We would like to thank all the hundreds of donors that have been generously donating for our activities. Any donation, even the most modest, helps us to perform our daily work in creating trust building gathering and long term relationships.
Our dear friends
Your help and support of our daily work to promote relationships and trust and peace building is blessed.
We will be happy if you would like to support us. Most of our activity is being done by volunteers, doing a lot for this cause. Yet we need financial support in order to cover the multiple expanses including busses, food, media, etc. We thank you for your support and wish to see you in the coming activity.
A common Iftar meal with 40 people in Umars' house
On September 3rd we gathered 40 people of the Sulha and El Tarik families and other members in Umars' house. We were invited to join the Iftar meal of the Ramadan – the fast breaking meal. The view was breath taking and many of the guests have experienced a meeting inside the Palestinian authorities for the first time in their lives. After the delicious meal, we were sitting and singing songs together and later we had a listening circle that lasted few hours, in which we shared the voices from our hearts and gave our blessing for the up coming Sulha.
First encounter for peace activists at Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salaam On Thursday 23rd July thirty Jewish and Arab peace activists gathered for six hours. All are passionate activists, who share a great faith in the ability of the public to create significant changes in society. Some of the participants are active in organizing the Sulha gatherings or other encounters for peace and others are from the Palestinian NGO, Al-Tariq.Together we are united by a profound desire to create an encounter that is genuine, straightforward and demonstrates an awareness of the current reality in which we live.
One of the outcomes of the first special meeting at Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salaam was the idea of a two day encounter at Talitha Kumi in the West Bank which would be jointly planned and coordinated by Israelis and Palestinians at every stage. On the 3rd August a team of five Israelis and five Palestinians met at Talitha Kumi to start planning a larger encounter for sixty activists, leaders and visionari
Third encounter at Dumiya-Sakina,
Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salaam, August 14th
Thirty peace activists gathered for ten hours in the tranquil, beautiful space donated to us in Dumiya spiritual pluralistic center. Our aims were to reconnect, find our personal vision for peace, explore ways of deepening and developing our relationship, and plan our forthcoming activities.
We started the encounter with a delicious lunch prepared by the participants, followed by activities to get to know each other better. Through guided meditation, drama and discussion, various dreams and personal visions emerged, which we then combined to form a shared vision able to empower all present to work together for peace.
The second part of the program was spent planning the next Sulhita. Brainstorming with participants from previous Sulhita youth gatherings revealed a host of powerful and life changing experiences produced by the Sulhita. An enormous desire was expressed for more gatherings and to share this amazing experience with many more young people. We envisioned a future encounter in the fall for sixty Israeli and Palestinian youth. Each participant pledged a practical contribution to help to make this happen. The spirit of volunteering was inspiring. People offered to recruit youth, raise funds, find transportation, prepare food and help in the kitchen, plan and facilitate the program, prepare the camp and more.
Next we addressed the importance of constructive communication, cultural gaps and differences in worldview that create misunderstandings and disappointments. It was important to all of us to clarify our wishes, expectations and ideal ways of working together. Finally, we welcomed Shabbat, shared a wonderful dinner and concluded with drumming and dancing into the night.
Youth Peace Camp in Europa Park, Germany
On August 3rd, Sulha activists and board members, Lee Ziv and Gabriel Meyer led a group of seven Israelis aged 18 to 22 to participate in a transformative and powerful Youth Peace Camp in EuropaPark, Germany, sponsored by the Council of Europe. Now in its sixth year, the camp was comprised of similar delegations from three different regions suffering from violent conflict:
