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LIVING IN THE OASIS OF PEACE
Presentation & Discussion

April 10, 2005
Summary by Phoebe Hoss

On Sunday, April 10, at 1:00, two long-time residents of the binational village in Israel of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, or "Oasis of Peace," spoke to us about this inspiring community. The program was put on by the Peace Task Force and the Adult Education Program of All Souls and introduced by Diana Armbruster, the local representative of the Oasis of Peace.

Abdessalam Najjar, the Palestinian mayor of the town, and Michal Zak, an Israeli member of it, took turns speaking and answering questions.

Founded in the 1970s by Father Bruno Hussar, the village today has fifty families - half Arab, half Israeli, all Israeli citizens, with similar professional backgrounds - who have chosen to live together and try to cooperatively seek solutions to the problems caused by the "active and bloody conflict" in which their lives are embedded. One of the problems, hard to eradicate, is the radical inequality between Israelis and Palestinians, ingrained from a young age leading the latter to fear the former and these to feel superior.

The village has bilingual primary and junior high schools, in which both Hebrew and Arabic are taught and children of both backgrounds study together. It is the only such bilingual school recognized by Israel's Ministry of Education. Though taught equally, the Arabs were quicker to learn Hebrew than the reverse, Hebrew being the dominant language of the surrounding country.

There is also a School for Peace where more than 35,000 teenagers of both sides have come together to discuss issues of identity and examine patterns of behavior that lead to conflict between Israelis and Arabs. There are 4 such schools now, 1 in Jerusalem.

Their aim is try to turn their respective religions from their present practice of justifying war to their original purpose: peace. Michal Zak, an Israeli, opposes Israel's present policy.

In the Q&A session , the following points were made:

The point is not to ascribe guilt to either side but to explore group and individual behavior, and try to change it.

• Re minority rights: It's not the numbers. It's the system that needs changing

• The 35,000 young people who have gone through the Peace School's training are much more aware of the issues and tend, in their various work places, to be in charge of them as well as sensitive to other issues of discrimination; they also work in peace movements in Israel. Also, in the last few years, many organizations have come to the Peace Schools for training; and during the intifada, new, smaller peace organizations came for moral and practical support.

• Re the issue of whether there should be one state or two:

  Abdessalam Najjar, the Palestinian mayor, is unsure what's best. We need, he says, a solution where both people feel secure, and doubts whether it will be workable to close the people in two enclaves. "We're so locked in anger, fear, to make us blind. Let's make it together."

  Michal Zak, the Israeli, spoke of a simulation game with a Palestinian group from Bethlehem who were for two states. "The Palestinians don't trust the Israelis even to dream," she said.

• Re explaining the conflict to children: it's not so much explaining as living together, with the other nearby sharing your table.

• Re help from the United States, the Americans should explore ways of helping beyond contributing military power.

• Re admitting families to the community: There's a special committee screening to see who is sufficiently mature socially and politically to be able to fit into the village's difficult, complicated life. Once accepted, new families with their children have bo be integrated slowly.

• The government doesn't approve of this enterprise, though it does recognize the elementary school as a Jewish school and provides funds for that aspect of it, but not for the Palestinian. The School for Peace gets no money, as it fears that if it did it might lose its independence.

• Finally, as for what Americans can do: Try to get the media's attention, as it's very difficult to raise awareness on this story. Appeal to your Congressional representatives. Visit the website for other ways: www.oasisofpeace.org.