Arab-Israeli Conflict Day Seminar

MBI had a very informative day where they learned a lot, had fun and didn't even leave the hostel until the middle of the afternoon!

They kicked of their Arab-Israeli seminar day with two stations. One was led by this summer's rosh MBI, George Stevens, and focused on the history of the Arab-Israeli conflict in one hour. The session with George aimed to address the facts that both sides claim to be true through out the conflicts history. One of the goals was to give them as broad of a background as possible on the conflict. They started with the birth of Zionism in the late 1800's and worked their way up until today. Though this was a dificult task to complete in an hour, many came out of the crash course with a greater history context of the conflict today.

George leading the session.

Sarah Fisher, MBI's chinuch (educational director) led a station that focused on the current situation today in the region. Together, they covered many of the modern challenges to creating peace, looking at Gaza, Israel and West Bank. They watched "The Westbank Story" and then they discussed how youth tend to see the world in a different light, and have the power to affect change as a result.

After lunch, they began with an update on the most recent conflict of the last few weeks and spoke about yesterday's attempt at a cease-fire. After this there were chuggim, or interest groups. They chose one topic out of the following list and spent time discussion and learning together in groups...

• The conflict from the perspective of an IDF soldier... One of MBI's Hanoar Haoved (HD Sister Movement) madrichim (counselor) spoke about his personal experience.
• The experience of the conflict and violence, from the side of Gazan residents...
• Writing letters to their friends back in HDNA to describe their experience of what it's like to be in Israel during this current situation.
• How the movement in Israel has responded to the current situation.
• A look at the slogans of political groups on both the right and the left and how they relate differently and similarly to the conflict. 

When they arrived at their hostel in Shlomi for the night they had a peulah to help prepare them to meet with their Hanoar Haoved peers tomorrow. They explored Hanoar Haoved, learning about all the different branches of their movement, the educational work they do, and the impact they have on larger Israeli society. 

Tomorrow they will leave for Kibbutz Eshbal and get Tnua Achot underway!

More photos from today....

Learning about Hanoar Haoved