World's first Arab-Jewish Waldorf kindergarten, in
Monday, 29 May 2006
Fifteen Arab and Jewish children are quietly
making history, in Hilf, a small Arab village
near
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.
Children also travel from Kiryat
Tivon, a Jewish town, and the nearby Arab
The Arab and Jewish populations in
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 also recite a blessing in
Arabic 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
Each of us can find a way to help that happen.
Step by step.
Published by Israel21c (21st century) -- Sunday, May 28,
2006
http://www.israel21c.org/bin/en.jsp?enZone=Culture&enDisplay=view&enPage=BlankPage&enDispWhat=object&enDispWho=Articles^l1318
When Ahmed met Avshalom
By Leora Eren Frucht
The children are pushing wooden wheelbarrows,
clambering up the jungle gym, and cuddling floppy dolls. It is a scene you might
observe in any ordinary kindergarten.
But listen carefully and you'll hear the
not-so-typical banter of Hebrew and Arabic in one room. Look again, and you'll
notice that the dolls lack features on their faces.
Welcome to Ein Bustan, the first Arab-Jewish Waldorf kindergarten in
Here in the small Bedouin
Ahmed is seated in a wheelbarrow, being pushed by Avshalom. "Take me over there," Ahmed shouts in
Hebrew - a language that was foreign to him until a few months ago.
"There are days," says kindergarten teacher Ola Wadim Zidan,
"when these two are inseparable."
It wasn't always so.
"When this kindergarten opened in September,
2005, there were two distinct groups," notes Gidi
Heman, the other kindergarten teacher, who, like Zidan, is bilingual.
Heman recalls how the
youngsters - aged 3 to 6 - used odds and ends to build 'homes'. "The
Arabic-speaking children built one home, and the Hebrew-speaking children built
another home. Neither would allow a member of the other language group to play
in their home," says Heman, describing, in a
sense, the overall reality of life in
"We didn't force anything. Over time, things just
changed. Now," Herman tells ISRAEL21c, with a sweeping gesture that takes
in all the children, "there are no groups divided by language - the
children all play with each other.
"It's become completely natural for them,"
says Heman, a veteran Waldorf educator who is Jewish,
and teaches alongside Zidan, who is Druse.
The kindergarten was formed at the initiative of Amir Shlomian, a peace activist,
musician, and educator, who was trained in the London Waldorf Teacher Training
Seminar.
The Waldorf educational system is part of the anthroposophic philosophy developed by Austrian Jewish
scientist Rudolf Steiner. The curriculum is designed to nurture the child's
imagination - that's why the faces of the dolls at Ein-Bustan
are featureless. You won't find any television or videos here either, but you
will find children sewing, baking and planting wheat. There is strict adherence
to teaching subjects in a way that is appropriate to the child's developmental
stage - as outlined by Steiner - with heavy emphasis on art and music in a
non-competitive setting.
Since the first Waldorf school
opened its doors in
It was clear to Shlomian, a
resident of Kiryat Tivon,
that he would educate his own young son, Avshalom, in
a Waldorf framework. But it was a single powerful incident that convinced him
of the need for an Arab-Jewish setting.
After spending five years abroad, Shlomian
returned to
"Other drivers panicked," he recalls to
ISRAEL21c. "I put out the fire, and pushed the tires aside. It wasn't
difficult at all. But others were too frightened and angry to do that. That's
when I realized that I must do something to allay the fears we have about each
other.
"I thought to myself: What's the point of giving
my child a Waldorf education if it doesn't relate to this overwhelming social
problem - relations between Arabs and Jews, our fear of 'the other.'"
Together with Samer Zubidat, a dedicated social worker and community activist
in the neighboring Arab
Some parents chose the kindergarten out of ideology.
But for most, that was secondary. Rachel and Alon
Gottlieb missed the deadline for registering their 6-year old son, Yotam, in the Waldorf kindergarten in Kiryat
Tivon, where their older sons had gone. Rachel
decided to enroll Yotam in Ein
Bustan because she was so impressed with the
kindergarten teachers.
Now she is sorry her two other sons didn't have the
opportunity to attend such a kindergarten.
"They're jealous that their younger brother knows
Arabic," says Gottlieb. "It's also been enriching for me," she
adds. "This is the first time I'm forming real ties with my Arab
neighbors. We, mothers, got together to sew dolls and blankets for the
kindergarten; the fathers built benches. There is a wonderful spirit formed
when you work together for the good of your children."
Hisham and Samahir Hilf who live in Bosmat Tab'un were not happy with
the local kindergarten their son was attending. "He is very energetic and
the staff didn't seem able to deal with him," says Samahir.
A friend recommended Ein Bustan. They say that since their child switched
kindergartens, he is blossoming. In the meantime, they have come to appreciate
the unique qualities of Ein Bustan.
"I think it will only benefit Ahmed to know
Hebrew and to be exposed to the traditions of others," says his father, Hisham. Samahir is delighted that
her son will have a male role model in kindergarten teacher Gidi
- who cooks and cleans - something he wouldn't often see in his own community.
There are currently four Jewish-Arab schools in
Running a dual culture classroom is not without
challenges. Teachers at Ein Bustan
read stories in both languages, and mark the holidays of both communities. They
recently held a Passover Seder, and in the fall, marked Eid
Al Fitr, the end of the Ramadan fast.
On Fridays, the children light candles and bake challah in preparation for the Jewish Sabbath, but they
also recite a blessing in Arabic, composed by Zidan,
that speaks of 'kneading the dough together, Arab and Jew,' and of 'living in
peace, with God's help.'
Not all the differences can be glossed over with a
song. Israeli Independence Day is regarded by Palestinians as the 'Naqba' - or 'catastrophe,' - the day they lost their land.
At Ein Bustan, neither day
is marked.
"There are differences you just can't bridge -
especially at such a young age," says Shlomian.
Conveniently, perhaps, this is in keeping with Waldorf philosophy, according to
which children don't learn history or geography until they are much older.
"We don't have all answers," admits Shlomian. "This is an experiment in progress. But I
feel there is something right about it."
What impact can this admittedly small experiment have?
"In Judaism, we say that if you save one life it's as though you have
saved a world. So, if one person raises his children differently, that can have
a ripple effect," says Shlomian, noting that
parents in another Beduin village - who have heard
about Ein Bustan - have
expressed interest in setting up a similar kindergarten in their community.
Ein Bustan
already has 20 children signed up for next year. Now, Shlomian
and other parents are looking ahead to first grade, working feverishly to set
up a school - or at least a classroom within an existing school - that will
enable their children, Arabs and Jews, to continue to grow side by side within
a Waldorf setting.