Director's Report March 11th - 25th, 2010

It has been a relatively quiet two weeks at the institute since my last posting, at least as compared to the turmoil taking place in the rest of the world, the natural disaster in Japan, the revolutions accross the Arab world and the increased violence between Israelis and Palestinians.  In contrast, Israeli, Palestinian, Jordanian and international students participated in this year's annual soccer tournament on Ketura:  

Pini Lutman Soccer Tournament -  On Monday the 14th the Arava Institute men's team participated in the "Tournir Pini", an annual soccer tournament in memory of Pini Lutman, a kibbutz member who passed away over 15 years ago. The men's team was matched against Kibbutz Samar, the defending champions of the tournament. The Arava Institute team was made up of eleven student, staff and faculty members from Israel, Jordan, Palestine, America and Turkey.  It was a very tight match through out and Samar took the lead in the second half, scoring, after colliding with the Arava goalie. With Samar leading 1-0 the Arava team put a lot of pressure on Samar's defense and eventually scored on a nice crossing shot. Regulation time came to an end and the game went to penalty kicks (PKs). The initial PKs were best out of three and both teams made one. Then the match moved to sudden death penalty kicks. It kept going back and forth with both teams goalies blocking many shots. It wasn't until the 9th PK that Samar finally scored. The men's team put up an amazing effort and their match was actually the closest any team had against Samar until they won 4-1 in the finals.
      On Wednesday the 16th the Arava women's team had their first match to defend their title. They first played against the Kibbutz Ketura team. In the first half the Arava team dominated and entered half time up 2-0. In the second half a few errors by the Arava team led to Ketura scoring and making it a 2-1 contest. However, the women's team came together in the end to hold of Ketura.
     On Friday the Arava women's team played Kibbutz Yotvata in the finals. It was an extremely hot afternoon and both teams were battling against each other and the heat. Kibbutz Yotvata scored mid way through the first half and halftime came with a 1-0 lead for Yotvata. In the second half the women's team gave it their all but ended up coming up just short on multiple occasions and the whistle blew with Kibbutz Yotvata winning 1-0. It was an amazing effort by our women's team and I'm sure they will be back in the finals next year.  Congratulations to both teams!  Reported by Josh Neirman


Trip to US

I just spent a week in the US at a conference at Brown University and some time with our new Executive Director of the Friends of the Arava Institute, Dan Schachter along with our Chair, Seth Morrison and our Director of Development, Rabbi Michael Cohen.  In the aftermath of the horrible terrorist attack at Itamar, I wrote the following message from the conference in Brown to our students:

Message to Arava Family
I am currently attending a conference at Brown University called "Israelis and Palestinians: Working Together for a Better Future". The conference is sponsored by the Elga K. Stulman Fund and the Watson Institute for International Studies of Brown University. The purpose of the conference is to expose students and faculty from Brown University to the myriad of cross border Palestinian and Israeli cooperative organizations such as Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI), All for Peace Radio, Peace Research Institute in the Middle East (PRIME) and the Arava Institute for Environmental Studies (AIES). The conference started in the evening with an informal dinner for the conference speakers. I met old friend such as Gershon Baskin, Hanna Seniora and Eyal Naveh. I met new friends from peace organizations such as Maysa Baransi-Siniora, Mossi Raz and Galia Golan. I also met Professor David C. Jacobson, the Director of the Judaic Studies program at Brown and our host for the conference. This was the conference that Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed was supposed to attend but could not because he never received an answer from the US Consulate for his visa application.


On the first morning of the conference, the participants woke up to the horrific news of the terrorist attack on the Itamar Settlement, and the slaughter of the Fogel family including the unthinkable murder of an infant. We were all in shock, Israelis and Palestinians alike, at this inhuman act which is difficult for any human being to comprehend. It was a very surrealistic feeling to be in the cocoon of an American university campus, about to hold academic discussions on Israeli/Palestinian cooperation, only to be confronted by the reality of terrorism in the Middle East. Every panel session opened with a condemnation of this heinous act but we did not allow the violence in the West Bank to overshadow the message that we came to deliver to the students and faculty of Brown University. The message, of course, is that there is an alternative to the violence. The resolution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians can be achieved through peaceful means. The overall consensus of the conference participants was that 70% of the Palestinian people and 70% of the Israeli people agree on a two state solution, yet our leaders do not have the ability to lead us to a peaceful resolution of the conflict.

In addition to the human and personal tragedy of the cold blooded murder of the Fogel family, this is a tragedy for the Palestinian and Israeli people because it feeds the flames of hatred and pushes the Middle East towards the precipice of another cycle of violence. Unless Palestinians and Israelis commit themselves unequivocally to a condemnation of violence and all forms of military aggression, we will find ourselves locked into a never ending brutal struggle with one another that will leave many more victims like the 5 members of the Fogel family.

I am deeply saddened by the senseless murder of the Fogel family and my prayers go out to Tamar, Roi and Yishai. Most of all, I pray that the Fogel family are the last victims of this tragic struggle and I strengthen my commitment to help find an end to the violence in the Middle East and my resolve to work towards a just, secure and peaceful resolution to the conflict between Israel and Palestine.

David

Director's Report Feb 27th to March 11th

• Spring Semester students are continuing a volunteer project that was started by our students from last year working with Sudanese refugee children in Eilat. This week, one of the student organizers, Inna Filkovski presented the project to staff members. There is a Sudanese refugee community living in Eilat. The total number of Sudanese refugees in Eilat is unclear. There is a strong distrust of Israelis authorities so they don’t reveal numbers. Because Eilat residence view the Sudanese refugees as a threat to their jobs and because the Israeli government has not stepped in to provide funding for welfare services the Eilat municipality has decided to ignore the refugees and provide social services for the adults nor for the children. Some children study in school and some don not . But there is no afternoon program for the children. The policy of the municipality does not allow the social workers to attend activities with/for Sudanese.



     Despite the animosity in Eilat towards the refugees, the students of the Arava Institute have stepped into the void and are trying to provide afterschool environmental activities. The students go to the refugee neighborhood once a week. The program was started by Assaf Katz in fall 2009 and ran all year. This year's student's decided to continue the program. The weekly is on Sundays from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. The children are of various ages (from 5-15). About 15 children attend on regular basis. There are approximately 25 children in the building. The activity takes place in an abandoned building in the Sudanese refugee neighborhood because the community centers in Eilat will not allow the activities to take place on their premises.
     The program includes strengthening English skills with an emphasis on environment, recycling, reducing using environmental games like bowling with recycled bottles, identifying animals, and arts and crafts using local material. The kibbutzim in the area have donated material and toys for the project. About 15 Arava students were involved last semester, even more are participating this semester. The fact that many Palestinian and Jordanian students are involved is helpful because the Sudanese speak Arabic.
• Visits: A group from the Holy Land Trust, 15 college students visitied the Arava Institute this week. Cecil Rimer spoke in morning. Dr. Tariq Abu Hamed did walk through the park. Intro to PELS with Michelle Shachar , Sharón Benheim held a student panel (which also served the Ramah group staying in Keren Kolot).
     A group of students from LeSalle University, a university with campuses around the world vsiited the institute and met with students. This group was from Philladelphia and from Brazil. They are on a program looking at sustainability through community.
     Karen Shapiro, member of the Friends of the Arava Institute, her husband Doug Frazer, Israel Ride alum, Doug's parents, Karen's mother and Nathan Frazer visited the institute. David Frazer, Doug's father facilitated the May Mann Estate donation which funded the May Mann Campus and the May Mann laboratory. The family was taken on a tour of the institute, the new Research and Visitors Park, the new Arava Power Company solar panel field and the dorms. The family also had the opportunity to hear from a student panel.
• The new group of students, although already busy with their classes in their second week at AIES, have initiated a number of extracurricular activities. Last night was the first Women's Circle of the semester, held around a campfire on the night of International Women's Day and attended by the female students and staff members. Continuing students from last semester facilitated a space for personal communication and invited each one present to speak about a woman who influences and inspires them. Many women shared what qualities they admire in the women who influence them, and later a staff member who attended told them that in order to recognize such admirable qualities in others, the female students certainly embody the qualities themselves. In addition they were invited to share the difficulties in a new place and to see the circle as a safe space of support and listening. The evening ended with rolling out dough and making pita over the fire, and the women were encouraged to continuing asking themselves the questions which had come up and to seek each other out for individual communication and reflection, as well as invited to facilitate future Women's Circles. Cathie Granit, Program Director, who attended the event said: "The women’s circle was fantastic. It made me feel excited about the students we have this semester, at least the women. We have a dynamic, energized, active bunch this semester. They seem to have good follow through." Reported by Lindsey Zemler

David Lehrer

Director's Report - Month of February 2011

I apologize to all blog fans but the month of February overwhelmed me with travel and conferences such that I was not able to keep the blog updated. I will try to fill in the month of February and then hopefully get back to a routine of updating at least every two weeks.

• Alumni Conference in Aqaba - Feb 3rd-5th - Over 100 alumni and affiliates of the Arava Institute gathered in Aqaba, Jordan for the annual Arava Alumni Peace and Environmental Network (AAPEN) Conference. In our largest alumni conference to date, an amazing groupof individuals gathered to participate in workshops, see inspiring lectures, communication and planning sessions, alumni-led activities as well as social opportunities, networking, and cultural activities. It was a weekend full of energy and activity which included a lecture by a representative of Engineers Without Borders Palestine who spoke about his experiences working in the environmental field in the Palestinian Authority, small-group “open space” discussions, a “Decision Making and Time Management” workshop with a Jordanian management consultant, an alumni-only communication session which provided the opportunity for more personal connections based on shared experiences between alumni from various years, presentations and discussions on the structure of the alumni network, elections for a new alumni committee, and a keynote speech by T.H. Culhane on his solar energy projects. A number of alumni presented their current work to all conference participants to offer an opportunity for cooperation and collaboration and provide updates from their field and experiences. Amongst those who shared were Gonen Sagy, the coordinator of the Youth and Environmental Educational Peace Initiative (YEEPI) project run by AIES and funded by USAID, Yair Teller on the bio-digester project in Susya, updates on various environmental and peace building projects happening the Jerusalem area, our Jordanian alumni who are working on a project called Green Echo in Jordan, and a team of alumni who initiated the EcoME Centre.In addition to a full schedule the alumni and other conference participants held a Kabbalat Shabbat service, an open prayer session with music, various musical jams, and a dance party as well as many chances to socialize, network, meet new and old friends, and revitalize the feeling of strength and connection between alumni. At the end of the weekend each region (Jordan, Israel and Palestine) elected four representatives to sit on the new AAPEN committee with a chair for each region coming together to form the international committee. The conference ended with a feeling of progress, inspiration, and excitement for all the upcoming events, projects and potential collaborations and partnerships. (Report provided by Lindsey Zemler)

Our alumni having a serious discussion about sustainability in the Middle East

• Trip to the US Feb - 6th -18th - Immediately after the conference, I travelled to the US in order to attend the Friends of the Arava Institue (FAI) Executive Committee meeting hosted by Board members Karen and Barry Fierst in their home in Maryland. The main purpose of the meeting was to finalize the FAI budget, work plan and to interview candidates for the position of FAI Executive Director. The meetings were very successful and the committee has chosen a new Executive Director for FAI, Daniel Schachter from Boston, Mass. In addition to the committee meeting, I also had the opportunity to meet with donors, foundation representatives, political leaders in Boston, NY, Philadelphia, Washington DC and Colorado. I also met with the JNF Board of the Mountain State Region who have raised over $800,000 towards their $ 1 M goal for the new dormitories. I had the opportunity as well to visit Eddie Sperling, our rider who was seriously injured on the 2010 Israel Ride, in the hospital where he was undergoing a procedure.
• Opening of the Spring Semester 2011 -  On Tuesday, February 22nd, a group of 38 students, 4 Palestinians, 9 Jordanians, 13 Israelis, and 12 North Americans, arrived to Kibbutz Ketura and the Arava Institute. Before classes begin, the students have a few days of orientation.  The first evening of orientation, the students and interns participated in some get to know you ice breakers and then the students were officially welcomed by the Arave Institute staff.  The next morning all of the students walked over to Dr. Elaine Soloway’s experimental orchards where she explained that she’s growing trees from Morocco and Jordan to see how they adapt to the climate of the Arava and understand their medicinal value and other traits.. The students then had their first Peace Building and Environmental Leadership Seminar session with Michelle Shachar and Dr. Uri Gordon.  Everyone had the opportunity to learn about one another through different activities. Later in the day, the students went on a hike followed by a Middle Eastern style gathering with the staff and faculty of the institute. On Thursday the students were taken on a regional trip. They went to Kibbutz Naot Smadar where they learned about the art center, saw wood working and got to learn about the construction of the building. The students also went to their organic winery and learned about organic agriculture and cheese production on the kibbutz. The students finished the day by taking a hike to Nachal Kasui pristine landscape above Ketura with sand dunes close to 100 feet high. The students frolicked in the sand for a half hour and then had a very nice lunch on the dunes.  Friday was course registration day. Everything went smoothly for the students. In the evening some students went to Friday night Shabbat services and everyone came to a very nice meal in the kibbutz dining hall.  On Shabbat about half of the students went on a beautiful Shabbat hike in the desert. On Sunday morning classes began. (Report provided by Josh Neiman)
• International Renewable Energy Youth Conference - Feb 20th - 22nd This year, the first International Renewable Energy Youth Conference Competition was held in the Hevel Eilot Region as part of a broad focus on renewable energy and spring board for regional development Thirty two youths participated in the conference: 2 from Jordan, 12 from abroad (France, Germany, Italy, Britain, India, Romania, Latvia, Croatia, Spain, Portugal, Hungary and Serbia) and 16 from Israel. The competition was about creative solutions for energy storage. Participants also toured sustainable projects in the region. The participants stayed at the Keren Kolot Guest House and had the opportunity to visit the Arava Institute, the Research and Visitors Park and hear a lecture from Dr. Tareq Abu Hamed, head of the Arava Institute Center for Renewable Energy.  The competition winners created  a "fly wheel renewable energy storage system.  The atmosphere of the conference was interesting and exciting and introduced the participants to life in the Arava.
• Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy Conference - Feb 22nd - 24th - The fourth annual Eilat Eilot Renewable Energy Conference was held in Eilat at the Herods and Dan Hotel. Over 2,000 people participated in the conference which once again brought together, entrepreneurs, scientists, policy makers and financers to discuss the promotion of renewable energy in the Middle East and the world. The conference began with the opening ceremony of the new Arava Power Company solar field, the first commercial size field to be licensed by the Israeli Electric Company. The APC field is located just south of the new Arava Institute Research and Visitors Park. Throughout the conference, both the new solar field and the Research and Visitors Park were flooded with visitors from high government officials, reporters, developers and other conference participants. On the final day, 4 bus loads of conference participants descended on the park, the field and the institute providing a wonderful opportunity to raise awareness of the institute's academic and research programs.

David Lehrer