Weekly Report October 17th - November 5th, 2010

It has been an intense and stressful two weeks since my last posting. Unfortunately, a few sad events have occurred and overshadowed a great deal of the positive work being done at the institute. Most of this week's posting will be devoted to these sad events but I will also try to provide an update on other more positive stories.


• About two weeks ago, the Institute held a cultural night where recently arrived students had the opportunity to share their diverse cultural backgrounds with other students and residents of the kibbutz through food, music, songs and dance. The evening was very successful however, Sometime after the party was over during the night, two drunken residents of the kibbutz visited the campus and wrote a racist hate message against Arabs on the door of one of the student's units. When the students discovered the graffiti message on the door, that were horrified and immediately informed the staff of the Institute who informed the kibbutz officers. The Regional Security Coordinator was called in and she investigated the crime. The next morning, the kibbutz officers met with the students and assured them that they were safe, that this act was an isolated one that in no way reflects the attitude of the members or residents of the kibbutz towards the students and that those responsible would be found and dealt with appropriately. Within a few days, the Regional Security Coordinator had discovered who perpetrated this hate crime on our students. Sadly, it was a volunteer and the son of a kibbutz member. Both admitted their guilt. In the past week, the staff of the institute has been dealing with this despicable act and the impact it has had on the students. Though this has been a traumatic experience for the students it has also been instructional as it has given them an opportunity to test their commitment to peaceful conflict resolution and to try out the tools they are learning in the Peace Building and Environmental Leadership Seminar (PELS). On Thursday morning, the students met with the volunteer who participated in the incident. It was a very moving session in which the volunteer took full responsibility for the part he played in the crime and expressed his sincere regret without making up any excuses. The students conveyed to the volunteer the impact the incident had on them, how it made them feel but also appreciation to the volunteer for his willingness to speak to them and to apologize to their face. The session went a long way to heal the wounds created by the crime and created a live example of how dialogue can resolve conflicts. The students will be meeting with the son of the kibbutz member next week.

• This year's Arava Institute Hazon Israel Ride began on Wednesday, October 17th with 117 Riders. Though the ride was successful on many levels, a number of serious accidents which plagued the Ride overshadowed those successes. Two riders collided on the first day which resulted in both being sent to the hospital and left with their arms in casts. The most tragic accident however occured on the last day of the ride when Edward Sperling fell from his bike just as we were about to enter Eilat. Edward is not in an life threatening situation however his injuries are very serious. We do not know yet the full consequences of his condition and may not know for many months. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with Eddie and his family. If you would like an update on Eddie's condition, the family has set up a blog to keep family and friends informed. http://edsperling.wordpress.com/

These two sad events made the past two weeks very difficult for the staff of the institute and of Hazon, students, riders, kibbutz members and family of those involved in the accidents. On a personal level this has been one of the most difficult times of my life but what has given me strength is the warm human spirit I see in Eddie's family, the unwavering belief of the students in dialogue as a means to resolve conflicts and the love and support staff and colleagues. I want to thank all of you for giving me the strength to deal with these tragic circumstances while continuing the valuable work of the Arava Institute.

Other events:

• This week saw the close of the MASHAV course on ‘Gender, Water and Development’, which took place between the 25th of October and 7th of November. 26 participants from 11 countries were hosted by Kibbutz Ketura and as a token of their appreciation held a Culture Night for everyone on the kibbutz last Wednesday, which included many fun and educational displays, ranging from a cooking course in Myanmar cuisine to an Africa wedding.

• In response to pressure from Sababa and other Israeli environmental organizations to save the Samar Sand Dunes, an official hearing in the Supreme Court has been set for January 12th, 2011. In the mean time events to raise awareness continue, with guided tours being offered daily during the Chanukah vacation and an open photography event taking place on the 4th of January run by a group of photographers from New York.

• Gigi Strom recently returned from her trip to Germany and the UK where she had many worthwhile experiences, in particular at the GLOWA (Global Change and the Hydrological Cycle) workshop which looked at projections of climate change and projections of socio-economic and political realities in the Jordan River Basin from now until 2050. She also came across certain opportunities for collaboration with the Macaulay Institute in Aberdeen, Scotland (a research institute which focuses on issues of land use, environment, and agriculture) which, with the exception of local differences of annual rainfall and regional conflict, is largely working on the same issues as AIES.

David Lehrer