May 2008

A minor step towards nar, we were still too many participants. Out of 30
only 10 could attend, so Yoa’ad had to select par-
a big change ticipants. I was selected, but a few of my friends
were told that they could not attend and that they
At first, I thought I didn’t deserve to attend Sada- would continue with the project in a different way.
ka Reut’s activities - I didn’t have the courage to The youth that were not able to go to the seminar
say whatever I thought about politics. I wasn't sure didn’t like this decision and most of them left for
of what I knew. But with time I started to express good; only a few returned straight after the semi-
myself better. I widened my horizons and knowl- nar and some returned only after a while.
edge about the situation in Israel increased as
After attending 3 seminars, we and the Kfar
well.
Saba group began our joint meetings, once in
The first meeting I attended was uni-national. 60 our school and once in theirs. Both we and the
youth from Taybe showed up. Yoa'ad, our facilita- opposite group have learned a great deal of dif-
tor, had to bring down the number of participants. ficult facts, so naturally we had a lot of hard ques-
They divided us in two groups and gave us an arti- tions for each other, like: How would a Jew treat
cle to discuss. In my group, we had opinion letters an Arab, like one of their own? and What was your
about television. At first I was afraid – I was not first impression about us?
sure if I could speak my mind. But Yoa'ad created
Two weeks ago, we had a meeting with Moham-
an atmosphere in which each of us could speak
mad Judi, a Palestinian facilitator from the Occu-
their mind on the subject. This was a strong expe-
pied Palestinian Territories. He came to speak to
rience - it made me realize that I have a lot of opin-
us about his work with Palestinian youth, but most-
ions on many different subjects. Since then, we
ly to do a presentation on the Nakba, the reality
have had many activities. Every meeting was spe-
of living under military occupation and everyday
cial and to make it more interesting we suggested
struggle for a normal life. Members from our group
some subjects to talk about, like the way society
in Taybe were joined by members from the Pal-
pictures people from Taybe and first impressions
estinian group in Tira and some Jewish members
between Arabs and Jews.
of the Kfar Saba group. Although they were few
Both we and the opposite group (and we would wish more Jews attend these sorts
have learned a great deal of dif- of meetings), we were proud to have such friends
ficult facts, so naturally we had from Kfar Saba who are ready to come and hear
a lot of hard questions for each about what it is/takes to be a Palestinian in the
other Middle East today.

When time came to participate in the first semi- Linda Massarwe - Taybe group
2
'Following Home' People can make Jaffa more calm and organised
if they want.

Photo exhibition in Jaffa, month of May Sama Shakra

The exhibition “Following Home” presents the I am 18 years old. I am from Jaffa and I live
works of young Arab and Jewish girls from Jaffa here with my mother. I am a poet. This is my first
and Bat Yam. Through photography, the girls dia- experience with photography. Through this work, I
logue between their personal and collective sto- learned more about Jaffa – small things that I never
ries as two intertwined aspects of the same expe- saw before. The pictures let you see small details.
rience. The girls deal with the concept of ‘home’ as The project brought me to ask further questions
it is lived on the private and public levels. The pic- about my family’s history. I asked my mother and
tures seek to expose the erasure and the destruc- my aunt about the family’s history before 1948.
tion that the eye cannot see, while exposing the
I already knew that the Jewish army had taken
force of home, its history, its richness and its com-
our house, but I did not know that the family had
munity. Here are the works of two of the group's
fled in the middle of the night in a small car. The
members.
Jewish army announced that is the men would not
Jamilah Siksik take the women and the children with them, every-
one would be raped. So the family fled to Ramal-
I am nearly 15 and I live in Jaffa. I want peace.
lah, but the journey turned out to be too difficult – it
I love life. I think photography is interesting and it
was hot and they were with a month old child. At
helps to know better meanings of life. It's my way
one point they turned back. In Jaffa they found an
of showing myself different things and also show-
empty and run-down house, close to where they
ing them to other people. In the future I would like
used to live, and they began living in it.
to do something connected to making our environ-
ment better and to help people see the world in a My work is political. It deals with what is going
good way - not only the bad. I would like to study on in Jaffa and with the Palestinian-Israeli reality.
photography more. I loved working on this project.
I learned things that I didn't see in the beginning.

‘A different view’
I like this picture because there is a boat but
no sea. A boat in the middle of the street. When
you look at it, it gives you a feeling of tranquility.
On every part of this picture there is something
special. When I look at it, I feel calm - but when
someone walks in the street and sees the view,
he might think 'what is this boat doing in the mid-
dle of the street?' It stands there like a parked car.
 3
This week the country is celebrating 60 years of
independence. We can see on the television that
Jerusalem is important for the Jews: ‘It is impor-
tant that we fight for the Jewish heritage’ they say.
But what about the Arabs? What about us and our
rights? Are we just air? Do we not count?

Photography came to be a new way for me to

express myself. With poetry, you know what you
Land day demo in Jaffa
will write about, but when you go out with the cam-
era you can never know what you will see and what The Jaffa Popular Committee Against
pictures will come out. For example, I knew about House Demolitions and Evictions orga-
the house demolitions in Jaffa, but when I saw the nized a big demonstration in the context
picture I took ‘Wall/Barrier’, I said to myself – look of the Palestinian Land Day, which is cel-
how easy it would be to bring down this wall made ebrated each year on the 30th of March.
from doors, but no Arab would dare do that. Some 2,000 Arabs and Jews united in call-
ing the authorities to cease their discrimi-
My work is political. It deals with
nating policies giving advantage to rich
what is going on in Jaffa and with
real estate brokers over the historic resi-
the Palestinian-Israeli reality.
dents of Arab Jaffa. The demonstration
‘Wall/Barrier’ was covered in all Israeli media, bring-
ing the Palestinian flag going around the
This picture represents all that is unjust. I am
streets of Jaffa on the front page of all
sure that the doors themselves were taken from
important newspapers.
a destroyed home. You can see the words written
in red ‘Ya’ad – sand extract-
ing’. They are sucking the life
out of Jaffa. They only want
to build new luxurious hous-
es and push the poor people
away.

The funny thing I that the

Arab workers are the ones to
build these houses – and all
they want is to eat. One could
easily take down the doors –
but no Arab would dream of
doing such a thing. – we are
too afraid.
4
System Ali events in 2008
System Ali is a band that was born the ‘Markaz’ – Sadaka Reut’s Jaffa youth center. The
band is composed of 8 rappers and 5 musicians. Its music stems from the encounter
between the different young creators, all from various backgrounds and personal stories,
but all living within the geographical space of the mixed city of Jaffa. This space and its
variety form the primary element to the band’s soul and creation. After two years of com-
mon creation and public performances, System Ali is today a popular scene in Jaffa. Here
is a list of the last months' performances in Tel Aviv and Jaffa;
- June 2007-April 2008; Tour of Jaffa and Tel Aviv streets, raising awareness on the situ-
ation of housing in Jaffa
- January; Event against the eviction order in the Markaz – Sadaka Reut shelter, Jaffa
- March; performance with Tamer Nafar and D.J. Volkan, Levontin club, Tel Aviv; Plastic
Festival, the Old Central Bus Station, Tel Aviv
- April; performance with Fred Johnson, Tel Aviv; performance in Flea Market, Jaffa
- May; Movie on the creation and work of the band, Cinematheque Tel Aviv; Live Jam at
106 FM radio station; Performance in Jaffa Port, Performance in Mendel Cultural Center,
Jaffa, Performance on the roof of the Beit Daniel youth hostel, Jaffa

Facilitating in Sadaka
Reut
An educational process whose
goal is to create a ‘political
person’
It has been three years now that I have been
a facilitator at Sadaka Reut. In the first year I
facilitated a bi-national group, last year I built up
a new Jewish group and this year I pursued with
the Jewish group for a second year of activities.
The continuity and the deepening of my work
deepest meaning the fact that in Sadaka Reut I
with the group permitted me to better understand
provide the participants with a counter-discourse
where I was going with the group and what it was
that in reality they cannot find, even if they look for
that I wished to create with it. The urgency I feel
it very hard.
these past years to awaken Israeli society from its
slumber, or from its lost of direction, brought me The experience of facilitating the Tel Aviv group
to combine between two very important elements was very good. The size of the group provided for
– knowledge and dynamics. I understood in its intimacy and friendship. The gender representa-
 5
tion, characteristically feminist, gave me the oppor- the ‘Women’s Coalition for Peace’); social (a
tunity, as the group’s facilitator, to deepen the issue deeper understanding of the socio-economic and
of gender identity and to link it to other types of ethnic gaps that exist within Jewish society); and
identity the members of the groups encountered towards the end of the year, when I understood as
in their daily lives. The power relations that exist in a facilitator that the members of my group knew
society are all products of the same social mecha- practically nothing about the occupation of Pales-
nism, and they take on different forms according tine – we dedicated a month to learning about it
to the different social and political situations in and analyzing it from different angles.
which they occur. Our attempt to expose and iden-
And yet, the third level or the third stage in the
tify these power relations, and the role each one of
process, the same one that changes someone into
us plays in their midst – at times oppressed and at
a true politically and socially involved individual
times oppressors – was one of the significant and
– the level of action – was more difficult to reach.
challenging learning experiences our group went
It appeared here and there – in the recruitment
through during these two years of activities.
stand we did at the start of the year on Shenkin
Another level of content that was added during street, and in the joint action against militarism
this year was the issue of knowledge. Whereas in the educational system we initiated together
Sadaka Reut’s approach in the past was to look with ‘New Profile’: two actions that provided for a
for sources of knowledge from among the group framework to ‘practice activism’.
participants, it has now become clear that, in order
Nevertheless, for next year the true challenge
to create awareness among the individual partici-
will be to provide for an equal space to the three
pants, the passing on of information has a central
elements that are crucial in order to bring the edu-
role to play in the educational process. Thus, as
cational process into political and social action for
facilitators we now combine between exposure
change.
to new pieces of information – leading to critical
thinking and the intellectual doubt – and the emo- - Natali Levi, Tel Aviv facilitator
tional experience the participants go through in
the bi-national process, bringing them to face and
challenge the difficult questions that demand con-
stant self-examination.

...it has now become clear that,

in order to create awareness
among the individual partici-
pants, the passing on of informa-
tion has a central role to play in
the educational process.
The exposure to knowledge in the Tel Aviv group
was in a variety of subjects: gender (mostly with
6
C h a l l e n g i n g they needed to let go of things that were usually
kept deep inside them, mostly because of their
ourselves environment – including their schools – that does
not allow free expression and discussion on feel-
Youth workshops in Bat Yam ings. We were forced to deal with the school which
sometimes put barriers in the way we wanted to
We started to work in ‘Ramot’ school in Bat Yam
work with the group, mostly when we reached the
about mid-year. It was the first time that we did
final stages of the project – the actual mural paint-
something that was ours from the beginning to the
ing. One of the central issues that were raised by
end. When we began working, we didn't have a
the youth was the fact that the school had installed
program we needed to follow, or that we could fol-
cameras in the school premises because of
low. At first that was a bit scary, mostly because
repeated break-ins after school hours. Today, the
it was all new for us and we were not sure what
cameras are turned on also during school hours
we were getting into. At the same time, there was
something attractive in this uncertainty and in the
possibility to do something we have never done
before.

Most of our activities take place in Jaffa with Pal-

estinian youth, and the idea to work with Jewish
youth in Bat Yam seemed important and challeng-
ing. We called it “The Graffiti Group”, even though
the educational program was not meant to provide
youth with expert training in the techniques of graf- and the youth feel that this goes against their right
fiti making. Rather, we used graffiti as a means for to privacy. The school did not agree that the mural
self expression and the passing on of social and deals with the subject of the cameras, and the
political messages. In this context, we set out to youth reacted with anger and felt that they were
check with the youth what it was that they want- being silenced. The disagreement between the
ed to say. The main issues raised did not relate school and the youth brought us to think anew of
directly to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, but to the our goals. It is very important for us to find the way
youth’s personal experiences and the oppression that will enable the youth to speak their minds in the
and discrimination the are witness to in their lives framework of school, which can be an oppressive
– either directed towards them by others or direct- influence on self-expression and free speech.
ed by them towards others.
Although we have worked with the group for a
At first it was difficult to have serious discussions short period and a lot of the planned work was
with the youth, but the structure of the workshops, changed during the process, we feel that this is
which gave them freedom to say what they had one of the most significant things we have done
on their minds, permitted them to let go of a lot this year.
of thoughts and feelings. It was clear to us that
- Omri Gershon and Roga Koren
 7
home, closer to society. The youth are Palestinian,
Building a Culture of Peace
ten of them in all, between the ages of 12 to 18,
- yearly activities
living together and not leaving the Hostel much. At
Here is a list of the nation-wide activi- times one of the youth is set free, at times a new
ties that have taken place during the one arrives.
activity year.
When I arrived to Jaffa for a year with Sadaka
- December 14th and 15th - first week-
Reut, for a year in the commune, I was enchanted
end youth seminar, Neve Shalom
with the idea that in my personal project I would
- Februar 15th and 16th - second week-
try and put up a community vegetable garden.
end youth seminar, Neve Shalom
The garden would be operated by the neighbor-
- March 4th and 5th - third week-end
hood and would therefore exist by and through the
youth seminar, Kibbutz Galon
residents. The establishment of such a community
- March 15th - day picknick, Ofer For-
garden seemed to me a good and unique way to
est, North Israel
take part in the environment I lived in. To change
- April 2nd and 3rd - youth outdoors
and enrich the lives of all residents taking part in
trip, Tal Grove, North Israel
the project, and also my own, on the issue of envi-
ronment and ecology and their place in our lives.

After long term efforts, I was not able to find

enough people that would be interested in the
project – there was no community that would be
ready to donate time to the project and realize it
together with me.

To the Hostel I was connected in an uncanny

fashion, through the Tel Aviv municipality repre-
sentative of community gardens Oded Mesholam.
For some reason I had never thought of the con-

Creating a small nection by myself, although I knew of the Hos-

tel, seeing that Sadaka Reut has been working
garden and what is in with the youth there for some years. Oded was

the process approached by the Hostel’s wardress, who was

looking for help and guiding with her idea – to put
up a garden in the Hostel’s grounds together with
My experience in the Hostel was a first of its kind
the youth residents.
for me. ‘Hostel Yasmine’ is a home in which there
lives youth under the definition of ‘substitution of I was excited with the idea. I met with the Hos-
detention’ – underage youth that have performed tel’s staff and I proposed to be the one to coordi-
some crime but that, because of alleviating con- nate the project. I met with the youth, we shared
ditions, are not put in jail but rather in a closed ideas and I became convinced that, even though
8
the idea was the wardress’s at first, the youth were ing up to the house’s front door.
interested in taking part in the project. With the
The work in the Hostel was for me a completely
thought of something new coming into their lives,
new experience. With all the youth groups I have
coordinated, even the ones
I was part of, I was afraid of
the participants that would
interact with me in an aggres-
sive way. Even if the group
was very pleasant, there was
always at least one member
I was afraid of because there
is something inside me that
paralyzes in the presence of
violence. And in the Hostel…
what was I doing there at all?!
At all times there was a youth
ready to check me out, to test
my boundaries, to throw a
they could not remain indifferent. remark that I am a skilled at taking personal. Why
am I there? They always wanted to check my rea-
Two months of weekly work has passed in the
sons, in the way they know best I guess, and their
Hostel. Work has been done. I can see that when
questions echoed in my mind…
I look at the Hostel’s appearance and all that has
changed, I can feel that in the change that over- I think I got involved in a place that, if I was to
came the youth I worked with – and I can feel the think in a rational way, I would never have chosen
influence of all of these on myself, who I am. to go there. But was made me get involved in the
Hostel was my feeling. Something in me told me
Even if the group was very
to check out that territory, to try for real and not
pleasant, there was always at
to flee. I had a strong enough feeling that noth-
least one member I was afraid
ing could hurt me there, and that the experience
of because there is something
is mostly for me. The moments that I remember
inside me that paralyzes in the
the most are the ones when a soft discussion was
presence of violence.
developed during work, when we would do some-
We uprooted grass. We hoed. We prepared rows thing small together, moments when the youth
of flowerbeds. We planted dozens of plants and would be doing something out of their free will, the
flowers all around the Hostel’s grounds. We build moments in which confidence was a the heart of
spiral flowerbeds for the spices. We even planted the action.
a few trees and, not as part of the planned work;
- Ben Sirota
we scraped, plastered and painted the stairs lead-