Building Bridges is a peace project involving Israel, Palestine and Germany. It arranges meetings for mutual learning about cultures and ways of life and training in democratic principles and non-violent solutions of conflicts, with an emphasis on German, Jewish and Arab history. In 2002 seven teachers from the Friedrichsgymnasium in Frankfurt visited their friends in Israel and Palestine in order to set up student exchanges. This is a report on that preliminary visit, which resulted in regular meetings of students from Israel and Germany in both countries.
Only a few days ago seven of us, all teachers from the Friedrichsgymnasium, returned from a one-week visit to our friends in Israel and Palestine. We had gone to prepare the next students' meeting and to see how our friends were in these unusual times.
Even preparing for the trip had been kind of difficult because of fear – not only our own, but also that of our families.
The journey started at Berlin-Schönefeld Airport, where El Al has an extra terminal protected by the army where all passengers are intensively interviewed by the Israeli security service – a journey to a war region is something special. The war in the Middle East has lasted too long – this feeling was confirmed by our impressions during our stay.
We experienced what the situation is like – the occupation, the permanent presence of armed forces, the fear felt by our Israeli and Palestinian friends.
Our programme in Israel was extensive. In one workshop we became mediators between Jewish and Arab Israelis who were meeting there for the first time. We could feel their emotions and were very careful. We gained a better understanding of many things.
Our German history was always hanging over us, like a veil of memory. We had become aware of this some time previously when we met a group of Israeli students here in Frankfurt (Oder) in January 2002. Yael , a 15-year-old girl, said about her trip to Germany, “I was afraid of going to Germany. In my family there are Holocaust victims. I was scared when I came to Frankfurt. But it was completely different. I made friends.” And Guy, also 15, said: “I always thought my life was normal and safe. But when I came to Frankfurt I learned that feeling free, safe and carefree means much more.”
We had to convince our Israeli friends that we also wanted to visit the old city of Jerusalem and our friends in Bethlehem. They accompanied us to Jerusalem. Mara, a teacher and organiser from the Democratic School of Hadera, had not been there for twenty years. Itzhak, a teacher in the nearby town of Katzir where he is almost alone in supporting our partnership, came with us too, after putting on the kind of T-shirt usually worn by tourists.
The Old City was almost empty. There were hardly any visitors, so it was no wonder that all the guides and shop-keepers wanted to talk to us, sell us something, just ask where we were from. But there was so little time and we were also a bit scared. We wanted to see the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and the Wailing Wall. It was a strange feeling to stand near the Wall and see a company of young soldiers praying before going into action.
On Monday we went to the checkpoint for Bethlehem – Gilo. We walked across the border, this time surrounded only by barbed wire, army vehicles and machine guns. The street, which when we visited in 1999 had been crowded with people offering their goods, was now completely empty and quiet.
Then we had to make our way to the Hope Flowers School. Ibrahim, our Palestinian friend, picked us up in the school car and took us to the road blocks near the school. All the roads to the school are blocked, even though this is an autonomous Palestinian area with children living there. We saw three watch towers with soldiers armed with machine guns and ready to open fire.
Despite all the difficulties the school has developed since my visits in 1999 and 2000: they have continued work on the school building and finished a sports field, and they are now working on a garden and have completed a water treatment plant.
What strength these people must have to do all this work! And how determined they must be to bring up children in a different atmosphere and to avoid encouraging them to become suicide-bombers!
We want to work with these special people and offer something for the future.
Back in Hadera our friends' reaction to our feelings was very sensitive and full of empathy. We perfectly understood Itzhak when he asked, “Do Ghada and Ibrahim also want to work with us?” He was slowly approaching the issue of our joint responsibility for our children.
In all the discussions with our friends one thing became quite obvious – we cannot solve the conflict, but step by step we can contribute to a solution.
That is why we want to involve parents as well at our next meeting in January – we just want more people to share our ideas.
We want to work with students and exchange life-stories. We want to write about fears and sorrows but also about hopes and dreams. We dream of a school book in Hebrew, Arabic, English and German – a book free of prejudices and accusations and which does not take sides.
It must not take sides, but it must stand up for the children, because they deserve our care.