Comes to
23 September 2005
In Summer,
2005, (1) at the most northern tip of
Clearly, these safe environments with supportive
hosting help people for the first time to move beyond enemies, and into
relationship, cooperation and collective creativity.
=== 1 ===
In Korea
Near the inter-Korean border, ten Israeli students
from Hebrew and Tel Aviv Universities and 10 Palestinian students from
Bethlehem and Birzeit Universities met. They were
joined by 10 Korean university students.
Gideon from
Ibrahim, from
"Next time we hope that North Korean students
will join the program," added Irina from
See a photo and read about the peace camp program
KOPAIS --
Israeli, Palestinian Students
Seek Common Ground in
By Park Chung-a
http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/culture/200509/kt2005090420155811690.htm
=== 2===
In California
"Middle East Peace Process Comes to California
Camp" headlined CBS TV Channel 5 news in San Francisco last Monday
evening, September 19, 2005.
140 Jewish and Palestinian youth and adults --
Muslims, Christians and Jews from the U.S. and Middle East -- had just
concluded the third annual Oseh Shalom~Sanea al-Salam Family
Peacemakers Camp near Yosemite National Park.
Holy Land participants who traveled 7,000 miles were
from the West Bank, and included Palestinians and Jews from
They included 14 youth and parents from Peace Child
Israel -- http://www.mideastweb.org/peacechild/
See KPIX-TV streaming video
interviews at http://cbs5.com/seenon/local_story_262192742.html
.
And see the station's slideshow at http://cbs5.com/slideshows/local_slideshow_262194057
.
Their full news report can be found several
pages into http://cbs5.com/video/?cid=130 .
Camp photos are on the
Updated Information about the camp will be kept at http://traubman.igc.org/camp2005.htm .
The larger family of 14 North American for the
Said an American Palestinian camper: "Thank you so much for a
wonderful weekend!!! (My daughter) and I made many friends. . .We had a fantastic and productive experience at
the camp."
An American Jewish participant added: "It
was truly a life and peace enhancing experience. Listening to people conversing
in Arabic and Hebrew added breadth and meaning to the weekend."
West Bank Palestinian: "Coming to the camp
was not an easy thing. . .it took me a while to make sure that I really wanted
to come. . .It's been a long time since I talked about my experiences. .
.Things are tough back home. . .When I first arrived in the camp, I felt odd. .
.I was confused. Why on earth do I have to remind myself of all the pain,
anger, and loss I feel. . .Will I really make any
change? I had so many questions with no answers. Now, I have an answer. . .it gave
me an inspiration that I will keep close to my heart as long as I live. . .it
left something in my mind and my soul. I know that something changed in my
heart and that change that started in my heart will not stop there. I had to go
through this process of talking and sharing. . .your dream has given me an
inspiration. . .It's almost impossible to expect a change right now, but
there's a first step in everything."
American Jewish participant: "Thank you for making my dream come true."
On Sunday, June 26,
2005, from
This
Please help build face-to-face relationships however
you can.
This harmless power travels and matters.
Published by j. the Jewish news weekly of Northern
California -- Friday, 23 September 2005
https://www.jweekly.com/2005/09/23/140-arabs-and-jews-share-magical-tawonga-weekend/
140 Arabs and Jews share magical Tawonga weekend
by Alexandra J. Wall
Staff Writer
Before he reached his teens, Suleiman al-Khatib began throwing stones at Israeli troops in his West
Bank village.
Then it was Molotov cocktails, and finally, he stabbed
someone.
The soldier was lightly wounded, and al-Khatib was sentenced to 10 years in Israeli prison. He was
14.
Now 33, al-Khatib told this
story again and again at Camp Tawongas Oseh-Shalom, Sanea-al-Salam Peacemakers
Weekend Sept. 16, 17 and 18.
Al-Khatibs story does not
end there. He picked up Hebrew in prison, and taught himself English. He read
as much as he could about Jewish history, the Holocaust and the founding of the
state of
Its a process, he said in an
interview at Tawonga. Its
not a shift just like this, but year by year. I and many Palestinian prisoners,
step by step, began to accept
In 2004, al-Khatib was one
of eight Israelis and Palestinians who traveled together to
Al-Khatib was one of about
20 people from the
The third annual peacemakers
weekend was vastly different than the first two, with far more people in
attendance and, in particular, many more from the
While al-Khatib, who could
sometimes be seen with a cigarette behind one ear as he waited for his next
cigarette break, calls himself an ex-fighter, the fact
that some might call him a terrorist was not lost on anyone.
We want to be as inclusive as possible, and anyone who
has an interest in furthering the peace process is welcome, said Michael Katten, a Tawonga board
member.
Suleiman doesnt betray our mission
at all, but rather its validating that someone like
him sees us as a vehicle for furthering peace.
And surely his presence affected many. I was trying to
imagine what it would have been like if we met when he was in prison and I was
in uniform, with full weapons, said Israeli Lior
Levi, 27, a five-time Tawonga staffer who has pledged
he will never again touch a gun.
Sitting by the
Also flown in from
The camp offered many opportunities for hearing each
others perspectives, even on difficult issues. In the stone amphitheater where
Shabbat services are usually held, participants discussed such contentious
issues as the fate of
After so much heavy conversation, a talent show was
followed by a dance on Saturday night, Sept. 17, where it was impossible to
tell the Jews from the Arabs. An Israeli staffer growing dreadlocks taught a
popular Israeli dance with belly dancing moves, and the septuagenarians boogied
as hard as anyone.
A 32-year-old Israeli native who lives in. . .(
Ann Gonski, a Tawonga director, said shed had no idea whether they could
pull this off, as they had never before attempted anything on this scale. But
seeing supposed enemies connect made her weepy.
On Monday night, Sept. 19, in an event organized by
the Traubmans, camp participants shared their stories
with the public at St. Marys Cathedral in
But even as new friendships were forged at camp, the
reality of two warring peoples was never too distant.
One example was when Jacob Mandelsberg,
a longtime Jewish dialogue participant from
Originally from
Everyone knew about Ansar,
he said. It was a big prison in the
Rather than go to military jail, Mandelsberg
chose to have his army profile lowered a permanent stain on his record. He felt
this would affect his ability to get a job so much that he returned to the
Listening carefully to his story and the pain in his
voice, Tarayrah, her brown eyes wide, said softly, You could have been my fathers jailer.
Tarayrah did not meet her
father until she was 5. He was sentenced to Ansar for
writing articles against the occupation when her mother was eight months
pregnant with her.
Had Mandelsberg chosen
differently, their time at Ansar would have
overlapped. It was a heartrending decision that he hasnt
regretted, and certainly not when he was sitting across from Tarayrah.
My father still has bruises and scars from his time in
prison, and you could have been the one who caused them, she told him.
His voice barely audible, he said, But I wasnt.