Objectives:

In keeping with the mission of improving relations between Arabs and Jews in Israel, the following objectives have been set for the program:

• Interpersonal acquaintance of members of the other group.

• Acquiring awareness of each other's culture.

• Acquiring awareness of pluralism within the other group.

• Reducing stereotypes, prejudice and ethnocentrism.

• Internalizing feelings of respect for members of the other group.

• Learning about and understanding of the other group members' attitudes regarding real life issues such as equality and discrimination in Israel, the Jewish-Palestinian conflict, etc.

• Acquiring social and cultural skills that are valuable in the other groups society such as normative behavior patterns, etc.

• Increasing the readiness of graduates to disseminate the message of coexistence in their everyday life.

• Increased willingness to meet again.

As the project is composed of modules, the following is a description of one module. Each module is composed of three "Beginners Workshops" and two "Continuing Workshops."

"Beginners Workshop" Weekend Retreat

"Continuing Workshop"

Participants are graduates of various beginners workshops. The workshop begins with an interpersonal acquaintance session. After that, participants deal with issues of identity, the Arab-Israeli conflict, the issue of Palestinian statehood, and problems of inequality in the state of Israel. Before terminating the workshop, participants are invited to become active in one of the organization's other projects such as the Friendship Groups, the Negev Project, seminars, etc. The project described above is one module, several of which may function simultaneously or at discrete times.

Participation of at least 500-550 young Jews and Arabs in the nine "Beginners Workshops" and at least 200-250 youngsters in the "Continuing Workshops." We anticipate that 100 participants of the two workshops will join the organization's other projects.

Standard Seminar Schedule

First Day
16:30-17:30 - arrival, registration, general assembly, dividing into debate groups of 15-20 participants each.
17:30-19:00 - session in debate groups and general acquaintance.
19:00-20:00 - free time and supper.
20:00-21:30 - lecture on seminar topic.
21:30-22:30 - video.
22:30-24:00 - evening activity (party, cultural night, etc.)
Second Day
07:30-08:30 - breakfast.
08:30-10:30 - workshops in debate groups.
10:30-11:00 - break.
11:00-12:30 - lecture on seminar topic.
12:30-14:00 - lunch.
14:00-15:30 - workshops in debate groups.
15:30-17:00 - general assembly, summing up, conclusions, packing.

Seminar topics during recent years

• Freedom of speech and its limits.

• Human rights: what they mean and how to protect them.

• Majority-minority relations in a democratic society.

• Violence in social and national struggles.

• The special problems of Jerusalem

• Problems of the Bedouin population in the Negev.

• Women

• Art as a means of political expression

• Religion: Judaism, Islam, Christianity