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A meeting with friends from around the world
Saturday 14 December 2019
From November 6 - 10 the Annual General Meeting of the WASNS Friends Associations took place in the village. Some 24 delegates came from 10 countries, most of these coordinators or board members of the Friends Associations. The meeting, which in practice is usually held about once every 18 months, provides friends and supporters of the village an opportunity to touch base, catch up with the educational peace work of the village, and share strategies for support.
On the evening of Wednesday November 6 we gathered in the Hotel lobby for a buffet reception with members of the community. This was closely followed by a slideshow presentation to mark the 35th anniversary of the binational primary school. A few words were spoken by early members of the primary school, parents and even a recent graduate - the daughter of Tom Edlund. Tom was among the first graduates of the school co-founded by his mother Ety Edlund. Among others attending were Aisheh Najjar, whose late husband Abdessalam started the school with Ety, and their daughter Shireen, who had attended the school together with Tom.
A visit to the school was also the first item on the agenda the following day. The delegates, wearing t-shirts emblazoned with the logo of the school, joined the pupils for their morning exercise session and then visited the classes.
The majority of the AGM sessions took place in the Fred Segal Peace and Friendship Library. The delegates also spent time in each of the educational institutions. The directors, coordinators and senior staff took part in the meetings, as did the chairpersons and committee members of the association of educational institutions. It goes without saying that the staff of the Communications and Development (C&D) office staff were present throughout.
This year’s meeting featured a number of memorable guest speakers and panels. Among these were Niv Vizel, the mayor of the Mateh Yehuda Regional Council (the district to which WASNS belongs), Prof. Nimrod Aloni, head of the Institute of Progressive Education, who spoke of the school’s curriculum development; a panel on partners in peace work that included veteran civil society leader and activist Shuli Dichter, feminist civil society leader Fida Nara and well-known singer and veteran collaborator with Palestinian musicians, David Broza. The latter three spoke of WASNS within the wider context of Palestinian and Jewish Israeli civil society. (Link to video recording)
As usual, one of the most popular sessions was a meeting with School for Peace graduates who have become leading activists in their own fields. By request of the AGM delegates, Oasis of Peace UK director Sir Andrew Burns led a discussion about recent manifestations of anti-semitism around the world.
The last day of formal AGM sessions included two special activities: In a dedication of a Garden of Friends in the village, there was a ceremony in memory of the late founder and chair of the Swiss Friends of NSWAS, Peter Dreyfus. The ceremony was attended by Peter’s son Jean Luc Dreyfus and many family members. A video of the event can be seen here.
The same evening, there was a piano concert by resident musicians Yuval Admony and Tami Kanazawa, in honor of the recently retired directors of Oasis of Peace UK Benita Hide and Gillian Gruder. Benita, who was present, received a medallion and gave a short acceptance speech.
Almost every AGM includes a field trip, often on the final day and left as an option for the delegates. This year we went on a tour of the old city of Hebron with the Breaking the Silence organization. The delegates were joined by many village members, as well as volunteers and interns. This shocking, heartbreaking tour left a strong impression on everyone who took part.
Evaluation questionnaires showed that the majority of the delegates thought that the AGM was a resounding success, and their feedback, as usual, will help to make our next meetings even more successful.
Many people, from the C&D staff to the hotel management, to staff of the association of educational institutions, to volunteers and interns and the delegates themselves worked very hard to produce this important event. Sincere thanks are due to all.
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