Dialogue work in Nes Ammim

Dialogue News
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Israel is divided into two major groups: Jews and Arabs.
Some Jews are afraid to enter Arab villages or areas, and some Arabs fear the
Israeli police. The fears (LINK) prevent them to talk with each other.
The reservations held by each group against the other influence the everyday life in Israel.

Dialogue work is urgently needed. Yet the organisations which work on it are small and they are only a few in number. Nes Ammim performs pioneering work in the North of Israel, in the Galilee.
dialoguegroup Jewish and Arab pupils meet in the study room.

Israeli groups meet in Nes Ammim: Jews, Muslim and Christian Arabs, and Druze. They speak with each other in seminars, talking about hard subjects including the confiscation of Arab houses and land during the foundation of the State of Israel, about the occupied West Bank, about East Jerusalem and the Israeli wall behind which the Palestinians live.
The seminars are organised, but not lead, by volunteers, because the foreigners in Nes Ammim do not want to claim to be able to explain to the Israelis how to solve the Middle East conflict.
Experienced Israelis of Jewish and Arab origin direct the seminar groups in Nes Ammim. Nes Ammim finances these seminars. They are most of the time free for the participants, including the travel expenses to Nes Ammim and the accomodation in the guest house (LINK) in Nes Ammim.


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Dialogue work in Nes Ammim: Three Jewish girls and two Arab boys on the grass in front of the guest house.

While Israel is divided into Arab and Jewish towns, villages and areas, Nes Ammim is a neutral place. The dialogue groups coming to Nes Ammim esteem this. Nes Ammim enjoys their respect and confidence.

Dialogue Coordinator

Frans van der Sar
As a pastor he worked for the Protestant church in the Netherlands (PKN), now he is coordinating the dialogue work in Nes Ammim for three years.
E-Mail:
or:

The Local Committee

While Nes Ammim volunteers organise the dialogue work every day, a committe of seven Israelis takes the main decisions. The committee comprises Jews and Arabs who are rich in experience and ideas and deserve the respect they receive.

Nes Ammim is proud to have these people in the Local Advisory Committee:

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The Dutch television broadcasted the TV documentary about the dialogue work in Nes Ammim and the life of Professor Simon Schoon:

Source: derdetestament.nl
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Dialogue News
Shave Zion

Shave Zion

„I'm sorry for what my people and my family did to you“, this sentence opened the doors of the rest home in Shave Zion for me. The בית המיסדימ „Beit Hamejasdim“, a home for retired people was donated by the government of Württemberg to Swab Jews living in Israel. Today ten women inhabit the home, who could flee from the destruction and expulsion by the Nazi regime. In the context of the „ideological working hours - project“, volunteers can contribute to the different aspects of dialogue work in Nes Ammim. Meeting these women can generate heartache and pain by the volunteers facing a shameful part of German history. Nevertheless, they also experience the generosity and sense of humour of the Shoa survivors. Christian - Jewish dialogue in this place means meeting witnesses of contemporary German history and listening to them. This encounter makes volunteers more sensitive to all kinds of forms of anti Semitism and neo Nazism. „I'm sorry“- this sentence is essential. It didn't make me small, but helped me to maintain a German identity that is aware of history. Ulrike Haag