The Van Leer Institute in Jerusalem and Neve Shalom will receive grants totaling $225,000 from the Ford Foundation aimed at fostering improved Israeli-Arab relations, the Foundation announced here.
The Foundation will provide Neve Shalom, a village near Jerusalem, with $75,000 for its School for Peace, an educational center in intergroup relations. Neve Shalom, or Oasis for Peace, is where Arabs. Christians and Jews have, according to their statement of purpose, “joined together to provide a living example of co-existence in a pluralistic society.”
In an effort to develop new educational programs in Israel to reduce ethnic divisions in Israeli society, the Foundation announced a grant of $150,000 to the Van Leer Institute, a private group that prepares curriculum materials and trains teachers in their use.
A Ford Foundation grant last year to the Van Leer Insitute was used to evaluate and supplement texts currently used by Jews and Arabs in primary and secondary schools and to develop materials on language, culture, literature and intergroup relations.
A ‘VITAL NEED’ CITED
In making the announcement, the Foundation noted that at present, “Arab school children are required to study such subjects as Jewish immigration to Israel, Hebrew and Jewish Scripture. Jewish children, on the other hand, do not study Arabic, Arab culture or the basic tenets of Islam.”
Furthermore, the Foundation cited an Israeli Education Ministry paper that said state intervention to further understanding is a “vital need,” adding that “in the absence of an appropriate education, directed on a national scale, it is possible the relationship between Jews and Arabs may further deteriorate.”
The grant announcement to Neve Shalom and its School for Peace pointed to specific problems facing those teachers, principals and others who attend the school for training and informal socializing. While “they leave with a greater feeling of tolerance and mutual respect for the other group,” the Foundation added:
“Many graduates find it hard to handle the suspicion and hostility they sometimes encounter when they return to their local communties. The lack of follow-up programs leaves the graduates feeling frustrated and isolated.” The grant, in turn, is designed to address this problem by enabling the school to develop ongoing Arab-Jewish groups in selected communities and to train people to lead them in discussion groups, research and recreational activities and Arab language courses.
The Foundation has also provided recent grants totaling $258,130 to five groups in Israel and the U.S. also aimed at fostering improved Arab-Israeli ties. They are: Association for Civil Rights in Israel; City University of New York; International Center for peace in the Middle East; Israel Foundation Trustees; and New Outlook magazine. (By Kevin Freeman)
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