Student seminars

State-wide Student Seminar

State-wide Student Seminar, 7-8 December 2012, Nordiya Guesthouse


The Campus-Community Partnership and Mahapach-Taghir held the seventh annual student seminar at the Nordiya Guesthouse. The seminar brought student activists, and those interested in social change together in an atmosphere that fosters dialogue and collaboration directed at social and political change.

Click here to see photos from the event 


One hundred and fifty students and activists from academic institutions around the country participated in two days of workshops and activities focusing on knowledge and skills pertinent to social activism.


The seminar was preceded by months of preparation, which included regional meetings designed to bring student from different communities together to engage in dialogue, exchange knowledge and brainstorm. These meeting took place in several student communities, among them Sderot, Jerusalem, Mrar, Tamra, Kiryat Shmoneh, Tel Aviv and Tira.


In addition, meetings of the seminar’s steering committee were held throughout the country on a monthly basis. This committee, which consisted of students and representatives of various organizations, was responsible for planning the seminar, selecting materials from the many proposals for lectures and workshops that were submitted by students and organizations, and dealing with dilemmas that arose in the process.


The seminar commenced with a plenary lecture by Dr Daphna Golan, Director of the Campus-Community Partnership on the subject of “Learning from Doing – Education and Social Change”. The lecture was dynamic, with active participation of the students, introductions, and sharing of experiences and visions for the future. The second part of the lecture presented the three main explanations for inequality in education based on three waves of feminism. The first, based on liberal feminism focuses on structural and budgetary discrepancies in the education system in peripheral towns and Palestinian villages. These discrepancies ultimately result in disparities in learner achievements. The second is the based on the second wave of feminism which focuses on the role of women teachers and the ways of knowing and teaching. Analyzing the education system from the point of view of teachers and criticizing ways of teaching, the lecture presented alternatives to the ways which are considered successful. The third wave of feminism suggests questions of class and race and thus the ways children and youth relate to and connect to the material studied was discussed. The lecture analyzed various positions apropos the inequities and ways in which the education system can address them, emphasizing the students’ role in bringing about change.


Over the two days of the seminar, dozens of workshops were held on a variety of issues, including feminism, socio-economic rights, Palestinian history and the Nakba, militarism, education, gender, social justice, student activism, etc. Parallel sessions, at least one Arabic session in each time slot, enabled participants to choose between workshops. The program is attached in Hebrew and Arabics.


Apart from the students who lead and facilitated workshops, civil society organizations who contributed a workshop to the seminar included: The Association for Civil Rights in Israel, New Profile- Movement for the Civilization of Israeli Society, Women Against Violence, Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, Co-Councling, Maa'barah, Zochrot (Remembering), Havruta – Religious Gays. The New Student Union, Combatants for Peace, Aswat- Palestinian Gay Women, Amnesty International- Israel, Tarabut-Hithabrut: Arab- Jewish Movement for Social and Political Change, Shatil- An Initiative of the New Israel Fund Approximately half the workshops were given by participating students, who brought their knowledge and experience in social activism to the occasion.


The workshops provided these students with an important platform for practicing the conveying of materials, peer education and forming personal connections. The other half of the workshops were given by representatives of various social change organizations and academic faculty members. This combination of student, faculty and organizational lecturers constituted a unique opportunity for engaging in activist discourse and promoting collaboration.


On Friday evening, after a shared meal, the students enjoyed a variety of social activities, from a coffee shop where students could meet one another and discuss issues important to them to spontaneous activities initiated by students, such as playing music and dancing. The Evening as the whole seminar was planned to fit students who observe Shabbat as well as religious Muslims.


Towards the end of the seminar, the film Bodrus was screened. A documentary film about a Palestinian community organizer, Ayed Morrar, who unites local Fatah and Hamas members along with Israeli supporters in an unarmed movement to save his village of Budrus from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier. Success eludes them until his 15-year-old daughter, Iltezam, launches a women’s contingent that quickly moves to the front lines. Struggling side by side, father and daughter unleash an inspiring, yet little-known, movement in the Occupied Palestinian Territories that is still gaining ground today. In an action-filled documentary chronicling this movement from its infancy, Budrus shines a light on people who choose nonviolence to confront a threat. While this film is about one Palestinian village, it tells a much bigger story about what is possible in the Middle East. Ayed succeeded in doing what many people believe to be impossible: he united feuding Palestinian political groups, including Fatah and Hamas; he brought women to the heart of the struggle by encouraging his daughter Iltezam's leadership; and welcoming hundreds of Israelis to cross into Palestinian territory for the first time and join this nonviolent effort. The film contributed to a successful and positive conclusion to the seminar.


The seminar concluded with a summary and feedback plenary session moderated by Liron Azoulay, Co-director of Mahapach-Taghir and Najwan Khatib, coordinator at the Campus-Community partnership. Students’ responses were positive and many noted that the seminar had been inspiring. Other stated that the workshops were varied and interesting, and that Arabic had been suitably represented both in the workshops and printed materials distributed, and that the social atmosphere was good, etc.


The seminar was a one-of-a-kind activity that brought together many students and activists from organizations all over the country, providing them with a rare platform for activist dialogue in an open and secure environment. We hope, in the wake of this successful seminar, that we managed to create a space that facilitated thinking, dialogue and cooperation that will raise awareness and social involvement among students, and also trigger new ideas for connections and collaborative projects in the future.

Creating Reality - Statewide Seminar for Student Activists

Creating Reality - Statewide Seminar for Student Activists, Jerusalem, June 3, 2011
The annual statewide seminar for student activists, titled "Creating Reality", took place at Beit Breter, the Authority for Community and Youth, at the Givat Ram Campus of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. Following five years of large seminars mostly for students who are new to civic activism, this year the seminar focused on the needs of more experienced student activists. Over 50 Arab and Jewish students, from institutions of higher education and civic engagement frameworks from across the country, participated in the seminar. Our main partner in the organization of the seminar, as in previous years, was Mahapah-Taghir, and the seminar was guided by a steering committee of student activists engaged in several frameworks, who are graduates of our previous seminars.
 
For the seminar invitation (in Hebrew and Arabic) press here.
 
The seminar's main objectives was to provide experienced student activists with a place for thorough examination of practical tools for social activism, as used by a range of organizations and social movements, alongside exposure to new campaigns and struggles, and to critical thought about relevant social problems.
 
After a plenary opening session, students were asked to choose between four main tracks: status-less persons, urban planning, education and society, and partnership and inclusion. Each of these tracks/themes incorporated two workshops or panels that presented both a theoretical perspective and practical tools for change, discussing current case studies, and evaluating the tools and strategies in light of their effectiveness. The second part of the day included a study tour, a documentary film, and two workshops – all related to successful social change efforts, investigating the strategies that contributed to the success of each struggle. A closing session was held for participants to share their conclusions and overview, and feedback questionnaires were filled.
For the seminar program (in Hebrew and Arabic) press here.
 
From the tour to Lifta
Students participating in this year's seminar were pleased about the opportunity to participate in a smaller, more intimate setting that enabled a more straight-forward, yet intricate dialogue, and a more direct acquaintance with fellow participants. Students mentioned the different sessions were an important introduction to the work of a range of organizations, and to the tools and strategies for change which may now enrich their activism. Yet students also asked to return to the two-day seminar format, which they felt is more inspiring and energizing, and better cultivates dialogue and the connections among participants and organizations.
 
The annual statewide student seminar is singular event – there is no comparative framework in Israel. It therefore remains a rare occasion for shaping and inspiring an activist student discourse, and for reinforcing the relations among students, academia, and organizations for social change.

Dorot Fellowship in Israel & Campus-Community Partnership

Dorot Fellowship in Israel & Campus-Community Partnership – Joint Program, Jerusalem, February-April, 2011
The Partnership has initiated a joint program with the Dorot Fellowship in Israel – a pilot program bringing together Israeli and American young activists to explore strategies and tools for social change and develop skills for effective leadership, through a cross-cultural experience.
Dorot Fellows and graduates of the Partnership's community-engaged courses participate in three workshops, over a period of three months, to discuss challenges for advancing social change, and reflect upon their experience in civic engagement. The workshops integrate guest lectures, study tours, and coaching sessions. Mixed teams of participants will work to formulate and implement a short term project in Jerusalem, addressing issues of multiculturalism.
The project aims to foster among participants a multifaceted view of Jerusalem and of Israeli society, and provide participants with tools and motivation for contending with the ongoing challenges they face as young leaders for change.

Seminar for Student Activists in the South

Seminar for Student Activists in the South, Be'er Sheva, June 16, 2010
This student seminar held at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev toward the end of the 2009/10 academic year was titled "Human rights, planning policy, and communities in the Negev." The seminar focused on issues such as urban planning and planning justice in the public space, and human rights and the environment in an area contested by Jews and Arabs.
 
The seminar was organized together with several social change organizations working in the Negev, including Shatil, ASSAF (Aid Organization for Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Israel), Sustainable Development for the Negev and ACRI (the Association for Civil Rights in Israel), and was attended by engaged students, faculty members, NGO representatives, and local officials from Be'er Sheva and Rahat.

Workshop for Environmental Student Activists in Jerusalem

Workshop for Environmental Student Activists in Jerusalem, Jerusalem, June 10, 2010
Students from the Partnership-supported course, "Environmental Justice in a Trans-boundary Space," organized a workshop which brought together students from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's departments of Geography, Environmental Studies, and the Faculty of Law, as well as representatives of nongovernmental organizations working in Jerusalem, including Bimkom – Planners for Planning rights, ACRI – the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Ir Amim, and the Israeli Committee against House Demolitions.
The workshop involved a discussion of environmental issues in East Jerusalem. Students presented work they had done on the lack of public parks, inadequate waste disposal facilities, and water and sewage problems, while law students proposed ways to combat these problems in the legal system. Participants commented on the research projects presented, suggesting ways for building on these projects in ways that will bring about effective change.

Statewide Seminar for Student Activists

Statewide Seminar for Student Activists, Tel Hai, April 23-24, 2010
The Campus-Community Partnership's statewide seminar took place this year in Israel's far north, at Tel-Hai College. The seminar brought together students from diverse backgrounds, studying at institutions of higher education from across the country, for two days of intense workshops aimed at providing knowledge and tools for social activism.
 
The seminar was preceded by months of joint planning by several groups. The group leading the seminar was the Tapuach student group at Tel Hai College, which was formed during the Partnership's statewide student seminar in 2009. Together with Tapuach, other student organizations from campuses across the country joined the planning process, forming a truly statewide steering committee.
 
For the invitation in Hebrew and Arabic, press here.
For the detailed program in Hebrew, press here.
 
Over 300 students attended the seminar, where they could choose between dozens of workshops on such topics as Jewish-Arab relations, feminism, human rights, militarism, social change, education, gender, and more. In addition, students could attend two study tours, panels on pressing social issues, and a variety of documentary films. This year the seminar also featured a fair-trade market with locally made products from the Galilee, where students could learn more about fair-trade in Israel.
 
On Friday evening following a communal dinner, students enjoyed many social activities, beginning with small group discussions on personal issues, and performances by Kalkidan, an Ethiopian hip hop artist, and Arabiat, a Palestinian-Israeli duo from Acre.
 
Student responses to this year's seminar were enthusiastic, and many told us that it is a major inspirational event. In their feedback forms, many students expressed desire for a longer, three day seminar and for more meetings throughout the year for attendees to process what they had experienced. They noted that in these difficult times, the seminar provided a unique opportunity for optimism.
 
With the completion of yet another successful seminar, we hope that this tradition of an annual gathering will become a milestone in the students' journey of social engagement, constitute a space for thought, discussion, and impetus towards action. Currently, the seminar is a singular event, particularly in its scope, for student activists form different organizations from across the country. Therefore it presents a unique opportunity for creating an activist student discourse, and for encouraging the integration of the triangle – students, academia, and civil society. 

Tools for Change

Tools for Change – training seminar for engaged students, Jerusalem, February-May, 2010
The program Tools for Change was developed for a group of engaged students, to provide an acquaintance with strategies for social change, stressing the importance of practical tools. The need for the program came up four years ago during the Partnership's first seminars for student activists in Jerusalem, as students raised their interest in a framework that would enable them to acquire practical tools for their ongoing civic engagement. This is the program's third year of implementation.
 
The program was developed and implemented together with the Student Union at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Shatil – Leading Social Change in Israel. Workshops were held on a weekly basis, with the participation of 30 engaged students.
 
The following is a list of the workshops and facilitators:
 
1. Introduction to social activism and civil society in Israel – facilitated by Carlos Sztyglic, Associate Director, Shatil.
 
2. Strategy building, the first step in any social initiative or struggle – Dina Kashdan, organizational consultant at Shatil. In this workshop, students learned how to define goals and objectives, and how to articulate a strategy.
 
3. Resource development – how to raise funds in today's difficult economic climate – Samer Jaber, resource development consultant at Shatil.
 
4. Lobbying – importance and methodology – Shlomit Ashery, lobby consultant at Shatil. 
 
5. How to work with the media and leverage it to promote change – Ayelet Danon, media consultant, Center for Policy Change, Shatil.
 
6. Community organizing and work with volunteers – a central challenge for social organizations – Jabir Asaqla, Director of Palestinian Programs, Shatil. The workshop presented successful models employed by social change organizations, and modes of action and organization strategies.

Seminar for Student Activists in Jersualem

Seminar for Student Activists in Jersualem, Jerusalem, January 14-15, 2010
The Seminar for Student Activists in Jerusalem was organized in partnership with the Student Union of the Hebrew University and the Jerusalem Foundation, and held at the Jerusalem Cinematheque and other locations across the city. The seminar brought together student activists, or those interested in becoming activists, and various Jerusalem social change organizations.
The Jerusalem seminar provided a setting for learning about the social, economic and political situation in Jerusalem, and aimed to provide broader background to the specific social engagement of students in the city. Students participating in the seminar got to know another side of Jerusalem through learning about particular social problems. In this way, the seminar further exposed students who are currently not engaged to social issues, with the aim of provoking them to become engaged. The seminar also allowed students to become acquainted with various organizations working in the city. We hope that the inter-organizational relations formed as part of the seminar become a platform for cooperation on various levels.
This year's seminar attracted over 120 students from institutions of higher education across the city, including the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the Bezalel Academy of Art and Design, the Hadassah College, and the Jerusalem Academy of Music and Dance. Many of them had not participated in similar activities previously, and in this sense the seminar was particularly successful.
The first day of the seminar opened with an improvisational theater workshop to break the ice and create a warm, accepting atmosphere. Following the workshop five panels were held concurrently, facilitated by students, faculty, or NGO representatives: Art and activism; gender and sexuality in Palestinian society, public transportation in Jerusalem, Religion in Jerusalem, refugees, and the environment. At night the film "Jerusalem: the east side story" was screened, followed by a discussion with the film's director, Muhammad ElAtar. The second day of the seminar included parallel tours, dealing with such issues as housing, art and social change, archeology, politics and society, and community gardens.
Student response to the seminar was positive and enthusiastic. Students noted that that the seminar was enriching, thought provoking, and exposed them to topics they would not otherwise have encountered.
For the invitation in Hebrew and Arabic, press here.

Statewide Seminar for Student Activists

Statewide Seminar for Student Activists, Pk'iin, April 5-6 2009
The Partnership for Social Change's statewide seminar took place this year in village of P'kiin in the Galilee. The seminar brought together student activists and students interested in activism for social change, in a space which encouraged shared discussion and action for change.
For a short film from the seminar,
press here.
The seminar was held in P'kiin, and directly addressed the 2007 clashes between residents and police instigated by the installation of a cellular antenna. Students met with local representatives who spoked of the village's history, the 2007 events, and their consequences.
The seminar was attended by approximately 200 students from twenty institutions of higher education across Israel. Students could choose between fifty six workshops and two tours that took place in eight time slots. In each timeslot, the offerings included 8-10 activities, with at least one taking place in Arabic.
The workshops addressed a range of issues, including society, education, environment, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, professional workshops on tools for social change, experiential workshops, films about social issues and more. The first tour focused on the village of P'kiin while the second tour went to the village of Suhmata that was demolished in 1948. A special emphasis was given to the war in Gaza, and workshops related to the war were held throughout the seminar. In addition, workshops were held about Druze society, life in the nort of Israel, and inter-faith relations in P'kiin, in order to encourage the study of social issues in the periphery and strengthen the connection to the place where the seminar was being held.
In the evening, students participated in social activities that they organized throughout the seminar, and could choose between an improvisatory theater performance, a Jewish-Arab children's circus from the Galilee, or a play by a student from the Horfesh theater. During the second day an open market was held where students could exchange items without cost.
 
Among the speakers at the seminar were students, representatives of social change organizations, and university faculty. The workhops provided a forum for joint study, brainstorming, and formation of personal connections to social issues.
The seminar advances the Partnership for Social Change's goal to create a bridges between the three elements that form the core of the organization: the academy, the students, and the community. In addition, the seminar provides a unique space for Jewish-Arab partnership. The seminar included Palestinian organizations and granted a central and respectable place to the Arabic language, both in the advertisements issued prior to the seminar, the written material that was distributed during the seminar, and the workshops themselves.
 
"I leave with a lot of hope. It was important for me to meet people beyond the workshops. The small encounters…excited me and allowed me to check facts. I really enjoyed the improvisational theater, as well as the workshops that dealt with equality and the conflict."
 
At the end of the seminar, as a lesson from previous seminars, we held qualitative feedback sessions. The students separated into groups based on their areas of residence and home universities in order to summarize the seminar and to suggest topics for future discussion and activity based on their own interests.
An announcement board was set up at the entrance lobby to allow students to advertise their own projects, learn about various activities in which other students were involved, and find partners for future action.
In addition, many students noted the special atmosphere in the seminar, and the opportunity to meet students "like them," as well as the opportunity to create a network of student activists. Many spoke of the event as a place that allowed them to renew and refresh their energies for social activism. Following are some quotes from students who participated:
 
"This is an amazing collection of activists: people who want to produce something, partnership, power. I will carry the workshops from the seminar with me for a long time."
 
"The meeting between different people and different cultures enlightened me, and I hope that this meeting will engender future cooperation. Maybe next year I can convince some more friends to come. It was an unusual and refreshing experience."
 
At the end of the seminar, students received a list of phone numbers and email addresses of the participants. The meeting enabled the creation of a social network of social activists who update each other on a variety of topics and activities. Students in Jerusalem established a critical study group about social issues. Students at Tel-Hai College created an activist student organization, and a variety of intiatives were able to attract new partners. A short film was made of the seminar, which was published on the Israeli news website Walla.

Student Activism in Jerusalem

Student Activism in Jerusalem, March 19-20, 2009
The Seminar for Student Activists in Jerusalem was organized in partnership with the Student Union of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, as well as many other organizations who were involved in all stages of the seminar – participating in its steering committee, facilitating workshops, conducting tours, publicizing the event, and more. It was initially scheduled to be held earlier during the academic year, but the steering committee decided to postpone due to the war in Gaza. Many students were directly affected by the conflict, and felt that they could not conduct the seminar in the midst of the war. When the seminar was finally held in March, special attention was paid to the war in Gaza, providing students with a much-needed space to voice their emotions and concerns.
The Jerusalem seminar provided a setting for learning about the social, economic and political situation in Jerusalem, and aimed to provide broader background to the specific social engagement of student activists in the city. Students participating in the seminar got to know another side of Jerusalem through learning about particular social problems. In this way, the seminar further exposed students who are currently not engaged in community action to social issues, with the aim of provoking them to become engaged. The seminar also allowed students to become acquainted with organizations working in the city. We believe that the inter-organizational relations formed as part of the seminar will become a platform for fruitful cooperation.
 
For a detailed seminar program in Hebrew and Arabic press here.

 

Dozens of students from a range of institutions of higher education, a range of disciplines, organizations and programs, participated in the seminar. Many of them had not participated in similar activities previously, and in this sense the seminar was particularly successful. Student feedback was positive and wholehearted. They noted the seminar was thought provoking, and exposed them to questions and issues that they would not have encountered through other frameworks. They expressed interest in similar activities in the future. Students were particularly impressed with the range of organizations involved in the seminar, the workshops and the tours, and in particular a workshop held about the obstacles to exercising rights in East Jerusalem, which attracted many participants.
The first day of the seminar opened with greetings from Partnership coordinator Najwan Khateeb and student union representative Noam Wiesner, followed by a plenary panel with Prof. Shlomo Hasson of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem's Geography Department and Rami Nasrallah of the International Center for Peace and Cooperation in Jerusalem. The two spoke of "Jerusalem as an Open City – Past, Present, and Future," raising the question of what Jerusalem might look like in the future, and sharing a joint vision for the city. Following the session, participants separated into six concurrent workshops facilitated by students and representatives of social change organizations including the Jerusalem student organizations "New Spirit" and "Meluna," and social change organizations "BeMaagalei Zedek," the "Atta (giving) Center" which provides services to residents of East Jerusalem, and "Singur Kehilati (Community Advocacy)". Workshops discussed housing issues in Jerusalem, art and social change, education in East Jerusalem, obstacles to human rights in East Jerusalem, community advocacy for social change, poverty and employment, and more. The workshops were followed by a night city tour focusing on youth at risk, organized by the Legal Clinical Education Center at the Hebrew University's Faculty of Law, inspired by David Grossman's book, Someone to Run With, as well as a screening of the film project "Gaza/Sderot – Life in Spite of Everything," which documented everyday life in Gaza and Sderot prior to the outbreak of the war.
The seminar continued the following morning with five concurrent study-tours: urban ecology in Jerusalem, access of physically disabled to businesses and institutions in the city, East Jerusalem and the Separation Wall, the right to adequate housing in East Jerusalem, and an acquaintance with the ultra-orthodox (“Haredi”) neighborhoods and the Haredi community model.

Statewide Seminar for Student Activists

Statewide Seminar for Student Activists, Dimona, May 30-31 2008
“The seminar was amazing, successful and very challenging for the future. I believe that after this seminar we will go on to real action as an engaged group.” (Abir, Oranim College and Mahapach-Taghir).
 
“I want to say that the seminar was a very significant experience for me, a stepping stone in my intellectual and social development.” (Hila, Social Theatre Program, University of Haifa).
 
The Partnership for Social Change and Mahapach-Taghir's annual statewide seminar was held in May 30-31, 2008. This was the third statewide seminar, which is the Partnership's central student seminar, and aimed to bring together students engaged for social change through different organizations and programs across the country, in order to enrich their political and social knowledge, contribute to their social engagement, encourage a shared discourse, and promote co-operations among organizations. As part of the seminar's social and political agenda, it was decided to hold the seminar in Dimona, a peripheral, development town in the Negev.
For a short film from the seminarpress here.
For a short presentation about the seminarpress here.
 
Preparation stages
The seminar was preceded by a preparation process that lasted approximately six months. This process included the formation of a steering committee, which was composed of students and representatives of social change organizations. Members of the steering committee shaped the framework of the seminar, chose the topics and issues to be discussed out of the numerous workshops proposed by students and organizations, took decisions when faced with dilemmas that arouse throughout the preparation stages, and took upon themselves central roles during the seminar. Members of the steering committee were continually in contact with (larger) student groups from the organizations they represented, in different areas, and consulted the students before making decisions in the steering committee.
 
Participants
The number of participants in the seminar this year was greater than in the previous years – 190 students, from 26 universities and colleges across the country, and active in some 90 organizations and programs for social change, participated in the seminar.
List of organizations: Green Course, Mahapach-Taghir, Rape Crisis Centers, SHATIL, Peers Learning, Social Involvement Unit at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bat Shalom, Meretz, Israeli Center for Social Justice, Community Advocacy, the Social Economic College, Hevra Tova, Student Council, HU-NGO Connection, Tools for Change Program – series of encounters on social activism, Latet – Israeli Humanitarian Aid, Amcha, Legal Clinics at the Hebrew University, Ta'ayush, JDC – Israel, the Program of Education for Social Justice, Environmental Change and Peace Education – Kibbutzim College of Education, the Hothouse for Educational Entrepreneurship -  Kibbutzim College of Education, Alon, Perach (National Tutorial Project), Ossim Shalom, Neve Ya'acov Youth Community, Forum for the Study of a Different Economy, New Horizon, Israel Women's Network, Student Union at the Hebrew University, Student Union at Ben-Gurion University, Student Union at the Technion, organization for refugees from Darfur, Human Rights, Community and Planning Policy course at Ben-Gurion University, Ahava Youth Boarding School, Social Theatre Program at University of Haifa, Enosh – Israeli Mental Health Association, the Initiating Committee of Arab Students at Ben-Gurion University, Student Union at University of Haifa, Baladna – Association for Arab Youth, Mossawa center, Adalah – Legal Center for Arab Minority Rights in Israel, AJEEC – Arab-Jewish Center for Equality, Empowerment and Cooperation, Musrara Youth Community, Community Learning Center, Family Program, New Spirit, New Profile, Ayalim Association, Shema – Association for Education and Rehabilitation of Hearing Impaired Children and Youth, Stand With Us, Brera Center, Anonymous for Animal Rights, Green Course, Greenpeace, Education with a View Towards the Community program – Tel-Hai College, ALUT – Israeli Society for Autistic Children, Green Action, Tafnit, Issawiya Community Center, Solidarity – Social Left on Campus, Student Coalition at Tel-Aviv University, Wellspring for Democratic Education, Minerva Human Rights Fellows, Lafer Center for Women and Gender Studies, Aswat, Tzeva – Youth Building Future, Kol Kore, Kvutzot HaBhira, Al-Inayah al-Ahaliya, ELI – Israeli Association for Child Protection, Gilo Center for Citizenship, Democracy and Civic Education, Hamoked – Center for the Defense of the Individual, Yesh Gvul, Art and Activism course – Bezalel, Amitim in the Community, the Movement for Global Awakening, SCHUG – Environment, Society and Us, Salon Mazal, Alternative Youth Summer Camp, Kav La'Oved, Women's Coalition for Peace, Commitment to Peace and Social Justice, Heschel Center, Community Translating course – Bar-Ilan University, Tz'ar Ba'aley Haim, Isha L'Isha – Haifa Feminist Center, Alliance, the Open House, Nadav – Youth Leadership.
 
Framework and contents
The seminar commenced on Friday morning with short words of introduction and greeting by Dr. Daphna Golan, Director of the Academy-Community Partnership for Social Change, and Khuloud Aderis, Co-Director of Mahapach-Taghir. The opening words were followed by a review of the seminar program and framework. Following the opening, students dispersed to the numerous workshops which took place through Saturday afternoon. In total, 56 workshops and 2 study tours were held throughout 7 time units. During every time unit students could choose between 8 to 10 activities. Workshops addressed a variety of issues, including: education, Israeli society, tools for social change, environment, philosophy of social change, gender, and social-economic issues. In addition, two study-tours took place. The first study tour was to the unrecognized villages in the Negev, guided by the Forum for Co-Existence in the Negev, and the second study tour was of Bir al-Saba, guided by Zochrot. A special emphasis was placed upon workshops that addressed social issues relevant to the South – wishing to encourage the study of issues related to the seminar's geographical location, while addressing social issues relevant to the periphery.
            About half of the workshops throughout the seminar were facilitated by students, brining to the workshops the experience which they have accumulated throughout their social engagement. These workshops afford to the students an important setting in which they may gain experience in instruction and facilitation of peer learning, and a setting to expand personal ties. The other half of the workshops was facilitated by representatives of social change organizations, and by faculty members of academic institutions. This unique integration of facilitation by students, faculty members and representatives of organizations, contributed to advancing the Partnership's agenda of mutual commitment between institutions of higher education, students and the community. As in each and every year, the Jewish-Palestinian partnership was evident, represented by the issues addressed in the workshops, increased participation of Palestinian organizations in the seminar, and the equal and respected status dedicated to the Arabic language (in all written material of the seminar, and in the implementation of workshops in Arabic).
            In the social evening, students enjoyed several social activities, including movement, music and dancing. Throughout the seminar, a calm and pleasant atmosphere prevailed. Students expressed their enthusiasm regarding the activities and workshops. Discussions continued into the breaks, and there was a general feeling of success in all aspects. 
For the complete seminar programpress here.
 
Summary of the seminar
At the end of the seminar students were invited to propose concluding sessions – to think together of continuation activities, according to their areas of interest.
            One group contended with the establishment of a new student group at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem – a group of Bat Shalom (women's peace organization). Students from the Hebrew University were invited to participate and discuss possible activities on campus in the coming year.
            A second group, intended for students interesting in environmental action, discussed issues related to environmental activities in Israel, difficulties in advancing action, and possible solutions. The main issue raised at the meeting was the advancement of environmental issues in the Palestinian society in Israel. It was decided to focus upon the area of transportation, and act jointly to advance public transportation in Arab towns in Israel. The issue was suggested in parallel to the advancement of an environmental agenda – as it addresses an acute need in the Palestinian society, and combines an example of characteristic discrimination between Arabs and Jews in Israel. In this way it is possible to link environmental issues with inequality issues, and connect the Palestinian society to environmental questions and a genuine need in the community.
            The third group introduced a preliminary idea regarding an internet project which would enable to create social networks of activists for social change. The student who initiated the idea presented the project, the vision and possible ways of implementation. This was followed by a joint thinking process regarding the idea, and contacts were formed with the aim of promoting its realization.
            In the fourth group students worked to formulate a press release about the seminar. Their goal was to write a statement, a call from the participants of the seminar, to all students to act for social change. After formulating the message, the students prepared a large sheet on which they wrote in Hebrew and in Arabic – "Students call for social change". Participants in the seminar were invited to write upon the sign social messages, sign their name, and add a stamping of their hands. Participants were photographed with the sign, and this photograph was sent together with the press release statement to the local and national media. This action lead to the publication of the seminar in two websites:

Yoram (education website) – 
press here.
Volunteering in Israel – 
press here

            The fifth concluding session group discussed the issue of cooperation among organizations. At the beginning the discussion focused upon barriers regarding cooperation among organizations, and how it might be possible to overcome them in order to allow broader social change and the creation of coalitions. Further, ideas of how it might be possible to encourage cooperation were raised. Concrete ties were formed between students who are active in several frameworks.
            Finally, the sixth group was composed of students and residents active in Mahapach-Taghir. The group held an intra-organizational discussion about what could be taken from the contents and messages of the seminar and applied in the organization, stressing the enrichment of residents of the different communities, and encouragement of community and student activism.
 
Evaluation
At the end of the seminar, participants filled feedback forms which included several criteria for the evaluation of the seminar. The evaluation results were excellent, and constitute an additional testimony of the seminar's success. Students wrote that the diversity of workshops in the seminar was very good, that workshops were very interesting, and that facilitation was great. The organizational aspects of the seminar were also awarded high marks. Most importantly, students considered the seminar as an event that would greatly contribute to their social engagement in the future. 
There are no better and more important comments than those of students about the seminar, taken from the anonymous feedback forms:
 
“Lately I have been preoccupied with myself, and less engaged in social actions such as this seminar – the seminar aroused in me motivation, especially as I am towards completing my degree, and gave me energy and thought to make change through work, and continue with the idea of the seminar”.
 
“The seminar definitely gave me a push and stimulated me to think about the issue of social co-operations.”
 
“I have been exposed to new activities and am happy to get back to action.”
 
“I personally enjoyed the seminar and acquired many things –in most of the workshops in which I participated I saw serious students, who invested in the preparation of their lectures.”
 
“I was greatly contributed by this seminar, it contributed to my empowerment both in relation to work, and personally, made me think about my future in social action.”
 
“It was amazing, charming, I did not expect it to be so fun and interesting. Thank you.”
 
With the completion of this successful seminar, we hope that this tradition of an annual gathering will become a milestone in the students' journey of social engagement, constitute a space for thought, discussion, and impetus towards action. Currently, the seminar is a singular event, particularly in its scope, for student activists form different organizations from across the country. Therefore it presents a unique opportunity for creating an activist student discourse, and for encouraging the integration of the triangle – students, academy, and organizations for social change.

Seminar for Student Activists in Jerusalem

Seminar for Student Activists in Jerusalem, Jerusalem, December 27-28, 2007
The Seminar for Student Activists in Jerusalem was an initiative of the Academy-Community Partnership for Social Change, the Hebrew University Student Union, and partner organizations.
 
The seminar constituted a setting for learning about the social, economic and political situation in Jerusalem. It aimed to provide broader background to the specific social engagement of students in the city. This was done through acquaintance with Jerusalem, and with specific social problems in Jerusalem. In this way the seminar exposed students who are currently not engaged to specific social issues, with the aim of provoking them to become engaged. It allowed students to become acquainted with various organizations working in the city. We hope that the inter-organizational relations formed as part of the seminar become a platform for cooperation on various levels.
 
Over 100 students, from a range of disciplines, organizations and programs, participated in the seminar, which was successfully concluded. Most of them had not participated in similar activities previously, and in this sense the seminar was particularly successful – it exposed its audience to new information about social issues in the city.  
 
Student feedback concerning the seminar was positive and enthusiastic. They noted the seminar was enriching, thought provoking, and exposed them to questions and issues that they would not have encountered through other frameworks.
 
The seminar consisted of concurrent study-tours and workshop sessions, a lecture by Dr. Efraim Davidi, Academic Director of the Social Economic Academy, on the importance of student action for social change, and a concluding session which integrated presentations by representatives of several organizations – introducing the organizations' work and possibilities for student engagement.
 
 
 
Seminar program
 
Thursday – December 27th
 

16:00-16:30
Gathering and registration
16:30-17:00
Opening – Noam Wizner and Najwan Khateeb
17:00-18:30
Environmental Justice in Jerusalem
Avi Dabush, Environment and Community Project Coordinator, SHATIL
Art as an Agent of Social ChangeArtists for Social Change – Musrara
Volunteer-work in Jerusalem – Means or Objective?Brera Center
  The Education System in Jerusalem
Edna Darnell, Director, Educational Welfare in West Jerusalem and Abed Al-Karim La'afi, representative of the Parents' Committee in East Jerusalem
Poverty in Jerusalem and the Wisconsin Plan Lubna Masarwa, Community Action Center, and Tammy Gross, Community Advocacy, and participants in the program
The Question of the Gay Pride Parade in Jerusalem
Carmit Ben Meir, with the participation of an opponent and an advocate of the parade
18:30-19:00
Break
19:00-20:30
Lecture: the Importance of Student Engagement for Social Change – Efraim Davidi, Academic Director, the Social Economic Academy
20:30-23:00
Workshop and Night Tour – Youth in Jerusalem introduction to the issue of youth at risk, following David Grossman's book, Someone to Run With, and an encounter with youth at Zion Square – guided by the Law Clinics and ELEM.

 
 
 
Friday – December 28th, Musrara School for Photography, Media and New Music (Shivtei Israel 22)
 
Concurrent study tours around town were held, followed by concluding sessions in four working groups. Each group discussed the work of organizations active in a specific field, how students may become involved in their efforts, and included presentation of projects and a possible continuation program.
 

9:00-12:00
Study-tour 1: The ecology of JerusalemGavri Asoulin, Green Course
Study-tour 2: Access for the Physically Disabled in the City-Center
Brera Center, House of Wheels, and the Center for Independent Life
Study-tour 3: East Jerusalem and the Separation WallGilad Meishar, and Maya Kantor, Bat Shalom
Study-tour 4: From the Black Panthers to the Social Gallerythe Social Gallery, Musrara School
Study-tour 5: Tour of the Haredi Neighborhoods and acquaintance with the Haredi model of community
12:00-12:30
Refreshments and gathering of all tours at Musrara – Social Gallery
 
Summary – Environment
facilitated by Lior Gelbard, Green Course
Summary – Education facilitated by Guy Aloni, Mahapach-Taghir
Summary – Poverty, workers, and social and economic rights
facilitated by Salwa Alenat, Kav La'Oved
Summary - the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict in Jerusalem
facilitated by Adi Livni and Maya Kantor, Bat Shalom

 
 
Students completed feedback and evaluation in which they expressed interest in similar activities in the future. The partner organizations will continue to update the students and interest them in further activities. In light of the great demand, the Student Union will hold an additional study tour to East Jerusalem. The partner organizations are interested in initiating a continuation training program that will include training meetings for student activists – to provide practical tools for social change.
For further details please contact Moran: 02-5881389, moranr@savion.huji.ac.il
 
Organizations that took part in the seminar:
Legal Clinical Education Center at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mahapach-Taghir, Student Union of the Hebrew University, Brera Center, the Social Gallery – Musrara, the Social Involvement Unit of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Bat Shalom, Green Course, Bema'aglei Tzedek, Beit HaGalgalim (House of Wheels), the Center for Independent Life, Artists for Social Change – Musrara, Kav La'Oved (Worker's Line), SHATIL, Student's Coalition, Community Advocacy, the Other 10%, the Open House, Community Action Center, Association of Civil Rights in Israel, Halom – Halacha ve'Ma'ase, the Social Economic Academy, ELEM (Youth in Distress in Israel), Commitment for Peace and Social Justice.


 To view pictures from the seminarpress here.

Statewide Seminar for Student Activists

Statewide Seminar for Student Activists, Nazareth, April 11-12, 2007
The statewide seminar for student activists was a joint initiative of the Academy-Community Partnership for Social Change and Mahapach-Taghir. Its goals were to bring together student activists from across the country, and provide them a meaningful setting for study of social issues and for the creation of associations and joint actions.
 
 
Participants
Over 150 students participated in the seminar, students from 25 universities and colleges, active in 45 social change organizations and projects.
List of organizations and programs: Ibn Al-Nakab – Committee of Arab Students in the Negev, Everett Social Justice Fellows Program, Achoti, Itach-Ma'aki, Al Rabata, Amnesty, Baladna – Association for Arab Youth, Sawa, Bat Shalom, Community Advocacy, Rape Crisis Centers, New Profile, Community Art Course in Bezalel Academy for Art and Design, Street Law – Legal Clinic for Representation of Youth at the Hebrew University, Jerusalem Open House, the Association for Educational Institutions, the Center for Educational Entrepreneurship, "Halom" Student Group, Negev Institute for Leadership, Ma'an – Workers Advice Center, SHATIL, the Social Economic Academy, the Jewish-Arab Center, Alternative Information Center, Association for Civil Rights in Israel, Salon Mazal, Daila, Committee Against House Demolitions, Social Justice and Education for Peace Program – Kibbutzim College of Education, Arab Movement for Renewal, Awakening Movement, Yedid, Horesh, Hebrew University Student Exchange Program, Windows – Channel for Communication, Green Course, Greenpeace, Rabbis for Human Rights, Mossawa Center, Machsom Watch, Hebrew University Social Involvement Unit, Ossim Shalom, Alternative Youth Summer Camp, Kama Community, Coalition of Women for Peace, Kol Kore – Student for Social Action and Engagement, Human Rights in Israeli Society course at the Hebrew University, Issawiya Community Center, Community Theatre Program at the School of Visual Theatre, Gender and Human Rights course at the Hebrew University.
 
Seminar program:
The opening plenary session included an opening address by Nidaa Khaliliya Khatib, statewide coordinator of Mahapach-Taghir, Dr. Daphna Golan-Agnon, Director of the Academy-Community Partnership for Social Change, and Khuloud Aderis and Tami Schneider, co-directors of Mahapach-Taghir, who introduced the organizations' work and objectives. Their opening words in both Hebrew and Arabic constituted an accommodating, egalitarian opening, contributing to the seminar's objectives.
 
The seminar consisted of 37 workshops, held throughout the different time units. During each time unit 6 parallel sessions were held, and students were able to choose in which workshop they wish to participate. Further to the workshops, study tours were held to two Palestinian villages uprooted in 1948, and movie space was organized for viewing and discussion of documentaries. The workshops discussed issues such as: education, media, environment and ecology, Israeli society, economy, and feminism. About half of the workshops were facilitated by students, while the other half was facilitated by representatives of social change organizations and faculty members. Jewish and Palestinian partnership was emphasized in the seminar, expressed in the issues discussed in the workshops, and in the participation of Palestinian civil society organizations.

 
 
 
Wednesday, April 11th:
 
9:00-10:00 – gathering and refreshments
10:00
plenary opening - seminar objectives, outline and acquaintance
Workshops:
Israeli society
Education and pedagogy
Experiential
Ecology and environment
Social thought
Sessions in Arabic
Additional Topics
Study tours
Movie space
12:00-13:30
What is the Nakba? (Amaya Galili, Zochrot)
Home Schooling (Sharon Prelin, Mahapach)
Political Art (Meged Gozani, Mahapach)
Global warming and its impact upon disadvantaged populations (Lithy Ghanaim)
Anarchism (Alex Prushin, Minerva Human Rights Fellows and New Profile)
Social and economic rights (Amin Fares, economist, Mossawa Center)
National-civic service – panel (Baladna)
 
The Take – documentary about organizing in an Argentinean factory
13:30-15:00 – lunch break
15:00-16:30
Women mobility (Tagreed Alahmad, Kayan)
Position of Palestinian students in Israeli academic institutions (Fadi)
Personal safety (Coalition of Women for Peace)
Urban planning (Link)
Personal happiness in a capitalist world (Eyal Friedman)
Participation in planning processes (Adv. Rajiya Abu Akel, Mossawa Center)
Marriage (Carmit, Mahapach)
Tour to Safouriya with Zochrot
Discussion of the Take (Shay Dashevski, Mahapach and Socialist Struggle)
17:00-18:30
Future vision of the Palestinian Arabs in Israel – panel: Dr. Yousef Jabareen, Dr. Daphna Golan, Jaber Asaqla
Learning disabilities (Hila Harnoy, Mahapach)
Art and society: establishing of Barbur – community gallery in Jerusalem (representatives of Barbur gallery)
 
 
Gender (Linda Khawaled, Women Against Violence)
Unrecognized Bedouin villages (Hind Alesana, Committee of Arab Students in the Negev)
 
Yizkor – documentary film dealing with Jewish collective memory, nationality and education.
18:30-19:30 – dinner break
19:30-21:00
Rights in the criminal justice process (Erez Bar-Zvi, Legal Clinic for the Representation of Youth)
Democratic education as a tool for social change (Aric Bar-Ness, Kibbutzim College of Education)
Win-Win instead of Win-Lose (Ahmad Khaliliya)
Paths to a social-environmental struggle (Ofer Arnon, Green Course)
Organizations for social change – the privatization of protest?
(Nomi Drachinsky and Doron Hammermann-Schuldiner, Mahapach-Taghir)
Identity (Najwan Berekdar, Baladna)
 
 
Discussion of Yizkor (Tom Ba'bur, Mahapach)
21:00 – Musical evening
 
 
 
Thursday, April 12th:
 
8:30-10:00 – breakfast
Workshops:
Israeli society
Education and pedagogy
Media
Ecology and environment
Social thought
Sessions in Arabic
Additional Topics
Study tours
Movie space
10:00-11:30
Privatization (Sharaf Hassan, Association for Civil Rights in Israel)
Vision and work ways in work with youth (Fadi Shbeita, Reut-Sadaka)
Women in the media (Ornat Turin, Gordon College of Education)
Economy of solidarity (Yishai Menuhin)
Being a lesbian in a political space (Shani Werner and Inna Michaeli, Coalition of Women for Peace)
 
Refugees in Israel (Yonatan Ozeri)
Tour to Ma'alul with Committee of Uprooted Villages
The Lion Roared Twice – documentary discussing Tel-Hai myth and the Second Lebanon War
12:00-13:30
Israeli society – residents' rights (Kariman Abu Taha, Yedid)
Higher education and capitalism (Efraim Davidi, the Social Economic Academy)
Multi-culturalism in Israeli cinema (Udi Leon)
Is the national struggle connected to the struggle for social justice? (Fadi Shbeita, Reut-Sadaka)
The sacred obligation not to take part (Yishai Menuhin)
Student involvement in media campaigns
(Jafar Farah, Mossawa Center)
Racism and seeing the other (Rose Amar and Janna Magar, Commitment to Peace and Social Justice)
Discussion of The Lion Roared Twice (Hadas Yelnik, Mahapach)
13:30-15:00 – lunch break
15:30-17:00
What do we do? How do we continue after the seminar? Regional discussion groups
Jerusalem group.
Tel-Aviv and center group.
Northern group.
Southern group.
17:30-19:00
Presentations in the plenary and conclusions.
19:00 – departure
 
In the concluding sessions of the seminar students met in small groups according to location, and thought together about joint action.
 
Students studying in the southern part of the country, considered the need for enhancing awareness among students and residents to the situation of different populations – excluded populations living in poverty, and whose rights are often violated. Students expressed their desire to encourage "collective action for existence" as opposed to "co-existence".
 
Students from the north emphasized activities related to memory. They suggested holding an alternative memorial day, and organizing a tour to an uprooted village. Further, students spoke of establishing a dynamic group that will choose to work upon different issues, study them, and organize a specific activity. Some issues raised for possible action were tours to the Separation Barrier, acquaintance through life ceremonies, and joining of the campaign against hazardous quarries active next to Palestinian villages in the north.
 
Students from the center of the country spoke of action relating to the meaning of language, and its importance in bridging processes, and in forming relations among individuals and groups. Further, students spoke about the need to examine what motivates persons to act, and thinking about where each person undergoes processes of oppression, and where he or she oppresses others. Additional ideas were to create an alternative learning center and street stalls that will provide information about social injustice and workshops and encounters open to the public.
 
Students from Jerusalem spoke about three main areas of action that they wish to follow. One group discussed Jerusalem day – holding an alternative Jerusalem day and connecting this to other events related to 40 years occupation. The group suggested establishing a learning group about the Nakba, in which students would be trained to guide study tours in Jerusalem. Another group discussed the issue of house demolitions. Students suggested holding activities in the Knesset, and joining other student groups at the university that would want to address this issue. A third group discussed their desire to establish an internet forum for active students to distribute information about events and possible cooperation.
 
In the closing plenary session students presented the ideas raised in the regional groups and future ways for action.
Students completed evaluations that expressed satisfaction and interest in the diverse workshops and issues discussed at the seminar, and in the facilitation and organization of the seminar. Participants noted that the seminar will influence their social action, and asked that the seminars in the future provide more tools for forming a basis for joint action among organizations.
 
One of the students added, "The great enthusiasm among the students was what caught my attention. I felt all the energies, eagerness, and strong desire in each and every student to take an active part in the seminar, both in the planning of the units, the content of the workshops, coordination of the transportation, etc. So many students coming from so many places with so much motivation and one goal: change!"
 
We hope that the seminar will be one of a series of meetings, associations and activities that will continue in the future. It is our goal that the seminar will serve as a source of growth of additional frameworks for joint learning and action. We wish to make the seminar an annual event that will provide a setting for student activist discourse and the formation of political connections among diverse social issues.

The Right to Education in Jerusalem

The Right to Education in Jerusalem, Jerusalem, December 7-8, 2006
The seminar is an initiative of the Academy-Community Partnership for Social Change in partnership with: Wellspring for Democratic Education, BaKehila ("in the community") and Mahapach-Taghir. Approximately 80 students participated in the seminar, all of whom are involved in educational work in different frameworks across Jerusalem, and most of whom receive Perach (national tutorial project) scholarships.
The seminar's objectives were to expose engaged students in Jerusalem to important information and questions concerning education in the city, facilitate an encounter and dialogue for mutual learning of students working with youth in the framework of different educational organizations, and create connections between different organizations in Jerusalem.
 
Thursday, December 7:
15:30 - Gathering and refreshments.
16:00-17:30 - Panel: Education in Jerusalem
- Chair: Dr. Daphna Golan, Director of Academy-Community Partnership for Social Change
- Mrs. Sohaila Abu Gosh, Vice Director in Charge of East Jerusalem, Manchi (Educational Administration of Jerusalem)
-  Mr. Moshe Shriki, Principal, Kedma Junior High and High School
- Mr. Abed Al-Karim La'afi, Chair, Parents Committee
17:30-18:15 - Dinner
18:15-19:00 - Mr. Reuven Aberjil, the Black Panthers in Israel as a Chronicle of Struggle
19:00-21:30 - Critical Pedagogy (work in small groups)
 
Friday, December 8:
8:00-12:00 - Study tour of the separation barrier in Jerusalem, from Gilo to Kalandiya, guided by Adva Rodogovsky from Ir Amim.
12:00-13:30 - Summary and discussion in small groups
 
Panel: The Right to Education in Jerusalem
Summary of presentations of speakers:
  1. Mrs. Sohaila Abu Gosh, Vice Director in Charge of East Jersualem, Manchi: The municipality is responsible for the area from Qufur Aqab in the north to Um Tuba in the south, including approximately 40,000 students, 124 kindergartens, and 53 schools in East Jerusalem. The population of East Jerusalem cannot be regarded as homogenous: it includes urban and rural population, refugees, residents who live in extreme poverty, as well as under conditions of particular hardship in the Jerusalem Envelope. The education system is functioning under harsh physical conditions. Throughout the years there has been a great need in construction of new classrooms, and schools are forced to rent buildings, the rooms are extremely crowded, some of which are bedrooms or living rooms of rented houses transformed into classrooms. It is not possible to absorb all new students into the system, which is why it is mandatory only to register children who are in kindergarten age or first grade, and only those that register based upon a vacant spot. In certain neighborhoods, the study day is divided into two shifts: morning shift until 12:30, and afternoon shift, during which a new group begins to study. Boys and girls study in separate classes and schools in East Jerusalem - only in Beit Zafafa, Um Tuba and Silwan the schools are co-ed.
  2. Mr. Moshe Shriki, Principal, Kedma Junior High and High School: Integrating both a lecture and discussion with the audience, Moshe Shriki spoke of social stratification in Israel, focusing on the tracking process in the education system, and the lack of academically oriented high schools in disadvantaged neighborhoods across Israel (as opposed to vocational high schools that exist in these neighborhoods and towns). Kedma is the only academically oriented school that exists in a weakened neighborhood, and has been established to enable students from Katamonim neighborhood to achieve higher education. Classes in Kedma comprise of up to 25 students, and many times are divided into smaller groups of about 12 students. The students study about and work with the surrounding community as part of the school's curriculum.
  3. Mr. Abed Al-Karim La'afi, Chair of Parents' Committee in East Jerusalem: Abed Al-Karim La'afi spoke of the neglect of Jerusalem's education system since 1967, and noted that lately Education Minister Yuli Tamir acknowledged the need for 1,300 additional classrooms in East Jerusalem. He spoke of the crowded conditions in the rented buildings that the schools are compelled to use. Schools are currently using every possible centimeter, in every angle, living room, bedroom or caravan. Mr. La'afi related to the High Court of Justice's ruling in 2001, requiring the municipality to build 245 classrooms until the end of 2005. Despite the High Court of Justice's ruling, until 2004 only 13 new classrooms were built, and in 2005 only 35 additional classrooms. Abed Al-Karim La'afi mentioned that every student has a right to 50cm, yet in reality students in East Jerusalem have 20 cm. The schools in East Jerusalem lack laboratories, libraries, yards and playgrounds. A Jewish student receives 5 times more funding than an Arab student in the north of Israel, and he or she receives 6 times more than an Arab student in East Jerusalem. There is approximately a 50% drop-out rate of students in East Jerusalem, mostly due to the lack of space in schools.
 
Mr. Reuven Aberjil, About the Black Panthers as a Chronicle of Struggle.
Reuven Aberjil, one of the founders of the Black Panthers movement in Israel, told the story of the struggle of the Mizrachim (Oriental Jews) in Israel. He spoke of the Jewish immigration waves since the 19th century and up to the establishment of the state of Israel, focusing on the behavior towards the Jewish immigrants from the Arab states at the beginning of the 1950's. Mr. Aberjil described the discriminatory treatment in the absorption of the immigrants from the Arab states: in the preliminary stages they were placed in transit camps, and the means of their assimilation were inferior to those that other groups received. As Mr. Aberjil noted, it is possible to point at discrimination when examining the discourse in the media during that period: the media announced the arrival of the large population group from the Arab states, while at the same time a group of the same size arrived from Europe. Mr. Aberjil related to the comparison that may be made between the Black Panthers and the Arabs in the state, that live in disadvantaged neighborhoods such as Katamon, Wadi Salib and Musrara. The description of the struggle of the Black Panthers raised questions and interest among the students.
 
Critical Pedagogy workshops.
At the end of the first day the students were divided into smaller groups, for critical pedagogy workshops. The objective of the work in the groups was to process the knowledge presented during the first day of the seminar, in relation to the students' educational projects in the organizations. The questions raised, among others: does the students' action maintain the current inequality in education, or does it contribute towards change? Some of the students said that the information presented about East Jerusalem is not relevant to their work, while others stated that they learned a lot from the presentations in the first part of the seminar, things that are important for their educational work.
 
Study tour for understanding the impact of the Separation Barrier upon the education system in Jerusalem.
The objective of the study tour was to expose the students to the reality in Jerusalem, and the influence of the wall or separation barrier upon education in the city. The tour went through neighborhoods in which certain schools did not exist until recently, such as Zur Baher, in which about 1,000 students had to study outside the neighborhood because a building or a lot for construction of a school was not found. This is in comparison to the settlement neighborhood of Har Homa, in which kindergartens and schools were built prior to the arrival of the residents. Further, the tour visited Shofat refugee camp, which is under the jurisdiction of the Jerusalem municipality, yet has been left on the Palestinian side of the Separation Barrier, due to security and demographic objections.
The tour was concluded at Brigham Young University in Mt. Scopus, where the processing of the study tour and conclusion of the seminar took place. After a short plenary session the students were divided into four groups. The group discussions related to the seminar in general, and the study tour in particular, touching upon the difficulties, the learning and conclusions.
In the evaluations filled at the end of the seminar the students expressed a desire and need to participate in an additional program in order to work together and try to examine ways for changing the harsh reality in Jerusalem.
Further, the students expressed interest in an additional seminar that will provide more tools for their work in the organizations.

Training Seminar for Student Activists

Training Seminar for Student Activists, Hadassah Neurim, November 24-25, 2006
Mahapach-Taghir began its activity year 2006/7 with a statewide student seminar that brought together all active students in the organization, and built the pedagogical and political framework. The seminar included 170 students from all seven Mahapach-Taghir communities. The preparation process involved intense work, with roles divided between the statewide team members and the regional coordinators', emphasizing the principle of partnership and dialogue which is an inseparable part of the seminar design process. It was important for the statewide team not to take upon itself the entire role of leading the seminar, but to enable the coordinators, including the new coordinators, to lead the organization of the seminar.
Regarding the planning of the various sessions, a logical flow between the different units was intended, as the issues of each unit were connected, aiming to generate a process of reflection among the students. This emanated from the order of the units, as well as the connections between the national-political-economic which were illustrated throughout the sessions.
 
The following is the order of the units and activities at the seminar:
 
Friday
  • Plenary acquaintance: What is Mahapach-Taghir? Presentation in Hebrew and Arabic. - Tammy Schneider and Kholod Edris.
  • Acquaintance in the community groups, including discussion of expectations. - community coordinators.
  • Why community and student activism? - community coordinators.
  • Lecture: the socio-political situation in Israel - Ephraim Davidi.
  • Acquaintance with the community and the neighborhood. - community coordinators.
  • Social evening: "On a cup of coffee". Alternative café.
 
Saturday
  • Memories of school. - community coordinators.
  • Tracking and exclusion. Lecture in three groups: Tammy Schneider, Haggith Gor Ziv, Kholod Edris.
  • Critical pedagogy - discussions. - community coordinators.
  • Critical pedagogy practice - elective workshops (for example: partnership with parents, reading and writing, educational/pedagogical games, gender in work with children, work with youth, ecology, tackling children violence.)
  • Summary/conclusion in the community groups. - community coordinators.
  • Plenary summary.
 
The informal conversations between students, and the informal encounters throughout the breaks, were very meaningful and created an atmosphere of solidarity, community and dialogue.
 
Palestinian-Jewish partnership in the seminar
The seminar opened with a lecture about Mahapach-Taghir, and its connection to the social situation in Israel. Holding a lecture in both Hebrew and Arabic initiated a dialogue about the meaning of partnership in the organization, and its identity: what is its socio-political agenda towards students of different identities? The lecture in both languages raised sensitive questions relating to language and identity.
 
The concept of partnership was further expressed in the different seminar units: class partnership, Jewish-Palestinian partnership, and partnership in the neighborhood. In addition, a special workshop was devoted to veteran students' critical study of the Nakba, (written of further in detail).
 
Coordinators
The coordinators worked intensively with the students throughout the seminar, both in planning and in facilitation, which also enabled the veteran students' full partnership in the design of the seminar and possibility of facilitating a workshop. Further, the coordinators facilitated units that involved not only students from their community, but also those from other communities, particularly units that deal with pedagogical practice.
 
Veteran students in the seminar
A great number of the veteran students took upon themselves the responsibility of facilitating some of the sessions, which enhanced the learning atmosphere and sharing of knowledge. The ability to learn from the experience of veteran students elicited interesting discussions, and raised dilemmas from previous experience.
Further, a special section of the seminar was designed especially for veteran students in order to promote the creation of a group that will take upon itself to advance student activism through Mahapach-Taghir statewide, and locally in the different communities.
The sessions for veteran students included:
  • Place of veteran students in Mahapach-Taghir - vision. - Nidaa Khalilia-Khatib.
  • What further? From vision to action. - Marcelo Wexler.
  • Critical learning about 1948. Uri Gopher, Zochrot. An important unit that lead to discussion of different narratives, their legitimacy, and possibilities of action for students.
 
Significant accomplishments of the seminar:
  • Seminar designed jointly by the statewide team, the community coordinators, and veteran students.
  • Involvement of many students in the preparations.
  • Strong bonds formed between the coordinators.
  • Diverse and enriching issues discussed in the workshops.
  • Interest that was raised by the seminar among the students, for continuation, and for deepening the connections between students statewide.
  • Political guidance of students who are active through the learning centers.

Seminar for Student Activists

Seminar for Student Activists, Givat Haviva, April 7-8, 2006
The seminar was an initiative of students and coordinators from Mahapach to create a political, ideological platform of civic engagement, for learning about and expanding on different social issues, for considering new horizons of student action, and for establishing ties between various student groups. The seminar was coordinated by Shemi from Mahapach's state-wide team, aided by Itai (Florentine coordinator) and Shirley (former coordinator and “granny” at present). The seminar was led in practice by students from all Mahapach communities, some of which took part in the team that designed the program.
 
Participants:
A total of sixty-three students participated in the seminar, most of them from Mahapach, but also from other organizations and associations (Green Action, Green Course, Commitment to Peace and Social Justice, Women’s Coalition for Just Peace, New Profile, CEGAS - The Committee for Educational Guidance for Arab Students) as well as other students who are not formally members of any organization.
 
Seminar structure:
The seminar opened with a getting acquainted session in which the seminar objectives, its preparation process, its structure, and so forth were laid out.
The seminar was composed of five sessions that were dedicated to various workshops conducted simultaneously (3 to 4 parallel workshops at each time) - three sessions on Friday and two on Saturday.
 
Workshops implemented:
Multi-culturalism -
Itai Meshel and Schachar Agami
Urban planning
Badria Biromi-Kandaleft, Director, Link to the Environment
Is socialism good for the weakened classes? -
Alon (Florentine)
Internet as a tool for protest and social change -
Shirley Caravani
Militarism in education - Denia, New Profile, Kiryat Yovel
The separation fence - Ya’ar (Katamonim) - an interactive workshop with films, simulations, conversations and representations
Women trafficking  - Yul (Florentine)
Palestinian-Jewish dialogue- Amani (Tamra) and Yona (Florentine)
Learning disabilities - an inside look, Hila (Kiryat Shmona)
A space for Palestinian students -identity and belonging
The Wisconsin Plan and the struggle against it -
Ronit Shimoni, Ashkelon
Do social organizations make an impact and how?
Naomi and Doron (Kiryat Yovel)
The relation between civil society organizations and party politics, and our place in this story?
Educational methods
- Abir (Yafia), Maha (Tamra)
Civilian activities, direct, non-violent actions and the struggle against the separationfence in Bilin - Muhamed Hatib, member of theBilin Popular Committee.
Did not take place due to the closure
Education and poverty -
Amir and Yaron (Florentine)
 
Schools in the neighborhoods, tracking, and the connection of economics and education
 
The mentally ill - Yafit and Adi (Florentine)
Teenagers and learning -
Ariel (Katamonim) and Ofri (Kiryat Yovel)
The Law of Return Vs. The Right of Return -
Nihad Boquai (Badil) -
Resource Center for Palestinian Residency and Refugee Rights, Bethlehem
Gynecology without gynecologists -
Shani (Katamonim)
Identity and status - mapping where we are in this story and discussion -
Yonni and Moshe -Mahapach grannies
 
The workshops surfaced a great amount of knowledge and issues of injustice and various struggles against them (the fence, militarism, education, feminism, space, Wisconsin, etc.), and generated different reactions among the students. Towards the end of the seminar we conducted four workshops on these subjects, which were future-oriented and focused on the question - what do we do next? How do we continue from this seminar onwards?
 
The following is a summary of these workshops:
 
Summary sessions - workshops that produced new projects:
 
  1. Wisconsin Plan group:
The team decided to meet on Sunday, 16.4.06 (during Passover holiday), at 10:00 to get an impression of what goes on at the Employment Center in Ashkelon, meet with people participating in the program, study the issue, and later assemble and discuss how to proceed.
An attempt should be made to link between the Ashkelon struggle and the Jerusalem struggle.
Students are in a different position than participants in the Wisconsin Plan in their ability to take on struggles and promote ideas the latter cannot pursue out of fear and concern of losing their monthly stipend.
Many students expressed their interest in joining protests and other activities in the future.
Coordinators:
Ronit Shimoni - 050-7803162
Shirley Caravani - 054-5217363
  
  1. Palestinian-Jewish Partnership group
In the long run: a more general change, leverage the potential of a movement comprising Palestinian and Jewish students and realize it by conducting meetings, creating partnerships and cooperations that do not exist today on the community level. Currently there is no connection.
Proposed activities for next year:
  • meetings between youth from the Jewish and Palestinian communities for joint activities and seminars (with Baladna).
  • summer camp for Jewish and Palestinian children. A joint team will be formed to work on the content and design a plan.
In the short run: towards Independence Day and the Nakba Day we set a date for a study tour and social gathering in Tamra and the uprooted villages in its vicinity (Damun) accompanied by refugees from the village. The tour and gathering is intended for students and residents from all communities.
Tour date: 19.5.2006
A preparatory meeting for the organizing team has been set for Sunday, 30.4.2006 at 17:00 at the offices of Mahapach and Zochrot - 61 Eben Gvirol St., Tel Aviv.
Meeting coordinator: Amir Boltzman (Florentine) - 054-6798136amir_bol@yahoo.com
In addition, Ya’ar invites everyone to join the “Actions Against the Fence Week”
For details: Ya’ar Dagan Peretz (Katamonim) - 054-4584477
 
  1. Feminism and Women workshop
The discussion centered on ways to introduce the feminist discourse that developed in the workshop into Mahapach on several levels:
On the student level - daily summary sessions, study days, etc. Establish in every community a group of students with or without residents.
On the residents level - women empowerment groups and discourse between students and residents
On the youth level - groups of teenage girls, etc
On the national level - there should be a national women’s team that will lead the feminist discourse, think of and develop new, large-scale projects. The participants expressed their desire to talk about the practical aspects of feminism.
Establish a feminist men's group (if they so wish).
Begin on the regional level.
Conduct workshops on women trafficking in all the communities.
For more details:
Julia Krakowa (Florentine) - 0545716567 krakova@gmail.com
 
 
  1. New Directions  
Different needs and directions were mentioned:
  • Expand and develop Mahapach activities in terms of meetings between students from the various communities.
  • Formulate a General Principles document for the activities of Mahapach that will constitute the ideological and organizational framework to which everyone can relate. Phrasing a common agenda. This should be done in as wide a frame as possible because the process itself is important. The students should be a more significant component of the decision making body in Mahapach. It was decided to distribute the strategic plan of Mahapach written in the past (will be posted on the Mahapach forum) and refer to it as a possible basis.
  • Set up a nationwide team of students that will visit and circulate between communities on different occasions and events to study more models and ideas. The idea came up in this weekend seminar.
  • Communication means: founding a national newspaper for Mahapach that will be distributed to the students and residents (in Arabic, Hebrew, and Russian)
  • Connection between the communities on the national level and meetings with students from other political organizations and bodies - open seminars.
  • Turn the existing managing body that is the national link in Mahapach, into a body comprising residents and students.
 
For more information and organizing these activities:
Yaron Sayun (Florentine) - 0778220055; 0546798126ms.yaron@gmail.com
Yona Adelman - 03-5163765; 0545898176 yonnadelman@gmail.com
 
 
Seminar evaluation:
The seminar evaluation reviews several points in time while considering a number of parameters:
 
During the seminar itself we conducted two open feedbacks. The first was on Friday evening after four sessions (three of them elective workshops) in order to hear reactions to the seminar structure, its schedule, planning, etc, in real-time, and so as to examine whether to proceed with it as planned. The feedbacks were highly positive; the complaints were that it was not possible to attend several workshops simultaneously and that workshops were not repeated.
The second feedback was conducted at the end of the seminar. The main points it surfaced are:
  1. Too many workshops conducted in parallel.
  2. Conditions, interest, availability and mix were far better than in the first seminar.
  3. The seminar was not imposed from above but generated from the field and answered the needs of the students.
  4. The seminar gave a stronger feeling of connection to “Mahapach” and of being part of something wider than a day and a community, something more significant.
  5. The level of the contents is very high and provides new knowledge.
  6. Often there is no true openness in the discussions, we are liberal only towards those who think like us, we should also be able to hear other opinions.
  7. Rosa: I thoroughly enjoyed it, more than any other seminar, very refreshing and influential.
  8. It was excellent! Really pumped in new energies and liveliness and a sense of belonging.
 
Further to the seminar - an evaluation meeting will be held with the student team that organized the seminar. I will send a summary of the discussion to everyone. A larger scale evaluation, to a large extent the more significant evaluation regarding the seminar objectives, will be about the various initiatives students suggested in the seminar (as mentioned above). Needless to say that the enrichment students gained through this seminar is a worthy achievement in itself because, as we see it, students who are more aware and more political with a broad world view do a better job in the communities and organizations in which they are active.
 
Seminar achievements:
There were several noticeable achievements:
  • A  large number of participants
  • Substantive amount of involvement and thought in preparation for the seminar invested by students.
  • Relations that developed between students, between the national team and the students and altogether relations at levels that did not exist before.
  • Strong sense of togetherness. Students said their feeling that they have something to give is acknowledged and their opinion is taken into account.
  • Considerable expansion of the knowledge in areas new to the students (militarism, right of return, separation fence, Wisconsin plan, feminism, education).
  • Varied and enriching line of topics.
  • Empowerment for students who showed high involvement on their part thus creating a high level of partnership.
  • The seminar created interest in continuation and in creating new connections, and for deepening the relations between activist students on the national level.
  • The pre-seminar process
  • Politicization of students who volunteer in the learning groups.
  • A great feeling of success, of seminality, of “something significant happened here”.
 
 
My sincerest appreciation and thanks,
Shemi Shabbat, “Mahapach”
Seminar coordinator