Religion & Ethics
Teens from Mideast to seek peace at
retreat
Local unity project dissolves
stereotypes
Amal Gazal, left, and Noga Feurstein, both of Haifa, Israel, became friends at the two-week leadership program sponsored by Rotary Club chapters in the U.S. and Israel. When most people see news reports about famine, disease or world
conflicts, they think, "There's nothing I can do."
Not Ilan Migdali.
Migdali isn't a politician or a celebrity. He's an acupuncturist
who lives in Newbury Park with his family. A native of Israel, he was concerned
with the escalating violence in the Middle East.
"After witnessing the last intifada (that began in 2000),
and the degeneration of the Arab-Jewish relationship, I felt the need to
contribute in a positive way," he said.
In 2002, several months after joining the Newbury Park chapter
of the Rotary Club, Migdali proposed an ambitious project for the service
organization: the creation of a two-week leadership camp in Ventura County
where Israeli Arab and Jewish teenagers could learn to become ambassadors of
peace and cultural understanding.
Although Ron Block, the club president at the time, understood
the challenges, he was taken with the idea.
"I felt that a grass-roots movement would be more effective
than the political entreaties, which had been ineffective over the years,"
Block said. "But only optimists with a desire to see a more peaceful world
for our grandchildren, who are also a little nuts, could take on this type of
venture."
The Newbury Park Rotary Club forged a partnership with the
Rotary Club of Haifa, Israel, and, with the support of Beit Hagefen Arab-Jewish
Center in Haifa, local Rotary Clubs, religious organizations, businesses, and
individual volunteers and donors, Project TRIUMPH was born.
Now in its third year of a 10-year commitment, Project TRIUMPH
(Today's Revolution is Understanding; Make Peace Happen) will host a new class
of 20 sophomores from Hebrew and Arab high schools in Haifa next month at the
Brandeis-Bardin Campus of the American Jewish University in Simi Valley.
For two weeks beginning May 4, the group will live on campus
with one weekend spent in the homes of local families.
The young Muslim, Christian and Jewish delegates are selected
for their leadership abilities and fluency in English. Since January, they have
attended "get-acquainted" meetings in preparation for their time
together in California.
In Israel, there is little interaction between Arabs and Jews,
Migdali said.
"At our last graduation party, Dekel, a Jewish student,
said he had lived in Haifa for 16 years but, prior to Project TRIUMPH, he had
never spoken to an Arab," Migdali said. "He had just finished two
weeks of living together with five Arab boys and next door to five Arab girls.
In Israel, the schools are in general segregated and there is prejudice from
both sides."
First — know thyself
The Simi Valley retreat's curriculum was designed and is
facilitated by husband and wife Tom Voccola and Frances Fujii, co-founders of
the Thousand Oaks company CEO2 Leadership Development and Training. It is based
on their transformational leadership program offered to business clients.
There are three parts to the instruction: Know Thyself;
Understand Humanity and Master Relationships; and Create a Game Worth Playing
— "make something happen."
Instructors help the teens to get in touch with their values,
innate gifts, purpose and passion in life and to let go of their limiting
beliefs.
"The first step to changing stereotypes is to become
conscious that prejudice is societal and automatic," said Fujii.
"Once one becomes aware, then the individual has a choice to be
different."
The students also learn that respectful and clear communication
is important, and, Fujii said, "If you speak to the beauty you know lies
within the other person, even if it appears to be hidden, you begin gaining a
level of mastery in relationships."
As part of the program, the students make a one-year commitment
to become involved in service projects in Israel that foster intercultural
awareness and promote the idea that peace is possible.
" The Game Worth Playing' that we are all engaged in
through Project TRIUMPH is peace," Fujii explained.
The itinerary includes leadership and team-building exercises;
nonviolent communication and conflict resolution workshops; cultural exchanges;
creative writing; nature classes; and sightseeing.
The teens also visit local high schools, where they meet
American students and attend an interfaith dialogue with Christian, Muslim and
Jewish clerics. (This event is open to the public; e-mail info@projecttriumph.org for upcoming
details.)
Paying it forward
The program has been life-changing. Alumni are active in
projects that try to bridge the cultural divide. Some are counselors in
Arab-Jewish summer camps, others are planning a mural dedicated to
co-existence, while another group is taking steps to form service organizations
modeled after Interact Clubs in American high schools.
Even world events haven't dampened their spirits.
"We were in touch with the first group of students as the
war with Lebanon was going on," Migdali said. "They remained
committed to the value of the project, regardless of tension and danger."
Fahoum Fahoum, an almost-17-year-old Arab Muslim student at the
Reali Hebrew School in Haifa, took part in Project TRIUMPH last year. He
currently is recovering from an injury, but he had played for the Israeli
national tennis team and was ranked first at the 14- to 15-year-old level. He
had been in the United States before to help raise funds for tennis
co-existence projects in Israel.
He enthusiastically recalled how much he looked forward to each
day when he was at the Simi Valley camp: "I would think, Today I will be
learning something new — new ideas that never occurred to me before and a
different perspective of the world.'"
Fahoum said he believes the skills he learned will help him have
more of an influence in society and "will help me build a future that is
optimal for all."
Broadening perspectives
Seventeen-year old Ifat Gordon, a biology and Arabic major, also
at the Reali Hebrew School, was here in 2006. She has since taken a leadership
role communicating with the other delegates from her group about events and
activities that promote diversity and acceptance and has provided them with
information concerning a recent teachers strike in Israel.
To Gordon, Project TRIUMPH was an invaluable experience that
shaped the way she views others.
"I learned to carefully listen to other political opinions,
even if they are opposite of mine," she said.
She cited the workshop about prejudice as having the biggest
effect: "It showed me that stereotypes are a way to deal with the fear you
have of another group.
"When I met the Arab kids, my stereotypes were shattered
and that was a big thing for me," she said. "The project opened my
eyes to see people as not part of an ethnic group; we are all humans, and
that's what is important."
Project TRIUMPH volunteers are encouraged by their efforts.
"I don't pretend to be able to see an umbrella of peace
over this troubled region, but when a young Arab says to you, I never talked to
a Jew before and now I have Jewish friends,' you know you're doing something
right," Block said.
For the most part, there is optimism about the Middle East's
future.
"I believe peace is possible, and that humanity's hope lies
with this and future generations," said Fujii. "If we inspire these
young leaders with the vision, the heart and the skill to make a positive
difference to create peace in their families, relationships, communities,
careers and nation, then Project TRIUMPH's dream has been fulfilled."
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