JERUSALEM | Over 100 Israeli and Palestinian Seeds (from Camp 2009-2011) came together in Haifa on January 28 to hear about the city’s history and to engage in cross-conflict learning.
As a city with a large Arab population, Haifa has significance to many Seeds. Some of the Palestinian Seeds from the West Bank who attended the binational come from families who have refugee status and whose relatives lived in Haifa before 1948.
Given this context, the day focused on learning about the city, its current and former inhabitants, and the different narratives about its history–and how those narratives relate to the larger narratives of the conflict.
Seeds took a walking tour through Wadi Nisnas, a neighborhood with particular historical importance in relation to 1948. Today, the neighborhood is the home of an art festival and a tolerance project. Guides from Beit Hagefen, the Arab-Jewish Community Center in Haifa, led tours for the Seeds through the neighborhood.
Earlier in the day, Bahá’í guides led the Seeds on a tour of the Shrine of the Báb and its gardens and provided insights on their faith.
Following the tours, Seeds gathered for debrief discussions at the Beit Hagefen Community Center and met with Seeds of Peace Executive Director Leslie Lewin.
“It’s truly reinvigorating to see such an amazing group of people together,” said Lewin.
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