Middle East
Introduction | Background | News & Photos
Play for Peace children in the Middle East
Despite a long history of rivalry, violence and fear, Jewish and Arab youth are brought together to engage in cooperative games, learn conflict resolution and develop leadership skills.
News
For the past twelve years, Play for Peace - Middle East has found common ground among the people of this complex region. In Jerusalem, for example, Jewish and Arab children from neighboring schools participate in Play for Peace sessions - first separately and then they join together. The Jerusalem International YMCA serves as the hub and neutral territory for the joint sessions.
Currently, Play for Peace - Middle East is active in two other locations. In the Bo'eni-Njidat municipality, Muslim children with a history of violence between families are segregated into three different elementary schools. The children are brought together to work on violence prevention, problem solving, communication and life skill acquisition. At the end of the school year, there is a major play event for all three schools.
In the mixed Arab village of Eilaboun, 70% of the people are Christians and 30% are Muslims. To help ease tension, 7th and 8th grade students participate in play and joint dialogue sessions. A local school code of conduct has also been developed to help students and staff cope with stress and frustration.
Current Initiatives
Play for Peace – Middle East is bringing together Jewish and Arab youth from neighboring schools with a long history of rivalry and violence. The program works with the groups separately to prepare them for joint trainings. In each school, 15 youths ages 16-18 have committed to facilitate the Play for Peace Middle East program for two years. After the two groups join, they will be trained in cooperative games, conflict resolution, leadership skills, group facilitation and mediation. The Youth Facilitators work in pairs with 80-120 children from East and West Jerusalem per session. The meetings take place in the Jerusalem YMCA, due to its history of being neutral ground.