Schmoozing with the 'other'

Yesterday Tal, Yotam, and I visited our friend Rauf at his home in Kfar Qara. Rauf is a very well known and influential community leader in the area, and is the director of the Jewish Arab coexistence program "In the other's eyes" at Givat Haviva, the Hashomer Hatzair center for peace activism. In the last four years, we have hosted his program at our summer camp (Camp Shomria), with three different groups of Jewish, Arab, and Bedouin Israelis living and learning together in what can be a profoundly difficult process. Rauf is by any measure a visionary with great hopes for humanity and confidence in the good of every person. He is also a proud Arab, Palestinian, and Israeli, an identity that shapes the way he approaches the difficult issues that we have come here to grapple with.
After feeding us an amazing post-Ramadan feast, we sat together and jumped right into discussing (in hebrew of course) some of the most contentious issues facing the region, from the political and social repercussions of the Israel-Lebanon war to the most fundamental theoretical assumptions of Zionism and its consequences for the people of this region. One point that Rauf drove home was the fact that bombs don't distinguish between Arab and Jew. When katyushas were falling on Israel this summer, Arab and Jew alike sought shelter together. The same applies with regards to the nuclear threat posed by Iran: the Arabs of the region feel equally vulnerable.
After dinner Rauf brought us on a whirlwind tour of the village, introducing us as Americans who work for a peace organization that are going to be teaching English in Barta. Everyone we met, thanks to Rauf's charisma and status in the village, was extremely welcoming. "America! Welcome!" resounded from the previously intimidating group of men at the cafe.
He then took us to Barta, which was my first time in the village where I will be spending the better part of 5 months working on this trip. Split in half by the green line, it is a fascinating nexus of different identities and also, due to the low taxes and cheap labor on the palestinian side, has become a bustling center of commerce in the Israeli Arab world. From shawarma to firecrackers to tshirts, people from all over the region are peddling their wares like crazy and making deals like there's no tomorrow.
During the ride home I was glad to be safely on route to a gated kibbutz, but happily removed from a comfort zone I would not seek to return to. I am very excited for what is to come on our journey.

COMING SOON

*Detailed description of our program
*Personal diary entries
*Political and ideological discussion forum
*Pictures!

We have been having a very intense time in the week that we have all been together. Things are moving forward quickly and we have made very important connections with prominent leaders in the Hashomer community as well as in the Arab communities of Barta and Kfar Qara. Overally, everyone we meet is enthralled that we are here for such a long period and with such commitment. We are in great spirits and are surviving despite our desperate lack of funding (at this very moment the MASA applications are in the works).

Also, if anyone has any connections in Israel regarding the rental or cheap purchase of a used 8 passenger van, your help would be GREATLY appreciated.

Chazak V'Ematz

Kvutzat Orev

Israir Flight 337 NOW DEPARTING

On tuesday at midnight, Sol, Jane, Tal, and Yotam will board a plane with hundreds of other frugal travelers and zip off to the national homeland of the jewish people. Emotions are running high as we anticipate this great step in our process of hagshama. I just cant wait to go through security and have to face down questions like, "what are you doing in israel?". my response of course being, "well, im not really sure but we're gonna play it by ear." The concerned officer then asks, "Well, where are you staying?" I scrunch my face and say, "well, im actually not really sure. I figure we'll crash wherever until we can set up some housing and get to work in the west bank! Did i mention I'm a socialist???" Oy vey.

The toughest part about this is just having to be some kind of symbol in the eyes of other people. To the religious zionists im a traitor. To the international left wing community i'm a racist. To my friends at home I'm a member of a cult. To old shomrim, the elders of my own movement, I'm a naive kid with no sense of the real world. Well, I guess they should all be pleased to know that they are all correct. I'm living in a dream world, suckling off of my cult for support and some semblance of structure and meaning. I hate all races. And I'm a fair-weather zionist. I cant even believe i'm going there in the winter months. Do you really think that if the shit hit the fan I would be clamoring for a sharp stick and charging the enemy? I am an American, i seek to avoid conflict at all costs.

Muki Tzur once told me that I should write down what I am thinking. I told him that I'm not sure if I can do that. He asked why. I said because I dont have hands. He said, you HAVE hands..They are down my pants. I said, those arent my hands. He said, well if theyre not yours then whose are th- AHHHH!!!!. I said, Muki, for what do you scream? He said, I'll write you a letter about it.