Bullying
and beyond – in the Middle East and worldwide
Tuesday, 30 March 2010
"The days of
humiliation, of second-class citizens
and of inequality
are over and gone forever."
Gerry Adams (1948- )
President, Sinn
Fein - Northern Ireland
BULLYING THE "ENEMY"
Too many teenagers are willing -- even trained -- to demean, dehumanize, and
further take revenge on perceived " enemies," Jerusalem Post
journalist Larry Derfner ( LDerfner@netvision.net.il ) recently reminded
humankind.
Training
our boys to be bullies
by Larry Derfner
The Jerusalem Post -- 17
February 2010
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Article.aspx?id=168967
BEYOND BULLYING
Australia
Another Israeli, Ronit Baras ( Ronit@togetherforhumanity.org.au ) lives in
Australia where a 2008 study revealed too many youth ages 10-18 harbor much
prejudice and racism, and hold dark, exaggerated stereotypes of people from
other cultures they have not met.
RESEARCH FINDINGS are at:
Students Together for
Humanity:
Final independent evaluation
report
January 2009
http://www.togetherforhumanity.org.au/resources/Final_Report_8-Jan-2009.pdf
Ronit describes her own youth in Israel and personal change.
"I
was in the first youth delegation going from Israel to Egypt after the 1980
peace Contract was signed.
Can
you imagine how brave my parents were for allowing me to go?
It
was an eye opening experience, realizing that the Egyptian kids ( we were
all 16 years old) were just like us, kids and meeting with their families
God, it was out of this world experience.
Look
at me now coordinating a program that will bring kids from different cultures
together and help them find out that we have more things in common than we
think .
I
think because of my experience, I am good at it and feel I am making a
difference."
Ronit is now Queensland Coordinator of TOGETHER FOR HUMANITY, an
Australian multi-faith organisation to reduce prejudice at its source with
positive experiences of diversity among Muslims, Christians, Jewish and
Indigenous people and others.
Face to face and shoulder to shoulder, they lead by
example to help Australia deal with difference in a true celebration of
diversity.
VIEW VIDEO and more:
Together
For Humanity
Teaching kids about
difference...differently
http://www.togetherforhumanity.org.au/
Jerusalem
The JERUSALEM INTERNATIONAL YMCA PEACE PRESCHOOL -- http://ellazimm.co.uk/gan/ -- has been a
model of living together for decades.
Today Forsan Hussein ( Forsan.Hussein@ymca.net ) is
its first-ever Arab CEO.
While the media may not show it and you might not know
it, the diverse children of the YMCA's Peace Preschool in Jerusalem make
coexistence a normal way of life.
Refusing to go up and down with the headlines, the
YMCA Peace Preschool has been succeeding for 25 years.
VIEW VIDEO at:
Coexistence
in Israel - YMCA Peace Preschool
3 minute video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OE65R26Jaqk
West Bank - North America
ENCOUNTER -- http://www.encounterprograms.org/
-- corrects one-sided views by providing Jewish Diaspora leaders from across
the religious and political spectrum with exposure to Palestinian life.
Directors are Rabbi Melissa Weintraub (
Melissa@encounterprograms.org ) in North America, and Ilana Sumka (
Ilana@encounterprograms.org ) in the Middle East.
They have taken over 750 current and rising Jewish
leaders and change agents from across the political spectrum on educational
visits to the West Bank and its people.
Through ground-breaking tours to Palestinian
cities and follow-up programming in North America, American Jewish engagement
regarding the Israeli-Palestinian relationship is being transformed by training
key Jewish leaders to address issues and foster safe, honest intra-Jewish
dialogue about Israel across ideological lines.
Encounter
5-minute video - March 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ABxcIT0HdrI
Pennsylvania, USA
Two exemplary evenings in Bucks County, Pennsylvania lifted citizens to
a new level in their local relationships and global understanding.
= = 1 = =
In Newton, Penn. "Bringing the Faiths Together: A Conversation" was
convened for citizens on March 21, 2010 by The Interfaith Community for Middle
East Peace (ICMEP).
The host was Rev. Bill Jacobsen, trained by The
Compassionate Listening Project -- http://www.compassionatelistening.org/
.
Jacobsen is also President-elect of the Delaware
Valley Chapter of the Association for Conflict Resolution, and Executive
Director of Trenton Mediation Services.
The 16 tables of attendees were facilitated by
Muslims, Christians, and Jews -- mostly individuals from the 2008
interfaith journey of the Compassionate Listening Project to Israel/Palestine.
"It was an absolutely amazing event," wrote
participant-organizer Larry Snider ( LD.Snider@yahoo.com ).
READ much more:
Different
faiths come together
by Manasee Wagh
Bucks County Courier Times --
Monday, 22 March 2010
= = 2 = =
In Yardley, Penn. CREATIVITY FOR PEACE -- http://www.creativityforpeace.com/
-- summer camp and year-around program for the MIddle East public peace
process provided two Palestinian and one Israeli young women of excellence to
speak of their first-hand experiences living amid war and their efforts for
peace, in a program at Yardley United Methodist Church.
'I
found that the enemy doesn't exist'
by Gema Maria Duarte
Bucks County Courier Times
(Pennsylvania) -- 12 March 2010
See PHOTOS and
details of all five public events by the young Israeli and Palestinian women
from Creativity for Peace:
CREATIVITY
FOR PEACE
March
2010 - Pennsylvania public gatherings
http://traubman.igc.org/cfp-penn.pdf
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These and hundreds of other success stories are preserved at http://traubman.igc.org/messages.htm