Jewish and Arab children together after the war

Dear Supporters of Hagar,

Last year we wrote: "Nowhere else in the Israeli South do Arabs and Jews spend so much time together, daily working out the smaller and larger issues of coexistence – from observing holidays to formulating a shared community response when violence erupts." This year, our words were put to the test. We wish to share our experience with you.

Approximately one week ago, as quiet returned to the region, fifty children, twenty-five Jews and twenty-five Arabs returned to the Hagar bilingual preschool and kindergarten in Beer Sheva, after being confined to their homes for three weeks due to the rockets.

The respectful way the children, who slept in a bomb shelter, their parents and the educational staff told their experiences of the difficult period shows how deep is the change that Hagar had already planted in the hearts of our community members. Children were protected by their parents from the violent and racist voices that were heard throughout the three-week period and came back with a renewed desire to live and learn together.

It was wonderful to see the joy of the children meeting their friends whom they have not seen in three weeks, Jews and Arabs alike. This state of affairs would have never been possible if the Hagar School did not exist.

Watching the children play while exchanging their experiences and the parents and staff softly discussing their thoughts, made us at the Hagar Association more confident that there is a possibility and opportunity to create hope in theses times of great enmity. We believe that Hagar offers this possibility and opportunity.

As you may know, Hagar's pedagogical vision challenges the model usually promoted by the Ministry of Education, since Arab and Jewish children typically attend separate schools and thus hardly ever have the opportunity to meet or get to know one another. In the context of the long-lasting Israeli-Arab conflict in general, and the current war in Gaza in particular, the lack of contact between Jews and Arabs is tragic since it perpetuates stereotypes, prejudices and fears.

Hagar is trying to change this state of affairs by producing a space which enables Jewish and Arab children, parents, and educators to develop lasting relationships based on equality and recognition of the other's otherness.

In a recent article published in the Jerusalem Post, Alma Vardari-Kesler, a board member of Hagar, commented on the Association's view of the future of Jewish-Arab relations in the light of the current violence. She said: "The most important fact is that we still manage to keep an atmosphere for discussion and debate."

Stressing the importance of coexistence organizations, she concluded that: "It emphasized the importance of developing these kinds of places where people can still meet," she said.

Hagar inspires people in the Negev to think in a different way. We invite you to join us as partners, and we would like to express our deep gratitude to those of you who have already joined our initiative. Now, more than ever, is the time to visit the Hagar School and witness that a different future is still possible, that there is another way - of coexistence and trust building - a way that spreads hope rather than destruction through the region. We would to like to invite you to visit our kindergarten and see a different future in the making.

For more information and to coordinate a visit please contact:

Orly Almi
Development Director
Hagar: Jewish-Arab Education for Equality
Tel: 972-8-6494692, Cell: 972-52-4457543
orly@hajar.org.il