For us it is an everyday thing, for them it was the first experience of its kind.
Dozens of Jewish and Arab teenagers met the “other” for the first time in their lives. They are in 11th grade, they look exactly the same, they are dealing with the same changes that characterize adolescence, they live in Israel and are exposed to what is happening – to war, to uncertainty, to fear for the future – and now they have come to Givat Haviva for two intensive days of getting to know each other, learning, and shattering stereotypes. Will they leave here friends? Will the fear of the unfamiliar Jew/Arab melt away in two days? Will curiosity overcome suspicion?
Thousands of teenagers participate in similar seminars every year, each participant taking something different with them when they return home. We, as well as the educators who accompany the students and worry while waiting for them in the staff room, wish them luck! It won’t be easy, the burdens are many and the public atmosphere doesn’t make it easier for them to approach each other with good will, but they have taken the first step, and that makes a world of difference.
