Language
Aziz Abu Sarah
Bereaved Families Forum, All For Peace Radio
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Interview Highlights »
“ I learned that in order for me to live here, I needed to know Hebrew. This gave me a really bad feeling, but when you have to do it, you have to do it. When I went to all the Arab institutions that taught Hebrew, I realized that none of their graduates advance much after that, so I knew that I had to learn at a Jewish institution... Everyone in my class were either Jewish or foreign, and I believe that the first change in me started here. In this class there was something a little different. The teacher was nice to me, the students were nice to me. I didn’t find the racism I had encountered all my life... Even when I was with them, I used to question their kindness - why were they treating me like this, why were they nice to me? Maybe they’re trying to get something out of me. Maybe they were from the intelligence service.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Abigail Jacobson
Hands of Peace
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Interview Highlights »
“ The ideal situation would be that all the people who live in the State of Israel – and you could talk about the complex situation the Arab citizens of Israel are in – but for all the people here, I want them to be bilingual and understand both languages completely, communicate using both languages [Arabic and Hebrew]. I want there to be free passage between Israel and Palestine, for people to communicate, trade with each other, visit, maintain contacts, like in the European Community. That to me is ideal. Of course, you would cross from country to country, but you wouldn't need a visa, and you could cross freely. There would be trust, no fear or worries. That is the ideal situation.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Itamar Shapira
Combatants for Peace
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ We view the Palestinians and ourselves as having fought for useless things. We struggle for security but simultaneously prevent it; they are struggling for a state but the suicide attacks prevent that; we are in transition to a state of refraining from violence. We don’t use the term terrorist in our group anymore; we talk about people who took part in the violent struggle.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Kitty O. Cohen
Folklore of the Other: The Institute for the Study of Religion and Communities in Israel
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ If they’re young people, I suggest they refresh their Arabic, take a year of spoken Arabic, and then in addition take a few courses in Arab civilization, Arab culture. All schools should teach Arabic and their schools must teach Hebrew. They must not learn Hebrew only in prison. Most Palestinians I meet who are fluent in Hebrew have been in prison. First learn the language and then meet without any preconceptions or ideas of reconciliation or dialogical methods that come from overseas. We need to listen to them, to take away the fear that the people have. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Wafa Srour
The School for Peace
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Interview Highlights »
“ I cannot put my daughter in the school here [at Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam], where her Jewish teacher does not even know Arabic. It is not enough to have a Jewish teacher reading from an Arabic book. This confuses the children. There should be a Jewish teacher and an Arab teacher, or at least a Jewish teacher who speaks Arabic. Otherwise, attending this school would be at the expense of our language and our nationality, something which is totally unacceptable for me.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Nasser Laham
Maan News, Bethlehem Television
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Interview Highlights »
“ I have a program on television where I translate what the Israelis say, giving people information so they can make up their minds [...] I talk about stories rather than figures. If we replace the numbers with stories, it has a humanizing effect. Instead of saying, “Three Israeli Zionist criminals were killed” etc., I say, “Yossi, a doctor age 28, was on his way from Hebron to Jerusalem and was killed by a Palestinian bullet. He was the father of three and supported peace.” I say that Eyal, a soldier from Haifa, was killed in the Gaza Strip. His mother says, “Enough war. I don’t want him to be a hero, I want him to return!” I want the Palestinian people to think , because we aren't talking about numbers. The Palestinian people are suffering, and the Jewish people have suffered.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Michal Zak
The School for Peace
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Interview Highlights »
“ We understand that the fact that [the meetings] are conducted entirely in Hebrew is no trivial matter; it's not that "language doesn't matter as long as we're talking to each other." The fact that everything goes on in Hebrew proves that there isn't an equal opportunity environment here, and that we are sticking to inequity. Language is far more than just a medium for communication; it's a matter of culture, identity, lots of things. Not only does it mean that the Arabs are giving up so much within our dialogue but also that by not speaking Arabic I'm not taking the important steps that I'm supposed to be taking. I can talk all I want about how I support equality, but it's limited because there's a difference between someone who speaks only their own language and between someone who's bilingual. It hurts because it's a difficult criterion. It's not easy learning a language. But I think that's the way it is, and we need to address it.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Ester Golan
Interfaith Encounter Association
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Interview Highlights »
“ When you talk about peace activists, that's political. I am really far removed from political attitudes. If I want the other one to respect me as a Jew, and my religion as legitimate, I have to do the same to him. It's a mutual acceptance of being different. You see, if you use the word peace, war and peace stand opposite each other. But even in wartime I have to encounter the "other." So I don't use these terms. I'm very, very careful in choosing words. I don't use refugee, I don't use victim, I don't use peace, war I have used, that's true. But I try to see beyond those terms. I try to choose words that are neutral, which are not closing in, but opening out.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Salwa Abu Libdeh
Dialogue On The Road
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Interview Highlights »
“ The biggest challenge to joint work] was the language. I can't speak Hebrew, so I decided to start learning Hebrew. If I want to understand the other and try to create a link together, I need to understand his language. There's a proverb in Arabic that says, "If you learn the language of a nation, you guarantee that they can't harm you." So I followed the same idea, to understand him more to be able to deal with him better. So my first goal now is to learn the Hebrew language.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Itamar Shapira
Combatants for Peace
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ ...We view the Palestinians and ourselves as having fought for useless things. We struggle for security but simultaneously prevent it; they are struggling for a state but the suicide attacks prevent that; we are in transition to a state of refraining from violence. We don’t use the term terrorist in our group anymore; we talk about people who took part in the violent struggle.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Professor Sami Adwan
PRIME (Peace Research Institute in the Middle East)
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Through our analysis of Palestinian and Israeli curricula, we have found that both sides tell one-sided stories. They both tell only their own part of the story; Israelis tell their stories and Palestinians tell their stories. I am not saying that the Palestinians wrote their narrative, however, as this was the narrative presented in the school curriculum written by the Jordanians and Egyptians. Regardless, what is very apparent is a complete denial and disregard for the other's story. Palestinians learn in their own language, Arabic, and Israelis learn in Hebrew. There is not even a proposition to listen to the other's story or learn about how the other thinks. This is one issue. Another issue is that neither curriculum pays attention to the eras of peace and co-existence that once existed between Palestinians and Jews. Rather, both curricula are limited to discussing wars, immigration, revolutions, and attacks.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Orly Noy
All For Peace Radio
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ We thought that we were going to end up alienating both sides if they had to hear both languages at once. If I don't understand Arabic, it will just be annoying to me to hear the sound of a language that I don't understand, and that I also resent somehow. So we thought, let the people just hear one hour in Hebrew, a language they know and understand, and through that, familiarize them with the subjects we want to discuss. But if we mix the two languages together we would end up losing both sides. That was the rationale.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Ali Abu Awwad
Bereaved Families Forum, Al Tareek (The Way)
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ There is an alternative language to violence. You can convince humans when you talk to them logically. I said that I understood their feelings. I don’t accept their feelings and don’t accept living under occupation as the price for your feelings, but I do understand that you are human. This language is very effective. A Palestinian woman once said that I am a traitor of my people who aims to stop them from fighting. I answered her in her own language and told her that if you feel that the Palestinian airplanes and tanks are locked away in a warehouse and I am holding the keys, then you can kill me. I told her that I am not stopping you from fighting. She was confused.[…] I wouldn’t have answered her in such a way if I wasn’t involved in this work. The Ali I was a year ago would have answered her differently. Our belief in what we do increases as a result of our work, and we are really inventing a new language that wasn’t heard previously. I never before heard an Israeli say that the occupation is unacceptable and that the Israelis are the ones who should resist it. I didn’t hear this from any Israeli; I heard this from Israelis who lost sons and daughters. This made me believe that there is an alternative language. ” [Source in Complete Interview]
Ester Golan
Interfaith Encounter Association
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Peace doesn't have any meaning to me, because it's not part of my vocabulary. The war is fought, and the war is won or lost, and there is an end to it. Throughout my life I have never encountered the [use of the] word peace which has any meaning to me. I've encountered wars, one war after another, but nothing else […] It's something that doesn't belong to my repertoire. The nearest I can get is peaceful living, side by side, but peaceful is not peace. Maybe it's because it's part of the Hebrew thinking. Shalom. Shalom is something else. You say, "Shalom Aleichem," but you don't say, "peace unto you." Shalom has some connotation that is very unique to the word Shalom. And when I greet you and I say "Shalom," or in the prayer, Heveinu Shalom Aleichem "Grant us peace" -- Shalom is from the word "whole," shalem, and it's connected to the word Jerusalem, so it doesn't fit into the opposite of war. It's something in its own right. That's why I'm careful in using the term, because it has to have a meaning that also means something to me. And "Peace Movement" is a political term, it's been politicized. So I may not fit your image of peace workers.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Orly Noy
All For Peace Radio
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ This particular coming together also has a voice, which is the voice of radio, [so] I thought it was such a great idea. Because there used to be a Voice of Peace radio station, which was an excellent radio station, but they escaped into a third language, into English. I thought, this is exactly how it should be done: Hebrew and Arabic, and not broadcasting from a remote boat on the sea, but from Ramallah, and sitting in Jerusalem! And I thought that was a great idea. And the voice, people can hear us! I thought it was the best way to do it.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Yafit Gamila Biso
The Olive Tree
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Interview Highlights »
“ To this day I'm in touch with boys for whom I was the first Israeli they could even understand and speak to. I spoke to them in their language and explained things to them. At first they were under the impression that I was Arab, so I stood up to them. I said, "No, I'm not Arab, I'm Jewish-Israeli. I do speak Arabic, it makes both my life and yours easier, but I'm Jewish-Israeli. There's nothing you can do, you can't make me an Arab. You must accept me as an Israeli Jew. Then I'll be with you all the way then. If you continue insisting that I'm Arab, I'm not here."” [Source in Complete Interview]
Ibrahim Issa
Hope Flowers School
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ […]we are teaching Hebrew to minimize fear and prevent stereotyping. We see Hebrew as a way to create contact between Palestinians and Israelis, to encourage the contact.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Michal Zak
The School for Peace
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ [Often] the Arabs, usually the younger generation - if they are bilingual - choose not to speak Arabic because it connotes inferiority. This is very profound, and it often happens to minority groups. Our team decided that everyone who works here must learn Arabic. This year we decided that workers who are bilingual will receive a bonus in their salaries.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Shlomo Zagman
Realistic Religious Zionism, Mosaica
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Interview Highlights »
“ Take the period prior to the disengagement from Gaza and the Right's struggle against it. They [the Israeli Right] said, 'What about human rights? Expelling people and demolishing their homes is a human rights violation.' In other words, "consider" the residents of Gush Katif's human rights; all of a sudden they were talking about democracy, about human rights, civil rights, equality and such terms, but only when it applied to them. When Arab-Israeli citizens are treated like second class citizens and lack equal civil rights, they [the Right] don't listen to these terms; they aren't interested. But they do acknowledge these terms when they need to, then they know all about the Basic Laws [filling the function of a constitution] in a democratic state.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Nasser Laham
Maan News, Bethlehem Television
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ I don’t hate the word peace, but I found that neither my people nor the Israeli people believe in it anymore [...] when people hear this word, they hear something that hurts; it denotes American-style peace, Oslo Accord peace. I am searching for a word, the way the word t’adia (calm), is now used instead of ceasefire. People want new words, a new lexicon, so I must think of a new word instead.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Itamar Shapira
Combatants for Peace
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Most people who come speak Hebrew but everything is translated into Hebrew and Arabic. We have translators; there were a few meetings with professional translators but mostly there are people among us who translate, Israeli guys who understand Arabic or Arab guys who speak Hebrew. Everything is translated into both languages. Language is a major obstacle to the flow of things, for decision-making. It will take a long time, but gradually we will all speak Arabic and Hebrew.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Rutie Atsmon
Windows
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ The kids involved in Windows are mostly from working class families and not from upper class families, so most of them don't always speak English and our kids [Israelis] don't always speak English. We work in Hebrew and in Arabic. During the kids' free time, during breaks between the sessions, the kids -- if they can -- communicate in English. At the age of 12-14 the kids usually don't speak enough English though, so it means that it is more difficult to create connections between kids because of the language barrier.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Orly Noy
All For Peace Radio
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Hebrew is an occupying power over the Palestinians. It's funny how it's almost taken for granted by us that they would speak Hebrew and we wouldn't speak Arabic. Even between the languages the Hebrew occupies the Arabic, even at our radio station. I wish I could speak… I'm sure that, you know what, it's not even a good excuse, because if I had spoken Arabic with them it would have improved, obviously, but somehow you know it just turned out this way that we all speak Hebrew.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Professor Sami Adwan
PRIME (Peace Research Institute in the Middle East)
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ Another issue is one of the key expressions used in the Israeli curriculum to this day: the term "Eretz Israel." Palestinians call this land "Palestine." A question thus becomes: what is the definition of "Eretz Israel?" Is it from the Nile to the Euphrates or from the [Mediterranean] sea to the [Jordan] river? If this term continues to be used, it signifies a complete denial of the existence of Palestine. On the other hand, if the term Palestine, as it has been used historically, remains identified as the land from the sea to the river, then it also signifies denial of the existence of Israel. Thus, there are differences in the terms that are employed, as well as what is meant by those terms. The Palestinians consider the revolts that took place in the late twenties and thirties to be revolutions and resistance. Israelis, in contrast, view them as riots and disturbances. He who is a hero in the eyes of one group may be a saboteur in the eyes of another.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Khulood Badawi
Association for Civil Rights in Israel (ACRI), Ta'ayush, Coalition of Women for Peace, Bat Shalom
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Interview Highlights »
“ I realized there was a basis for cooperation between different groups that spoke different languages but had the same principles--even though there wasn't a real movement that did this at the time. This transformed my views about work strategies and about who is an actual partner. Is the work confined to Arabs or is the success of the work measured by the extent of the participation of different people from different cultures?” [Source in Complete Interview]
Itamar Shapira
Combatants for Peace
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“Most people who come speak Hebrew but everything is translated into Hebrew and Arabic. We have translators; there were a few meetings with professional translators but mostly there are people among us who translate, Israeli guys who understand Arabic or Arab guys who speak Hebrew. Everything is translated into both languages. Language is a major obstacle to the flow of things, for decision-making. It will take a long time, but gradually we will all speak Arabic and Hebrew.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Professor Sami Adwan
PRIME (Peace Research Institute in the Middle East)
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ "Dialogue" is a big word that I try to avoid, especially in reference to inter-religious dialogue, because it leads to a dead-end. My aim in this project was, first, for both Christians and Muslims, to learn more about their own religions, and second, for each to learn as much as possible about the religion of the other and to develop a relationship based upon mutual respect and acceptance. Acceptance does not mean that a Muslim becomes Christian or vice versa. It means that each accepts the other the way that he or she is, without imposing any sort of pressure or constraint or denying him a thing.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Shwanesh Maniov
Seeds of Peace, Children of Abraham
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ When I was at Seeds of Peace facilitating, I had an important experience while we watched a movie about what happened in South Africa. I'm sitting there during the film saying to myself, "Wow, how can they call the blacks 'terrorists' on the news?" (They showed parts of news broadcasts.) "How can they call them terrorists? They wanted their freedom, they want to live on their lands, why should they be called terrorists?" Suddenly I was against this strong government, in this case it was white, and it didn't seem right. And then we watched Jenin, Jenin half an hour later, and suddenly I was on the powerful side, the Israeli side, trampling the other. And I call people 'terrorists.' Suddenly I was experiencing thoughts like, "What right do I have coming to Israel, immigrating to Israel, living in Tel Aviv without any fear?" I wasn't born here; my parents weren't born in Israel! What right do I have? Who gave it to me? I never thought about these things before! I never questioned my right to the land. But watching the film about South Africa raised moral questions inside me.” [Source in Complete Interview]
Professor Sami Adwan
PRIME (Peace Research Institute in the Middle East)
Portrait »
Interview Highlights »
“ [I was] kept inside a prison cell with two soldiers positioned outside the door. The door had a single hole, no more than five centimeters in diameter. The soldiers called out to me and told me that there was a paper that I had to sign. The paper was written in Hebrew and, as I don't know Hebrew, I said, "No, I am not signing a document that I cannot read." He said, "I'll translate it for you." I replied, "Why would I trust you enough to translate it for me? If it states my charge and I sign it, then I will be admitting to that charge." So I refused to sign it […] When I was having this conversation with the officer, however, there was another soldier with him. That soldier asked the officer, "How can we make him sign a paper when he doesn't know what it says?" I'm not sure that I understood exactly what he said, but this is what I assume they were talking about. At that point it was as if the conflict was not between the soldiers and me, but rather between the soldiers themselves. I began to realize that even soldiers wearing the same uniform could have different opinions and ways of thinking. This is what being in prison gave me the opportunity to learn; that I should not look at others and assume that they are all the same. This was an extremely important experience.” [Source in Complete Interview]
