Jerusalem museum helps Jewish, Arab children find 'common ground'

Friday April 11, 2003 23:24

by Debbie Berman

Jewish and Arab schoolchildren, residents of western and eastern Jerusalem who normally wouldn't have anything to do with each other, are afforded an opportunity to meet on neutral ground in a program initiated and developed by the Bible Lands Museum of Jerusalem. The young participants in "The Image of Abraham" are able to utilize the museum's rich educational resources to focus on the role of Abraham as Patriarch and trace the common elements in Arab and Jewish heritage, the bases of contemporary Arab and Jewish cultures.

Jewish and Arab schoolchildren, residents of western and eastern Jerusalem who normally wouldn't have anything to do with each other, are afforded an opportunity to meet on neutral ground in a program initiated and developed by the Bible Lands Museum of Jerusalem. The young participants in "The Image of Abraham" are able to utilize the museum's rich educational resources to focus on the role of Abraham as Patriarch and trace the common elements in Arab and Jewish heritage, the bases of contemporary Arab and Jewish cultures.

One hundred and thirty Arab and Jewish children, ages 9 - 10, from the Paula Ben-Gurion School in Jerusalem's Rehavia neighborhood and from the El-Tzal'a school in the Jabel Mukaber neighborhood of east Jerusalem took part in this year's program. Director of Programming Amanda Weiss described the project as a powerfully effective coexistence effort in desperately difficult times in Jerusalem" and noted that the atmosphere of the project is "positive, happy and festive."

Weiss says that the idea for the program came when the museum provided the archeological component in another Jerusalem co-existence project. Staff members were excited at the prospect of working on future co-existence projects and formulated a program proposal.

This age group was chosen as they were old enough to grasp the historical perspective of learning the Bible but "young enough to be open and eager to take on a challenge like this," Weiss explained.

Common heritage
"The program is based on the common heritage that we share, of Abraham and Ibrahim," Weiss explained. "Bible Lands Museum initiated this program because of the unique programming we offer. We see ourselves as having a remarkable amount of material to offer educationally, and to use the material in this way is a fantastic opportunity.

"The program has continued to grow, develop and change. It's been a learning process, even for us. Each year we find that it works better, and the program becomes enriched year after year." Weiss said. "Every year we have found ways to challenge the kids to overcome the language barrier and their initial fear and stereotyping. At the start of the program both sides come in scared, some kids were even crying on the first day."

The fear and mistrust begins to erode as the children slowly get to know each other and take part in informal educational workshops designed around the museum exhibits. "By the end, the biggest complaint was that the program would not be continuing. Many participants exchanged phone numbers." Weiss explained.

During their museum visits, the children research their family trees, searching for the name "Abraham" or "Ibrahim," and learn about Ancient Near Eastern cultures, tracing the elements common to Arab and Jewish heritage. At the end of the program the children's artwork is publicly displayed in the museum. The artwork from this year's program will be on display starting June 11, 2003.

The tense security situation in Israel in the past two year years has taken its toll on "The Image of Abraham," but Weiss is proud to report that the violence has not been able to derail the program's success. "Last year every meeting followed a major terror attack, it was an awful feeling. Even the final party took place on the day following a bombing at Pat junction. The atmosphere was altered because of the attacks, but we never cancelled any meetings and everyone continued to show up, which I found impressive," she said.

Parents also involved
One of the innovations for this year's program was the decision to incorporate parents. "We decided to invite the parents to join the program, and they participated in a parallel guided tour and art workshop," Weiss said.

"There was just as much enthusiasm and curiosity among the parents, as there were among the children," Yehuda Kaplan, the head of the museum's education department, told the Haaretz reporter who recently published an article about the program.

Parents of program participants expressed hope that their children would learn to live in coexistence with their Jerusalem neighbors. "Language is more of a problem for us than the children," Michal Tannenbaum, whose daughter Shira is part of the program, told the Haaretz reporter. "But it is a really nice atmosphere for the children, and it is important for them to be here and break the equation that the Arabs are enemies."

East Jerusalem resident Nesreen Basheer, whose nine-year-old daughter Mona is in the program, said, "It is not logical being here, I know, but we had to keep coming. They want to live here in peace and we want to live in peace. And we have to get on together. This is the road we have to keep walking on, no matter what happens," she told Haaretz.

The acclaimed co-existence program was launched in 1998 and is supported by the Abraham Fund, private donors and the Jerusalem Foundation.