PEACE with Penny SEASON 4 OPENING VODCASTS Part II Penny S. Tee Interviews Hands of Peace First Year High School Student Peace Activists, September 20, 2022, Part II of 4-PART SERIES
This episode is the second of our 4-part series with Hands of Peace where we will take a deep dive into conflict resolution. We will be speaking with Israeli, Palestinian, and American high school students, turned Peace activists who just finished the summer Hands of Peace camp 2022. These are Israelis, Palestinians from the West Bank and Palestinian Citizens of Israel, who normally don’t speak, and may consider the “other” enemies. What was it like suddenly interacting with perceived adversaries on a daily basis, across an ocean far away from home? What did they learn? Did their feelings change about the other? How did the American students feel seeing the conflict verbally unfold before their eyes. Did they wonder what they had gotten themselves into and want to go back home? How do they do this?
Each summer, Hands of Peace brings American, Israeli, and Palestinian youth together in Chicago and San Diego for a three-week experience. In dialogue sessions led by professional facilitators from the Middle East. The teens learn about “the other,” they share complicated and sometimes painful stories about the conflict, and explore peaceful solutions to foster equality, freedom and justice. The participants stay with host families in the local areas and are provided a homey atmosphere forming friendships that can last a lifetime. After the summer program, they are encouraged to join the 750 Hands of Peace alumni for additional engaging leadership experiences.
In the four-part series, in Part I, at https://youtu.be/IE5bIoz6M5s we spoke with staff and host families about the organization and their experiences. In Part II, we spoke with first year “Hands” who are participants from Summer 2022, and in Part III we will speak with alumni who have participated from various years throughout the twenty years of Hands of Peace’s existence. Learn about how their experiences at Hands of Peace impacted their lives and continues to do so as adults. Finally, we added Part IV as a bonus. Dialogue between the two sides is a major component of the camp. For the first time, each side hears narratives that are unfamiliar. What is the painful reality of each? We thought it would be helpful to share some of their stories. What was it like during May 2021 sleeping in the bomb shelters because of the Palestinian missiles exploding above them and being scared to walk down the street for fear of a terrorist attack? What’s it like to live a reality where everyone knows people who had been killed or injured during bombings? The Palestinian reality is bleak. Have you ever wondered what both sides lives are like living with these unimaginable horrors daily?
We hope you will join us. Thank you and May You Live in Peace, שלום and سلام.