http://www.sfgate.com/
Return
to regular view
Intefadeh creates tension between neighbors in peace
village JASON KEYSER, Associated Press Writer
Saturday, August 4, 2001
©2002 Associated Press
URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2001/08/04/international1211EDT0518.DTL
(08-04) 09:11 PDT (AP) --
With BC-Israel-Palestinians
NEVE SHALOM, Israel (AP) -- A 30-year experiment by Arabs and Jews in living side by side in this hilltop village is being tested by the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
Neve Shalom, also known by its Arabic name, Wahat al-Salam, means "Oasis of Peace." That's something becoming difficult to find in Israel as the divide between Jew and Arab grows wider over the uprising in the Palestinian territories.
It's a sobering turn for the 40 Arab and Jewish families who came to live on the hilltop of small eucalyptus trees in an idealistic demonstration of coexistence in a fractured region.
"The crisis outside influences the atmosphere within the village," said Ilan Frisch, 53, a lifelong Israeli peace activist who has lived in the village since it was founded in 1972.
"Our future is no longer so certain within the community. It's not even sure whether this is the desired way to go," he said.
About a sixth of Israel's 6.5 million citizens are Arabs, and while Arab minorities exist in the larger cities, most communities tend to be either Jewish or Arab. Relations soured in October when Arab citizens rioted to support the Palestinians, and 13 were killed by Israeli police. Most Arabs then boycotted the February election in protest.
The tensions are felt even in Neve Shalom.
In recent months residents have argued bitterly over a number of issues, even about their children's education. Arabs complain that little time is set aside for Arabic language classes in the primary school and say they are still not fairly represented in the town's leadership.
The community of white stone houses, located halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv, was founded by the Rev. Bruno Hussar, a Dominican monk who wanted to bring together Christians, Jews and Muslims.
Over the years the village became a home for secular peace activists, and they are finding themselves tested.
On the 53rd anniversary of Israel's creation, a mournful siren wailed for three minutes over Neve Shalom's normally quiet hills to mark the day that Palestinians call "Al Naqba" -- the catastrophe of their displacement.
Screaming sirens traditionally mark the remembrance on May 15 in the Palestinian cities in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. It took some of the Jewish residents here by surprise and most of them stayed indoors.
Jewish and Arab children were separated in classrooms that day to avoid trouble.
Residents say the tensions over the uprising have made them more aware of the complexities of living together, although no one has moved out.
"This is one of the things that really shows how much it is almost impossible to have equality in a small village when the whole surrounding is not equal," said Ahmad Hijazi, 34, a director at the village's School for Peace, which organizes seminars to bring Jews and Arabs together.
"Many times I have the feeling it's impossible here. I have doubts all the time," he added.
Still, he sees positive changes in attitudes. Some Jewish residents stood alongside their Arab neighbors for the "Al Naqba" siren. And it was Frisch, the Israeli peace activist, who told Arab residents that the town had a siren and that he would sound it for them -- if a little reluctantly.
"I don't expect Palestinians in Israel to celebrate Israeli independence day and I don't want anyone to expect me to participate in Naqba," Frisch said.
Naqba wasn't the only memorial day to stir emotions in the village. Israel's independence day -- April 26 this year according to the Hebrew calendar -- was also tense, with most of the 75 Arab residents staying indoors.
Hijazi said he and other Arab residents are more assertive now about demanding equality. "I think we have more feeling of ownership of the village today," Hijazi said. "Before, maybe we felt in the village as welcome guests, and as a guest you behave as a guest. We feel more ownership today. We want our share."
Hijazi is angry that Hebrew still dominates the community, which until recently had little Arab architecture.
The textbooks and the curriculum at the school where he sends his 7-year-old son, Isam, come from the Israeli Ministry of Education and emphasize Jewish history.
The school, which serves 254 children from Neve Shalom and nearby villages, has both Jewish and Arab teachers, but none of the Jewish teachers speak Arabic fluently, said a principal, Deana Shalufi-Rezek.
Recently Israeli security officials visited the school to warn students about dangers during the uprising. Written on the blackboard was: "Things to watch out for: suicide bombers, bombs and suspicious objects."
"It was all stereotype things about what Palestinians are doing to the Jews," Hijazi said. "They (the Arab students) are taught in the school to fear their own people."
On a recent day in the yard of the primary school, Arab and Jewish children, some with NBA book bags, Pokemon shirts and Nintendo GameBoys, kicked up dust on a noisy playground at midday recess.
Two girls fired water pistols at each other and two boys -- an Arab and a Jew -- were play-fighting with shoves and giggles.
Despite the strains of living side by side, many residents are determined to stay together.
"I would see it as not natural if we had harmony here," Hijazi said. "If we
really want to challenge the reality we have to deal with the difficulties
that are in reality between Arabs and Jews."
On the Net:
Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam: http://www.nswas.com/