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Youth Activism for Peace and
Co-existence in
Palestine and Israel
Dedicated in
memory of Rachael Corrie
Intro
Young people in many
countries
around the world are taking steps forward as
leaders and positive changemakers.
While violence and injustice tear apart the
MidEast, young people in Israel and
Palestine are taking powerful steps towards
peace, and living in co-existence.
Point to Ponder
"The
Intifada -- that was the start of my
grown-up life... The echoes, the ghosts, and
the voices make me wonder: Will I ever be
able to forgive and forget? Will time ever
bury such a tragedy and help me to start
over again as a normal human being?" -
Ghareeb, a young person from the West Bank,
as quoted in Why Do They Hate Me? Young
Lives Caught In War And Conflict
by Laurel Holliday.
Resources
The
following websites, organizations and
publications offer a variety of useful
information about young people leading
social change in Palestine and Israel.
Organizations
Balanda
Baladna is an Arab youth organization founded to give Arab youth in Israel a
non-partisan, comfortable forum for youth activities and informal education,
centering on a discussion of identity. A registered non-profit organization,
Baladna aims to strengthen Arab youth's understanding of democracy and
gender equality, to foster pluralism and tolerance, and to enable a
discussion and debate about Arab Palestinian history, grievances and
culture.
Re'ut-Sadaka (Friendship) Jewish-Arab Youth Movement for Coexistence and
Peace
Established in 1982 by a small group of young
Jews and Arabs in Tel-Aviv. Based on the belief that building mutual
understanding requires the fostering of real relationships between Arabs and
Jews in Israel, especially among the youth, Re'ut-Sadaka provides Jewish and
Arab youth the opportunity to meet, exchange ideas and perspectives and to
develop friendships across cultural lines.
MEND
MEND is a dynamic Palestinian institution addressing issues related to
nonviolence and democracy through a variety of projects focused primarily on
training and utilizing innovative media techniques. MEND's priority is to
work to create a more democratic and nonviolent climate for all Palestinians
and to contribute to work for peace in the whole area. One of our projects
revolves around a group of young Palestinian youth trained and active as
advocates for non-violence and children's rights and articulate leaders
within their organizations, schools and communities.
Crossing Borders
Crossing Borders
is a newspaper written by young Israelis, Arab-Israelis, Palestinians, and
Jordanians. It is published in English every two months While it does focus
on the conflict, its main aim is to produce a newspaper covering everything
teenagers are interested in: poetry, sports, politics, society, culture, and
opinion.
Al-Jana - Palestinian Youth Record Their Lives and Express Their Hopes
A campaign to encourage young Palestinian camp-dwelling refugees to reflect
on their lives and express their feelings and hopes to the world, this
project was launched in April 1998 with the help of several local NGOs. In
line with child-to-child and active learning educational techniques the
project empowers children as "Young Journalists" and "Young Filmmakers" to
research issues that concern them; develop critical thinking and technical
and artistic skills; and express their views and feelings creatively to
other children.
Palestinian Youth Association for Leadership And Rights Activation (PYALARA)
PYALARA is an organization set up for Palestinian youth. It is light and
serious, communication- and media-conscious, daring. PYALARA is for
Palestinian youth, boys and girls, of all walks of life and all regions. The
central word in the name PYALARA is "activation." We don't want Palestinian
youth to die as a result of being silenced, isolated, drilled, pushed aside,
or bored. We would like them to connect, write, talk, communicate, so that
they really live and are involved in the renewal of community life at home,
in the street, at youth platforms, at school, or abroad.
Mid East Troubles
Yahoo newssite for youth has a special section
on the conflict between Israel and Palestine with many links, including
articles about the conflict from around the world, and other organizations
and information.
Scholastic
Scholastic News Zone has a
good section on ‘understanding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict’, many
sections include points of views from young people on both sides.
Publications
Arab, Israeli and Cypriot Youth Build the Future at Center for Coexistence
Article from the
Olive
Branch, a Mideast youth newspaper promoting peace.
Israeli and Palestinian youth speak out about each other, the conflict and
the future .
Article
from
MidEastWeb.
Mideast Youth "Lead the Leaders" with their own Peace Declaration.
1998 article with huge implications on current events.
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