sharonbn
12-02-03, 07:50 AM
In the midst of the current turmoil, the violent conflict between Jews and Arabs, the imminent war in Iraq and the rise of fundamentalism in the world, a group of Israeli Arabs is planning a visit in a WWII extermination camp and an intensive seminar dedicated to the study of Jewish Holocaust.
This extraordinary story goes back to October 2000 and the violent and fatal clashes between Israeli Arabs and the police. At that time, Emil Shufanie realized he was facing a new reality.
Shufanie is an Israeli Arab from Nazareth. He's principal of the prestigious El-Mutran (a.k.a Saint Josef) high school and an Archimandrite of the Greek Catholic church in the Galilee. He is famous for his projects that aim to establish a dialog between Jews and Arabs. In the last years, regular meetings take place between students from El-Mutran and students from the Hebrew University high school (HUHS) in Jerusalem. The tradition was kept even after the start of the latest Intifadah.
The last meeting was in December. During that session, Shufanie heard things that shook him to the core. "A fellow teacher from the HUHS whom I've known for over 15 years and always presented himself as a liberal, started expressing his awaken recognition of his Judaism. He mentioned the Holocaust and fears of history repeating itself. He expressed his persecution anxiety and stressed that these emotions stem from the Holocaust as an event that shape the mental state of the present Israeli."
Shufanie says that until that moment he was unaware just how much the Holocaust is affecting opinions and actions of Jewish people living today. He came to realize that in order for the Arabs to understand and empathize with the Jewish psych, they must have a deep understanding and first person experience of the issue of the Holocaust.
Upon returning from Jerusalem, Shufanie started rolling the ideas in his head. He shared his thoughts with others, such as the journalist Nazir Majalie, a well known figure among the Israeli Arab community. The two decided to launch a bi-national project. They looked for partners on the Jewish side, and found Ruth Bar-Shalev, who specializes in organizing big scale social events.
The plan that was agreed is a three session seminar that will include a comprehensive review of the Holocaust and debates that will examine the issue from various angles: the roots of European Anti-Semitism, the background for the rise of the Nazis, meetings with survivors and the second and third generation syndrome. A charged topic of the Arab world's relation towards the Holocaust will also be discussed. The height of the project will come in the second half of May, with a 5 days visit to Auschwitz extermination camp. The visit will be shared with a group of 150 representatives of the French Jewish and Muslim communities arriving from Paris.
The project is currently t the recruiting stage. So far, the list includes over 100 Arabs and 80 Jews. The organizers hope to reach 300 prominent, opinion-setting figures, in order to make a statements that this initiative is not the working of a fringe group. Already joined are Ahmad Masalha, a leading name in the Arabic justice community, Hiam Tanuss, a senior supervisor in the ministry of education, the actor Salim Dau, The football player Walid Badir, the writer Naim Araida, Sheikh Nimer Darwish, and many more senior academic staff.
On the Jewish part, participants include Chief rabbi Yisrael Lau, the singers Ahinoam Nini and Ehud Banai and the poet Agi Mishol.
The Arab participants have issued a manifesto, proclaiming their goal:
"We, a group of Israeli Arabs are concerned about the decline of relations between Jews ad Arabs in recent years. Out of feelings of human and national responsibility, and from the belief that the tide can be reversed we set upon this journey into the pain of the Jewish people. The two nations cannot abandon the path of violence until the understand and empathize with the pain, fear and despair of each other. We wish to learn the suffering, hardship, torture and destruction that came upon the Jewish people and to declare explicit solidarity."
Needless to say, the initiative and mostly its timing met with more than a raised eyebrow in the Arab world. On private talks, Majali often heard the argument: "What have you got to look for in Auschwitz when the Jews are killing babies in Jenin?" He answers that the Arabs cannot afford to stay locked behind old paradigms and clichés. The organizers and participants are aware of the heavy price they will likely pay for their stand, but the hope of a better future drives them to make the sacrifice. Majali claims he started the whole thing because he felt suffocated with propaganda, lies and deception. He states that he aims to clean himself and his people from the hate that filled their minds. Since the organizers have anticipated the public reaction in the Arab world, they decided to act in advance and Majali went to Egypt to prepare the grounds for the project's public announcement. He met with journalists, writers and religious leaders and explained the project and its goals. The vast majority of Egyptians gave him their blessing. He also met with Amru Moosa, Egyptian minister of foreign affairs, and was given a promise that the Egyptian government will publicly support the initiative.
As for the future, Shufani and Majali say they do not expect any parallel move from the Jewish side, although they admit they do ponder on the reaction of the Jewish public.
This extraordinary story goes back to October 2000 and the violent and fatal clashes between Israeli Arabs and the police. At that time, Emil Shufanie realized he was facing a new reality.
Shufanie is an Israeli Arab from Nazareth. He's principal of the prestigious El-Mutran (a.k.a Saint Josef) high school and an Archimandrite of the Greek Catholic church in the Galilee. He is famous for his projects that aim to establish a dialog between Jews and Arabs. In the last years, regular meetings take place between students from El-Mutran and students from the Hebrew University high school (HUHS) in Jerusalem. The tradition was kept even after the start of the latest Intifadah.
The last meeting was in December. During that session, Shufanie heard things that shook him to the core. "A fellow teacher from the HUHS whom I've known for over 15 years and always presented himself as a liberal, started expressing his awaken recognition of his Judaism. He mentioned the Holocaust and fears of history repeating itself. He expressed his persecution anxiety and stressed that these emotions stem from the Holocaust as an event that shape the mental state of the present Israeli."
Shufanie says that until that moment he was unaware just how much the Holocaust is affecting opinions and actions of Jewish people living today. He came to realize that in order for the Arabs to understand and empathize with the Jewish psych, they must have a deep understanding and first person experience of the issue of the Holocaust.
Upon returning from Jerusalem, Shufanie started rolling the ideas in his head. He shared his thoughts with others, such as the journalist Nazir Majalie, a well known figure among the Israeli Arab community. The two decided to launch a bi-national project. They looked for partners on the Jewish side, and found Ruth Bar-Shalev, who specializes in organizing big scale social events.
The plan that was agreed is a three session seminar that will include a comprehensive review of the Holocaust and debates that will examine the issue from various angles: the roots of European Anti-Semitism, the background for the rise of the Nazis, meetings with survivors and the second and third generation syndrome. A charged topic of the Arab world's relation towards the Holocaust will also be discussed. The height of the project will come in the second half of May, with a 5 days visit to Auschwitz extermination camp. The visit will be shared with a group of 150 representatives of the French Jewish and Muslim communities arriving from Paris.
The project is currently t the recruiting stage. So far, the list includes over 100 Arabs and 80 Jews. The organizers hope to reach 300 prominent, opinion-setting figures, in order to make a statements that this initiative is not the working of a fringe group. Already joined are Ahmad Masalha, a leading name in the Arabic justice community, Hiam Tanuss, a senior supervisor in the ministry of education, the actor Salim Dau, The football player Walid Badir, the writer Naim Araida, Sheikh Nimer Darwish, and many more senior academic staff.
On the Jewish part, participants include Chief rabbi Yisrael Lau, the singers Ahinoam Nini and Ehud Banai and the poet Agi Mishol.
The Arab participants have issued a manifesto, proclaiming their goal:
"We, a group of Israeli Arabs are concerned about the decline of relations between Jews ad Arabs in recent years. Out of feelings of human and national responsibility, and from the belief that the tide can be reversed we set upon this journey into the pain of the Jewish people. The two nations cannot abandon the path of violence until the understand and empathize with the pain, fear and despair of each other. We wish to learn the suffering, hardship, torture and destruction that came upon the Jewish people and to declare explicit solidarity."
Needless to say, the initiative and mostly its timing met with more than a raised eyebrow in the Arab world. On private talks, Majali often heard the argument: "What have you got to look for in Auschwitz when the Jews are killing babies in Jenin?" He answers that the Arabs cannot afford to stay locked behind old paradigms and clichés. The organizers and participants are aware of the heavy price they will likely pay for their stand, but the hope of a better future drives them to make the sacrifice. Majali claims he started the whole thing because he felt suffocated with propaganda, lies and deception. He states that he aims to clean himself and his people from the hate that filled their minds. Since the organizers have anticipated the public reaction in the Arab world, they decided to act in advance and Majali went to Egypt to prepare the grounds for the project's public announcement. He met with journalists, writers and religious leaders and explained the project and its goals. The vast majority of Egyptians gave him their blessing. He also met with Amru Moosa, Egyptian minister of foreign affairs, and was given a promise that the Egyptian government will publicly support the initiative.
As for the future, Shufani and Majali say they do not expect any parallel move from the Jewish side, although they admit they do ponder on the reaction of the Jewish public.