Arab and Jewish Kindergarteners 

Quietly Making History

[An article distributed by Len & Libby Traubman 
of http://traubman.igc.org/global.htm on May 30th, 2006]

Fifteen Arab and Jewish children are quietly making history, in Hilf, a small Arab village near Haifa, Israel. 

Their Ein Bustan ("spring in the garden") kindergarten is the first in the world in which children of both backgrounds learn together in a Waldorf educational setting. 

The Arab and Jewish populations in Israel live within very close distances of each other.
Yet, aside from commercial ties, they have minimal contact as well as separate educational systems. 

This separation accounts for fear, tension and violence that erupt and disturb the potential for co-existence and peace. 

They have decided to transcend the separation, and to finally engage.
On Fridays, the children light candles and bake challah in preparation for the Jewish Sabbath.
At the same time, they recite a blessing in Arabic that speaks of 'kneading the dough together, Arab and Jew,' and of 'living in peace, with God's help.'

Their exemplary Web site is in Arabic, Hebrew and English -- http://ein-bustan.org/ .
Hopefully this kind of engagement and education can overcome more borders.
In the Holy Land and around Earth.

Each of us can find a way to help that happen.
Step by step. – Libby & Len Traubman - LTraubman@igc.org

Palestinian's organs go to Israel

Ahmed was shot by Israeli soldiers who thought his toy gun was real The parents of a Palestinian boy killed by Israeli soldiers in the West Bank have donated his organs for use in Israel, in the hope of promoting peace. Twelve-year-old Ahmed Ismail Khatib was shot in the town of Jenin by troops who mistook his toy gun for a real one. His organs were transplanted into five Israeli children and a woman aged 58. His father, Ismail, said saving lives was more important than religion, and added: "I feel that my son has entered the heart of every Israeli." Ahmed died in hospital from his injuries after being shot in the body and head while throwing stones at Israeli soldiers who were hunting suspected militants in Jenin. The Israeli army expressed regret over his shooting. 'Gesture of love' Israel's parliamentary speaker, Reuven Rivlin, praised the Khatib family's action as a "remarkable gesture" after decades of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. Mr Khatib said he was very proud that his son's organs would help six Israelis. "I have taken this decision because I have a message for the world: that the Palestinian people want peace - for everyone," he told the AFP news agency. "We have no problem whether it is an Israeli or a Palestinian [who receives his organs] because it will give them life," added the boy's mother, Ablah Khatib. Ahmed's kidneys, liver, heart and lungs were transplanted into Israelis including Jews, Arabs and a Druze girl, medical officials said. The girl, aged 12 and from Israel's Arab minority, received Ahmed's heart, bringing to an end a five-year wait for a transplant. Her father, Riad Gadban, called the donation a "gesture of love" and said his daughter was regaining strength after the operation.

Note: "Distribution" refers to large-scale distribution of The Way To Happiness booklets.

JOINT PRESS RELEASE  [excerpt]

11/28/2002

IMPORTANT BUT FRAGILE PRAGMATIC1 SHIFTS IN PALESTINIAN AND ISRAELI PUBLIC OPINION TOWARD THE INTIFADA2 AND THE PEACE PROCESS

The Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research (PSR) in Ramallah and the Harry S. Truman Research Institute for the Advancement of Peace at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem, have conducted a joint survey of Palestinian and Israeli public opinion.

Summary of Results

I. Fragile Signs of Pragmatism

• Despite the fact that no change has been registered on Palestinian attitudes toward violence, 76% of the Palestinians support the mutual cessation of violence by Palestinians and Israelis. Last August, only 48% of the Palestinians supported a gradual cease-fire between the two sides. In Israel 96% of the public support a mutual cessation of violence by both sides. 
  

• Despite the fact that 82% are worried that it might lead to internal strife, a majority of 56% of Palestinians supports taking measures by the PA3 to prevent armed attacks against Israelis inside Israel after reaching an agreement on mutual cessation of violence. Last May, a large majority of 86% opposed the arrest of those who organize suicide attacks inside Israel. The current support for security measures against those who carry out armed attacks inside Israel is similar to the one registered in March 1996 (59%) in the aftermath of the suicide attacks carried out by Islamists in February and March of that year. 
  

• A significant pragmatic shift is evident in the Israeli public as well: 62% of Israelis support now the dismantling of most settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as part of a peace agreement with the Palestinians, compared to 52% in November last year and 38% right after the Camp David summit and before the eruption of the Intifada. Until an agreement is reached, 64% of the Israeli public support a freeze on further expansion of the settlements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

II. Reconciliation among Israelis and Palestinians

There is a surprisingly small impact of the two-year long Intifada on Palestinians' and Israelis' sentiments towards reconciliation given a state of peace and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Under such conditions, 73% of the Palestinians and 75% of the Israelis would support a process of reconciliation despite the ongoing hostilities. While Palestinians would mainly support open borders and economic cooperation, Israelis see more favorably than Palestinians changes in the school curriculum, cessation of incitement in public discourse and social interaction.

A New Intifada is Born [excerpt]
by Daoud Kuttab
Published on Monday, September 30, 2002 in the Toronto Globe & Mail

The time was almost midnight, on Sept. 20, when a number of satellite television stations interrupted their regular programming to announce that Israeli soldiers had warned Palestinians living near Yassir Arafat's headquarters in Ramallah that the building would be blown up in 15 minutes if those inside it didn't come out.

Within those tense minutes, the streets of Ramallah filled with ordinary Palestinians. Marchers, often led by women, increased in number as people trapped in their homes for days on end decided to shake off the injustice that had befallen them. Many demonstrated more in defense of their national honor than in support of Mr. Arafat.

The popular uprising that began in the Ramallah neighborhood of Umm al Sharit quickly spread to Nablus, Tulkarem, Gaza and Bethlehem. The next day, women and men came out with pots and pans and beat on their household utensils as a sign of anger and protest. The following day, a candlelight vigil was held as a way to break what people considered a repressive curfew.

In 1987, Palestinians introduced the term intifada into the international lexicon, when thousands of youths armed with nothing more than stones rose up against Israeli guns and tanks. In the fall of 2000, when rioting broke out following the visit of Ariel Sharon to the area around the al Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, many called those protests the al Aqsa, or second, intifada. Now, with what happened the evening of Sept. 20 in Ramallah, I believe we are witnessing the birth of the third intifada...

Daoud Kuttab is director of the Institute of Modern Media at Al-Quds University in Ramallah.   dkuttab@ammannet.net
© 2002  Daoud Kuttab. All rights reserved. This excerpt is printed by permission of the author.  

Definitions:

1) pragmatic: more practical, less concerned with political theories.

2) intifada: Arabic for "uprising", referring to the current Palestinian uprising.

3) PA: Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian government.