Israel 2014

Israel

Israel - Living in Peace can turn into reality

We were in the North of Israel, in Mizpe Aviv, close to Nazareth. We came together with young people of Arab and Jewish origin, with young people from South Africa, Poland and Germany. We are working together  to build a playground in the shape of a rainbow. For us the rainbow became a sign of hope after a time of destruction and a promise of everlasting peace.

The ongoing war between Israel and Hamas started in the week before our project. Relatives and friends of our participants are dying on both sides.

Pastor Rolf Martin is the German Leader of the project. He says: “We struggled over whether we could take young people to this country in times of war. We decided to go. We feel the need to show all our brothers and sisters solidarity and commitment’’

Through our work, we have been able to live together and connect to one another.  These friendships have formed in the presence of deeply-held views which have often conflicted.  This did not happen because we swept these differences under the table, but rather because we sought to fully accept the complexities of one another’s lives. 

We have come to believe, on the basis of what we have experienced, that taking personal responsibility for examining our perceptions of others is a process that leads towards peaceful coexistence.

Our Playground was opened on Friday, the 25th of July.

Here you can hear our message: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZ9rgjRZK60


thr rainbowproject-Youth