David Barkovich PhD | School Counselor
Day 1 | 2022 Inside Israel: Educational Leadership Seminar
The first day of travel in Israel was filled with dichotomies. The weather was sunny and clear, yet bitterly cold. In the morning the participants laughed in the green fields among sheep and goats, while in the afternoon we concentrated intensely on the solemn challenges faced by fellow educators who work with students from vastly different backgrounds. The morning involved with outside physical activities at Neot Kedumim that could be completed with some simple communication and teamwork, but following that was an afternoon of speaking with the staff of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam (Oasis of Peace) that left us struggling to find answers to a great many questions.
Avi provided us with an excellent description of the countryside, including the former location of “The Green Zone”, as our bus drove to Neot Kedumim. Upon our arrival, we were greeted by Michel, who explained that Neot Kedumim is a Biblical Landscape Reserve in Israel that is located halfway between Jerusalem and Tel Aviv. This unique recreation of the physical setting of the Bible in all its depth and detail allows visitors to see life as it was lived by our ancestors 3,000 years ago. More than a “garden” showing various plants, Neot Kedumim embodies the panorama and power of the landscapes which shaped the values of the Bible and provided the rich vocabulary for expressing those values. There were several giggles from the group as Michel described the location as the “bellybutton” of the county (located in the middle).
Michel lead our group to a small open structure that was located over an ancient cistern. The group was tasked with using non-verbal communication to manipulate four pulleys and a hook to open the cistern and drop in the bucket. This was quite a challenge, but Ron and Todd helped the group to eventually do so. We discussed the challenges and what the techniques we used told us about our leadership and group dynamics. Our next activities involved actual sheepherding as Michel challenged us to collect a group of 12-15 sheep and goats, move them to one location, and then shepherd them to another location. Our group used our voices, bodies, and positioning to to do so rather quickly. It was a great deal of fun and many commented on the similarities between asking the herd to move and asking teenagers to complete a task. Ellen, Natalie, and Kate wanted to take a cute little lamb back to the hotel. The staff at Neot Kedumim prepared us a delicious lunch and we warmed up a bit.
We next traveled to Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam (Oasis of Peace) and met with Riada, Rita, and Bob, teachers and residents of the village. They explained that the community was established in 1970 by Fr. Bruno Hussar on land of the Latrun Monastery. a village of Palestinian and Jewish citizens of Israel dedicated to building justice, peace and equality in the country and the region. They attempt to act as a model of equality, mutual respect and partnership that challenges existing patterns of racism and discrimination as well as the continued conflict. Many of the village members work in peace, justice and reconciliation projects. It has a population of 70+ families and will grow to 150 families. They deliberately keep the ratio of Palestinian and Jewish citizens to 50/50.
The room we met in was recently renovated due to an arson attack in January, 2022. We were told that the alleged perpetrators were recently apprehended and that their goal was to disrupt the cooperation between the two populations. Riada told us that a deputy minister of education had visited just the day before to speak with the staff about the incident. She indicated that she believed that the media contributes a great deal to the divisions facing the country and described a recent experience she had in which a reporter who interviewed her became angry at some of her answers about teaching cooperation and tolerance.
Rita explained how she uses logic to facilitate discussions among the students when difficult conversations need to occur. They discuss facts vs opinions, discuss the sources of information, and let each person finish speaking before responding. She indicated that “Understanding doesn’t mean agreeing.” She, Bob, and Avi discussed the mismatch between the ideals that some countries state in their founding documents versus whether those ideals are put in practice in modern day for all citizens. This experience and the discussion on the bus ride back to Jerusalem left many of us with more questions than we had begun the day with.
The sunny and clear day soon turned to a cold evening. Avi lead us as we walked the streets of Jerusalem along the ancient walls of the Old City, explored the site of a 2000 year of Roman cistern, climbed through Mishkenot Sha’ananim (first Jewish neighborhood outside of the Old City and now a very upscale part of the city), and finally a delicious fish dinner at Piccolino. Many of us bought some cold weather gear (gloves and hats) for tomorrow.