Jewish Israeli youth, with
Palestinian peers in Israel and in Gaza, are listening and talking in new ways
-- discovering what educator Ms. Gene Knudsen Hoffman first taught us:
More about the power of Story is at http://traubman.igc.org/story.htm
and in Hoffman's book, COMPASSIONATE LISTENING, described at:
Are you looking for new kinds of
heroes in the Middle East?
Ms. Gal Springman ( Language_Connections@hotmail.com
) in Tel Aviv, teams with Ms. Samira Shaaban-Allison ( npacl@dptech.ps ),
founder in 1994 of the Palestinian Ibrahimi Language Center in Gaza.
They believe that multi-media language and quality
communication can bridge the present wide gulfs between diverse peoples and
change the direction of history.
See the essence of their work on the Web site of Language
Connections:
First, Samira and Gal, with their colleagues,
are helping their students learn English. Experience is
increasingly revealing that using English is often better than making one
learn the other's language. At the same time, it is respected that
there are moments when we best express strongly held thoughts and emotions in
our own tongue.
The Jewish and Palestinian youth -- separately at
first -- are taught how to tell and listen to their own stories
respectfully.
Then they are provided with cameras, and taught
photography skills and how to upload their personal-experience
self-narratives onto the Web in words and pictures, for the
"others" to see and appreciate across distances.
They call it "SNOWblog" -- Self Narratives
on the Web.
Out of respect for the youth, their shared blogs are
in a "gated community," but with its front yard very open to you at:
There's more.
For the next step, they bring the Palestinian and
Jewish students together face to face, while including their whole families.
As you might expect, initial experiences within
Israel reveal full participation and great enthusiasm among all the Jewish
and Palestinian youth and families in this patient, creative process that
works in real life.
Soon will be included (1) face-to-face meeting
with the Gazans once the border is more open, and (2) inclusion of participants
from Hebron and East Jerusalem who are now signed up to participate once needed
funding is discovered.
The principles for this
successful Dialogue "on the ground" is described in their abstract,
on the Web at:
English Language Teaching and
Life-Story Narrative Workshops as a Contributing Educational Environment in
Intercultural Education and Peace Education, for Youth Belonging to Communities
in Violent Conflict
Gal
Springman, Language Connections Organization, Israel
Samira
Shaaban-Allison, Ibrahimi Language Center-Gaza, Gaza
Judy
Cohen, Israel
Nasrin
Altouri, Kfar Kassem, Israel
Elana
Cheshin, Beit Berl College, Israel
We
conclude with a 1997 observation of Samira in Gaza, which resides on the
Web at http://traubman.igc.org/wisdom.htm
:
"During the
many years of my career as a Hebrew teacher for Palestinians in Gaza, and
as an Arabic teacher for the Jews and foreigners at Ulpan Akiva in Israel,
I have heard the same kinds of questions and comments expressed by both sides,
showing how ignorant we are about one another. We know nothing about each
other,
in spite of being the children of sister Semitic languages and having
the same cultural roots."
Samira Shaa'ban Srur Fadil
Director, Palestinian Abraham Language School
Rimal, Gaza
We hope this encourages you and gives you further
ideas for your own initiatives in the needed public peace process.