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About the Village: Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam,
the "Oasis of Peace"
| Located mid-way between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem,
Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam is a community of 50 families, half Palestinian
and half Jewish, all with Israeli citizenship. Democratically governed
by an elected secretary general and secretariat (mayor & city
council), the village's mission is to demonstrate that Jews and Palestinians
can live together as equals. During even the most difficult times
in Israel, the residents of the village are committed to this ideal.
Through their various departments and educational projects, they reach
out to the surrounding communities, involving all those who want to
participate in lectures, workshops, and classes that further the work
of peace among Palestinians and Jews. They reach beyond their borders
with the message that "Peace is Possible." |
To view the Village's website, click on the banner below.
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History of the Village: Envisioning an
Oasis of Peace
Over thirty years ago, a man named Father Hussar first came to dwell
on the land in Israel that would come to be known as an Oasis of Peace,
home to a School for Peace and a primary school and to residents committed
to living together and respecting one another’s language and culture.
Inspired by a phrase in the book of Isaiah, Father Bruno envisioned
a manifestation of the Old Testament’s prophecy that “My
people shall dwell in an oasis of peace” (32:18). Neve Shalom/Wahat
al-Salam/Oasis of Peace was conceived of and nurtured by Father Bruno,
a Jew born in Egypt and a convert to Catholicism, who dedicated over
30 years of his life encouraging peaceful coexistence between Jews and
Arabs.
Father Bruno believed there were two “rights” in Israel and
Palestine: the right of Jews to inhabit the Jewish state created in 1948
and the right of Arabs to maintain their homeland and live as full citizens
in Israel. He envisioned the need for a place that could be a model for
peaceful coexistence between Arabs and Jews. In 1972, he camped without
modern conveniences upon a hillside that he leased from the nearby Trappist
Latrun Monastery for 25 cents a year for 100 years. In 1978, the first
family arrived to join him along with funds to begin construction on infrastructure
for water, sewage, and electricity.
Father Bruno later wrote of his idea, “We had in mind a small village
composed of inhabitants from different communities in the country. Jews,
Christians, and Muslims would live there in peace, each one faithful to
his own faith and traditions, while respecting those of the others. Each
would find in this diversity a source of personal enrichment.” Placing
Jews and Arabs together was only part of a goal that would involve providing
“the setting for a school for peace.” Father Bruno stated,
“For years there have been academies in the various countries where
the art of war has been taught. . . [W]e wanted to found a school for
peace, for peace too is an art. . . People would come here from all over
the country to meet those from whom they were estranged, wanting to break
down the barriers of fear, mistrust, ignorance, misunderstanding, preconceived
ideas—all things that separate us—and to build bridges of
trust, respect, mutual understanding, and, if possible, friendship. This
aim would be achieved with the help of courses, seminars, group psychology
techniques, shared physical work and recreational evenings” (from
Father Bruno’s autobiographical book When the Cloud Lifted published
in 1989).
Eight years after his death, Father Bruno’s objectives continue
to be fulfilled. The community has grown to 50 families, has hosted over
35,000 youth and adults at its internationally recognized School for Peace,
and educates almost 300 students in grades K-6 in its bilingual bicultural
primary school. “What is being done at NSWAS,” wrote Father
Bruno in 1991, “is the result of the efforts, of the vision, of
the tenacity of many men and women, from the beginning in 1970 up to today.”
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The School for Peace: Reaching Beyond Borders
The internationally renowned School for Peace reaches lives far beyond
the village
For over two decades, the School for Peace has been a dynamic center
of inter-group experience and research. Over 35,000 youth and adults have
participated in SFP workshops.
During the encounters, participants are encouraged to articulate their
opinions and emotions about Arab-Jewish relations and to listen to those
from the other side. While the encounters are not expected to solve differences,
they do provide a rare opportunity for both sides to hear the other. Through
dialogue, participants develop tools to help them cope with and understand
their role in the conflict that surrounds them. Recent events in the region
have only increased interest in such programs, and the extent to which
the School for Peace can respond to these requests depends on the ability
of supporters to make this possible.
Youth Encounters: From the beginning, the youth encounters have
been the main focal point at the School for Peace. Workshops are held
for Jewish and Arab high school seniors in both bi-national (Jews and
Arabs together) and uni-national (Jews only or Arabs only) settings. Uni-national
encounters are usually held with the intent to prepare participants to
engage in bi-national workshops.
University Courses: Four Israeli universities (Ben Gurion, Haifa,
Hebrew, or Tel Aviv) collaborate with the School for Peace by offering
courses through a variety of departments with the cooperation of experienced
facilitators from the School for Peace.
Women's Courses: Through Tel Aviv University School for Social
Work, the School for Peace offers a course that invites Arab and Jewish
women to lectures addressing topics in psychology, sociology, literature,
and political science. A similar course is underway at Ben Gurion University.
The School for Peace is also training women to become facilitators in
their own communities.
Israel-Palestine Encounters: The School for Peace hosts encounters
between citizens of Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Due to recent
events, these encounters between Palestinians and Israelis are being held
outside of the village in places like Cyprus.
Facilitator Training: Training others to use the School for
Peace conflict management method is in demand from educators and community
leaders. With approximately 170 hours of training provided by the School
for Peace, trainees learn to facilitate groups in conflict. Many graduates
now conduct conflict management programs in their home communities.
Research: Self-study and research are evolving at the School
for Peace. After conducting encounters for years, teachers and researchers
of the school are endeavoring to examine their methodologies and results
to track their progress more closely. This involves mainly qualitative
research studies that require in-depth interviews with participants and
facilitators. Additionally, the School for Peace is beginning to collect
materials for a library with an emphasis on Arab-Jewish relations, conflict
theory, and the role of education in society. Presently, a reading room
is open to the public.
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The Primary School: Educating for Peace
The Primary School offers a rare bilingual bicultural educational
experience
The J. Zel Lurie Primary School
enrolls Palestinian and Jewish children, all Israeli citizens living
in Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam or nearby communities, in kindergarten
through the seventh grade. The School was the first bilingual bicultural
school recognized by the Education Ministry of Israel.
The Primary School draws 90% of its 300 students from areas ranging
from Jerusalem to Ramle. These children travel daily by bus.
Each class consists of 24 students. The intensive bilingual environment
requires smaller class sizes and two teachers per class, one Jewish
and one Palestinian. The American Friends of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam
has raised funds for the expansion of the Primary School into a
junior high school to keep students longer in the bilingual bicultural
framework before they separate into their respective Jewish and
Arab high schools. |
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The Golder-Goodwin Language Center: Central to the Primary School's
mission is bilingual education. From first grade, all students are taught
to read, write, and speak in both Arabic and Hebrew. The language center
has been established specifically to address the learning of these languages
in such a way that students are able to manage all aspects of living in
both languages. This requires a unique and creative approach along with
real-life and hands-on applications, such as buying groceries and going
to the doctor's office. Multimedia resources such as television, video,
and computers are used as well. English is also integrated into the language
training.
Teacher Training and Curriculum: The Primary School and its
staff coordinate and provide teacher training for several schools that
are trying to incorporate bilingual methods into their curriculums. Principals
and teachers from surrounding schools learn from the Primary School teachers
who bring years of bilingual education experience in Israel to their teacher
methods. Currently, there are two schools (K-3) in the Galilee and Jerusalem
and one kindergarten in Jaffa that have drawn significantly on the Primary
School's curriculum for teaching bilingually in bicultural classrooms.
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The Primary School Partnership
Program
When you sponsor the education of a child, you effect a change on a new
generation—on the future. At Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam, where Jewish
and Palestinian children are educated together, you invest in the future
of peaceful coexistence in the Middle East. This model will gain strength
as the School’s children excel and extend their experiences to their
peers and friends. For just $850, you can give children an opportunity
for a bilingual, bicultural education that is unlike any other experience
available to Jewish or Arab children.
What is Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam?
Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam is a community of Israeli citizens, both Jews
and Arabs, who have chosen to live and educate their children together
as equals. This village, located midway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem,
features the only elementary school of its kind where Jewish and Arab
children learn side by side in integrated and bilingual classrooms. Each
class at the Primary School is taught jointly by one Arab and one Jewish
teacher, and all children are encouraged to strengthen their individual
cultural identities while they learn about the history, culture, and language
of the other side.
Why donate funds for children at NSWAS?
Hundreds of children from low to middle income Palestinian-Israeli and
Jewish-Israeli families currently attend the Primary School. The costs
to sustain a bilingual, bicultural curriculum surpass those of most Israeli
schools with smaller class sizes and two teachers per class required to
make bilingual education effective. After state funding, tuition fees,
and designated foundation grants, the School must still raise additional
funds to support the educational system.
How can I partner with the Primary School?
The Primary School Partnership Program operates as a tuition program
to allow the Primary School to partner with parents and friends in order
to maintain reasonable tuitions for all students. The objective is to
involve friends with the Primary School’s goals of promoting bilingual
bicultural education. This relatively small sum lets you learn, through
the eyes of the children, more about the special events at the school
during the year and in general to be a part of the educational system’s
efforts and achievements.
Partnering with the children of the Primary School may also be an excellent
project for a church, temple, mosque, or youth groups. Raising resources
together offers an opportunity for youth here in the United States to
become aware of the larger world and to see their responsibility in it.
To partner with the Primary School, please go to our secure page for
on-line donations, and check the appropriate box for the Primary School
Partnership Program. Donations can also be made via regular mail with
checks made out to American Friends of NSWAS at 4201 Church Road, Suite
4, Mt. Laurel, NJ 08054. Donations can be made in one lump sum or in installments.
All donations are tax deductible to the full extent of the law. A copy
of our annual filing is available upon request. If you have questions
regarding the Primary School Partnership Program, please call 856-235-6200
or e-mail us at afnswas@oasisofpeace.org.
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