Massa ~ Massar: A journey of discovery for Jewish and Palestinian youth In Israel: July 2009

The Journey Massa~Massar of July 2009 was a cooperation of two Peace NGOs and members of the Global Network of Religions for Children: The Pluralistic Spiritual Center & The School for Peace in Neve Shalom ~ Wahat al-Salam and the “Open House”- Ramle.
This year, we had 20 participants, aged 15-17.

Three young women leaders from the previous Journeys, who were trained by the Geneva team on January 2009, participated in the planning and facilitation of the activities of the Journey.

First day: Coexistence; peace is possible
The Journey began on July 26 in Wahat al Salam ~ Neve Shalom (NSWAS). The participants received a tour and lecture about the village and its work from two young participants, one Jewish and one Muslim who are living in NSWAS. (Kerem Bairey - Ben Ishay and Muhammad Najjar). Most of the first day and evening was dedicated to getting to know each other.

Second day: Jerusalem and the three monotheistic religions
• Visit to Jewish, Muslim, Christian holy sites.
• Workshop on Spirituality.

Third day: Jerusalem - a divided city
This day was dedicated to the difficulties between Israelis and Palestinians in Jerusalem. The group learned about Jerusalem's challenges as a divided city. They learned about the human rights issues in the Palestinian (Eastern) part of Jerusalem and about the Jewish settlement of Ma'aleh Adomim. In the afternoon the group sat for a dialog session with NSWAS School for Peace facilitators.

Fourth day: History and present of Jaffa: an historical Arab Palestinian city
During the tour in Jaffa, the participants learned about the history of the Arab Palestinian town and the present challenges of Tel Aviv - Jaffa today as a mixed city .

Fifth day: Listening to each other painful narratives
In the Galilee we met : a Jewish member of Kibbutz Lohameh HaGhettaot, who was the son of Holocaust survivors; and a Palestinian, who is a son of refugees from the village of Al-Sameria. Kibbutz Lohameh HaGhettaot (“the Ghetto Fighters”) was built on the lands of Al-Sameria in 1949, one year after the destruction of the village. The encounter took place in the kibbutz cemetery and then by the cemetery of the Palestinian village, about 150 meters away. The meeting between the two was dramatic and the participants had a chance to process the experience and discuss it during a workshop in the afternoon.

Sixth day: What we learned and farewells
The last day opened with a session on sharing the participants' experiences. Many shared their strong impressions of this encounter, which they described as life-transforming. The Journey ended with a fun activity of ice skating. It was heartwarming to see the potential for joyful friendships after the intensive and often painful Journey.

Summary
On behalf of the participants and the organizing team – the members of GNRC Israel - we would like to thank you once again for your friendship, support and contribution for a more peaceful future for our young generation and the next ones.

We believe that a program such as Massa~Massar can set an example peace education initiative in other conflict areas.
We are convinced that young people who learn to get to know and understand each other at an early age will not agree to become enemies and will take action to promote peace.