Primary School

School prize for excellence

The WAS-NS Primary School is among this year’s finalists for the Ministry of Education’s Prize for Excellency. On Feb 20 the Ministry sent a team to meet with teachers and pupils and discuss how the binational/bilingual curriculum is taught at the school.

More photos

Robotics Competition

Pupils of 5th grade participated to a national competition in Robotics, Mathematics and Cybertech this year. We congratulate them for making it to the final for their excellent Robotic project, which will take place in about a month. The pupils had already reached an excellent position last year in the discipline of Mathematics.

School for Peace

Meeting at the Arab Center for Alternative Planning

Participants of planners’ course which is held by The School for Peace in collaboration with The Arab Center for Alternative Planning had a meeting on Friday 11 January, 2019 at the northern village Eilabun. Participants had an enriching lecture by the previous Knesset member Dr. Hanna Swaid, talked before and after the lecture and finally had a tour around the village lead by two local course participants Nasim and Sari who did that with much care and pleasure.

(See post on sfpeace.org)

Mental Health Professionals

The Course for Mental Health Professionals was one of the programs impacted by the decision of USAID to cease funding for all joint Israeli - Palestinian programs in the country after the end of January. An appeal went out to the Friends Associations to help offset the funding shortage, and this received some pledges of support.

In January the Israeli and Palestinian participants in the ongoing course met to plan joint projects and produce a workplan.

(see post)

The group also met for a third workshop that focused on acquiring facilitation skills needed for negotiations.

(see post

News from the Spiritual Center and the Oasis Art Gallery

Int’l rescuers day

This year WAS-NS presented the award for contemporary rescuers to Azezet H. Kidane, known as "Sister Aziza", for saving lives and performing humanitarian activities around the world. Locally, she has been active on behalf of disadvantaged populations in Israel and Palestine.

Read more

"She’s Gone" - Women against violence Exhibition at the Oasis Art Gallery

"She’s Gone - Violence Against Women" is the fifth exhibition to take place at the Oasis Art Gallery.May violence end in all its forms, including the murder of women! Read about the Exhibition:)

One reaction to the exhibition, was that of Sister Aziza. See the story on the website "Sister Aziza and Sylvana’s Story"

Cinema in the Community

"Locked Down" January 2, 2019

The opening night of the "Cinema in the Community 2019" project, which took place on Wednesday, 2.1.2019, was a resounding success. The opening film was the film "Locked Down" (2013) by director Liat Mer, who accompanies three women prisoners at the Neve Tirza women’s prison. After the screening a conversation was held with her. Came high-quality film lovers from the Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom community, the community of school parents and from the area. The conversation was fascinating and it can be said that in fact began to form a regional film club and this wonderful news.

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Daniel Wachsman "Acre Dreams" February 6, 2019

The film Acre Dreams (2018) was screened in the presence of the director, Daniel Wachsmann.

Describe a work on a play that was never staged. Azzam Salameh, a Palestinian theater director, directs an autobiographical play in Acre in 1947, at the end of the British Mandate period. The play tells the story of the love between his grandmother, the Palestinian singer Lila and Dr. Alfasi, the last Jewish doctor and resident of the city during the war. The film, which follows and documents the work on this controversial play, is the only surviving testimony of Azzam’s play.

Daniel Najenson "The Impure" March 13, 2019

The Impure (2017) Screening in the presence of the director, Daniel Najenson
A documentary film. Through the lives of two women, the film traces the connection between a Jewish criminal organization involved in the trafficking of women in early 20th century Argentina, and the situation regarding the trafficking of women and prostitution in our own times.

Children’s Plays

"The Dream is a Great Painter" February 9, 2019

The play, by the Habait Theatre and Noa Dar Dance Group, was presented for children and parents.

"Up and Down" March 13, 2019

"Up and Down", a play of the "Koom-Koom" Theater, directed, acted and with puppet design and props by Katia and Andrei Orbach, written by Maria Nemirovsky, set design by Maria Michaelov

International Women’s Day Event

On Thursday, March 14, The village (including the WAS-NS Municipal Society and the association for its educational institutions) conducted a well attended evening around International Women’s Day. Read more

Communications and Development Office

Budgets and Annual financial report approved

The Audited Annual Financial Report for 2017 and the annual budgets of the Municipal Society and the Association of Educational Institutions have been approved and will be made available to our Friends Associations and others.

Young people’s delegation to Germany

In March, second generation village members Mohammed Ighbariyeh and Adam Ben Shabat were invited to Germany for a short speaking tour in schools. They performed their mission admirably, by all accounts.

More about this

Roundtable on "Shrinking Spaces in the public discourse in Israel"

In early March, WAS-NS Communications and Development director Samah Salaime participated in a Roundtable organised by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung (FES) which took place in ZOA House, Tel Aviv. The event was arranged to coincide with a visit of German parliamentarians to Israel. The panelists discussed the theme of "Shrinking Spaces in the public discourse in Israel".
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New Intern: Manel

Manel is a lawyer at the Paris Bar and wishes to specialise in human rights law with a focus on the relation between business activity and human rights. Before joining the village, Manel worked in international dispute resolution departments of law firms in Paris and London. She has started her internship with the C&D Office of the village in February and is sponsored by the French friends who receive from her a bi-monthly letter and are delighted to have more contacts with WASNS.

Visitors Center

Visit of Women Wage Peace

On Friday March 1 we hosted a group of 30 women from the Gedera branch of the organization Women Wage Peace. Visit Center Director, Rita Boulos and WAS-NS member Boaz Kitain received them in the Oasis Art Gallery. Afterwards the Oasis Art Gallery’s curator Dyana Shalufi Rizek gave them a guided tour of the current exhibition, "Violence against Women," which confronts the issue of women murdered by close family members. We received afterwards a warm letter of thanks.

read more

Publications

Books by Nava Sonnenschein and Rayek Rizek have been translated and published in German

For information:

Review of Il Folle Sogno di Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam

The prestigious French magazine "Revue Biblique" has published a review of Brunetto Salvarani’s book "ll folle sogno di Neve Shalom Wahat al-Salam : israeliani e palestinesi insieme sulla stessa terra".

Read article in French

WASNS people in the news

Samah Salaime and Amit Kitain

Two WAS-NS residents counted as "most influential activists"
(see post)

For the second consecutive year, WAS-NS development director Samah Salaime has been chosen as one of society’s leading women, and this year WAS-NS member Amit Kitain was also named one of the year’s influential activists.

Samah: “This only proves that the struggle for peace and the struggle for social justice and equality are two sides of the same coin – a currency which, in Wahat al-Salam – Neve Shalom, we mint for the whole world.”

A Sisterhood for Change

Hadassah reports on women’s activists Samah Salaime (of WAS-NS) and Hamutal Gouri, and their effective"feminist coalition combating domestic violence."

Noam Shuster has been making waves in Israel and the Arab world after launching her career as a stand-up comedian.

She made the cover of Haaretz weekend gallery supplement with a long story about her. Then she caused an explosion in Arab media after a mock marriage proposal to the Saudi leader.

"It’s impossible to reduce me" and Arab world abuzz

Tami and Yuval featured in Piano Journal

Yuval and Tami were featured on the cover and interviewed for the lead article of the Piano Journal of the European Piano Teachers’ Association. They talk about their personal story including their reasons for coming to live in Wahat al-Salam - Neve Shalom.

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Two Upcoming Conferences

Conference on Activist Pedagogy and World Betterment: March 20

Primary School principal Carmella Ferber and teacher Lutfia Ganima, together with SFP director Nava Sonnenschein and C&D director Samah Salaime and others will participate in a conference organized at the Kibbutz College of Education.

International Conference on Constitutionalism, Constitution-Making and Sovereignty

The School for Peace is one of the organizers of a prestigious International Conference at Tel Aviv University: Constitutionalism, Constitution-Making and Sovereignty – A Theoretical and Comparative Perspective (see post)