Kibbutz pushes education, coexistence as path to peace

By DEBORAH MOON

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“Arab Israeli cities are at a junction—they can choose to be part of Israeli society or opposed to it,” said Gilad Perry, who will visit Portland in December to explain how his educational kibbutz is working on coexistence projects to positively influence that decision. “I think if the choice of students is to go against Israel, we will be in a disaster here.”

Perry and Gary Levy will be in Portland Dec. 3-9 to describe the unusual educational and coexistence projects they take to the Arab villages surrounding them as well as those offered at their Kibbutz Eshbal, one of 15 Dror Israel educators’ kibbutz imcreated by graduates of the HaNoar HaOved VeHaLomed youth movement.

Through its Overseas Special Projects Committee, chaired by Judy Malka and Leslie Isenstein, the Jewish Federation of Greater Portland has helped fund three projects at the kibbutz, the most important of which, said Perry, is the sports field that is in use many hours every day bringing together teenagers of diverse cultures for positive interactions. JFGP also gave a grant to the coexistence program and to an animal training program for at-risk students in the creative high school on the kibbutz.

While Perry said he wants to thank the Portland federation and to explain Eshbal programs to plant seeds for future support, the most important message he wants to convey in December is that Zionism is still a relevant concept that has meaning as “the most outstanding social revolution in the past century.”

“Zionism is tikkun olam (healing the world),” said Perry in a phone interview. “(Theodor) Herzl’s idea had two parts—establish a shelter for the Jewish people, and, we forget, create a utopia, a unique society based on Jewish values as a model for all the world of a just society. I fear in Israel, we forget this bit of Herzl’s vision.”

The Dror Israel Kibbutz movement, said Perry, is a group of young people who believe in that Zionist ideal and who believe they can create social change through education.

“Israel is a very small country,” he said. “A strong group of people with an aim to educate can really impact it; it can really change.”

He said the 15 education kibbutzim are home to about 1,000 educators ranging in age from 22 to 35. The relatively young movement adds about 100 new kibbutz members a year, he said. As the founders age, the age range also will increase, he said.

Living in an area that is about 80 percent Arab, Perry said the kibbutz members are often the only Jewish educators the Arab students will meet in their 12 years of school. In each village where the kibbutz operates, three to four educators staff coexistence programs during and after school. As part of the school day, they teach subjects such as Hebrew, democracy and women’s issues. In the afternoons, they help teens lead their own youth clubs, which are almost unknown in the Arabic villages.

“We create positive leadership in the communities,” Perry said. “We find people who can be partners and be their own leaders.”

He said most of their coexistence projects help Jewish and Arab teens meet to do something together.

“The sports pitch is a good platform for us to create encounters for different youth—Ethiopian, Bedouin and Jewish teens,” he said. “It’s a beautiful way to get people to interact and get to know each other.”

The Ethiopians on the kibbutz are the primary students in the boarding school Eshbal runs. Those students study with other at-risk youth in the Creative High School on the kibbutz.

“The boarding school is for youth at high risk, mainly Ethiopian Jews who have encountered problems being absorbed into Israeli society,” he said. “They know well the world of crime and drugs. … We provide them with a chance to rebuild their lives and have a good future in Israel.”

He said one indication of the school’s success is the fact that 90 percent of the graduates go on to join the Israeli Defense Force, which would not have accepted most of them before they came to Eshbal.

“In Israel, if you are not part of the army, you will have a lot of trouble in Israeli society,” he said of the significance of that change.

As another indication of success, he said, “All students finish boarding school with a willingness to contribute to others. They are turning from being needy—being the ones that accept—to ones who can give. With that they can build a normal life in Israel.”

The high school is attended both by students in the boarding school as well as troubled teens from the surrounding area. He said the school is run more like a youth movement with informal education used to reach youth who haven’t succeeded in more traditional schools. For instance, the animal training program funded by Portland teaches the youth about animals and responsibility through hands-on experience.

For information on programs during Perry and Levy’s December visit, contact either Bob Horenstein at 503-245-6496 or Judy Malka at 503-697-0949.