to Happiness booklets were printed for the Middle East in July. Booklets are given out as inserts in newspapers and magazines, at workshops which introduce the booklet, and in response to requests by phone and mail.  With your donations, in the week of July 4^th, our Israeli sister organization printed 100,000 more booklets in Hebrew! Over 2,300,000 booklets have been printed for distribution in the Middle East since October 2000.   

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What Israeli Fifth Graders Learned

from The Way to Happiness^® Workshops

     “I’m learning that giving more makes you feel good and also gives a good feeling to the receiver. “

     “I learned that you need to respect and not hit and not act mean. Because if we act that way, there will be wars and life will not be good and beautiful. People are not bad; their behavior is.”

    “I’ve learned that violence is not good and should not be used. If one person uses violence against another person, then it passes onto many more people.” 

    “Violence can appear. Happiness can appear. We can choose which one.”  

      200 APUME supporters gathered in Los Angeles for our First Annual 4^th of July Barbecue!

     The kids joyously bounced in the “jumper” and splashed in the wading pool. Fantastic fireworks! Wonderful to have Palestinians, Israelis, Christians, Jews and Muslims, and just plain old Americans, all in one big GET-TOGETHER!