FluenTLV

Over the summer I started going to a language exchange event called FluenTLV. This event facilitates mother-tongue speakers of at least a dozen languages helping others practice their language. I have regularly gone as an English "ambassador". I spend half of the evening helping others practice English and then I practice whatever language I want during the second half of the evening.

About a month ago I started "working" with the event! I now help a few times a month with coordinating the ambassadors during the evening. This includes setting up the tables, making sure that there are enough ambassadors at each of the tables, ensuring that ambassadors switch half way through the evening, and other such tasks. It's fun to once again be a part of a team that is very language focused!

I don't get to practice my Hebrew or Dutch as much, now that I'm working, but I still find time to wander over to those tables and get in brief conversations.

I think every international city should have a similar event.

Now for a Little Mediation

When I was a kid my sister and I started a "gang". It was with a small group of other kids from our neighborhood. We wanted to clean the alleys and help out, we were a good gang. In putting the gang together we came up with a charter of sorts that would govern us. My sister Brandi wrote her version and our friend Psalm wrote another version. I didn't feel like coming up with my own so I looked at each of theirs and came up with one that was a mixture of both of theirs. Unfortunately when we were young it was not cool to copy others work so they summarily rejected my proposal.

I think this was one of my first experiences mediating between two parties.

This week I am starting a 1.5 week course on mediation which gives me a certificate in international mediation. I think I have some natural tendencies as a mediator and I'm excited to get some practice and test my abilities! Hopefully, I'll do better than I did in writing our gang's charter.

In other news from this past week, that made me reminisce about my childhood: honeysuckles!

I used to go hunting for honeysuckles along Riverside Drive when I was growing up and these are the first that I've seen in years!

Why the Difference?

In the late 1940's England partitioned this land into two countries based on religion. A war broke out immediately between these two countries and that war has been followed by 3 more wars. Millions of people were displaced as a result of partition and there have been millions of deaths. Most of the fighting has been over disputed territory and many believe that that disputed territory has the right to independence and to be its own country. The disputed territory is known for using insurgency and terrorism to advance their cause.

While that description can be applied to Israel and Palestine, I was actually trying to describe the conflict between India and Pakistan. Hm, I and P, another similarity!

I've been writing essays for a couple of classes on the conflict between India and Pakistan. I never knew how similar it is to the conflict between Israel and Palestine!

There are, however, significant differences. Some of the differences don't make sense and have left me wondering why they exist.

There were about 800,000 refugees from the 1948 war in Israel/Palestine. There were 12-14 million refugees from the 1948 war between India and Pakistan. Whereas Palestinian refugees are granted refugee status in perpetuity (meaning all of their descendants are also considered refugees), those from India and Pakistan are not granted such status. Palestinian refugees are the only refugee group that have refugee status in perpetuity. Why is that? or, Why aren't all refugees given refugee status in perpetuity?

The UN Security Council has published dozens of resolutions against Israel and their occupation of Palestine. 1971 was the last time that the UNSC had a resolution regarding India and Pakistan. They didn't even have a single resolution in 1999 when the two countries, both having nuclear weapons, were at war. Why is that?

Also, why has the UN advocated so strongly for an independent Palestine, but not an independent Kashmir?

I know that I grew up in an Israel/Palestine focused family. It doesn't, therefore, surprise me that I was less aware of other conflicts in the world. Did others know about the India/Pakistan conflict though? Was it as prominent in the news and in debate as Israel/Palestine?

Why does the disparity exist in how much attention, recognition, and public concern is directed between these two very similar conflicts?

What About Religious Peace-Building Initiatives?

I went on a trip yesterday with a few of my classmates to the south, near Gaza.

We joined a group from the Abrahamic Reunion (Abrahamic Reunion). The Abrahamic Reunion is a peace-building initiative between Jews and Muslims in Israel and Palestine. It uses the premise that Jews and Muslims all recognize Abraham to be their father. They build on this commonality to foster good relationships between them. The group that we joined was primarily Palestinians from one large family.

The man in the middle of the above picture (in profile with the blue shirt) was the leader of the trip. We learned about him in one of our classes. From a Jewish religious perspective, he would be considered a rodef shalom; one who pursues peace.

I had mixed responses to the trip. I love the use of religion to unite rather than divide the two groups. I also love the grass-roots level community involvement since the community can be such a powerful tool in bringing about change. While I love the ideas behind the initiative, the execution of it seemed wanting.

I couldn't tell by this one trip if the affect of this initiative goes beyond a very small community that is primarily made up of a handful of families. The trip was a bit disorganized and lacked focus. Considering this is a religious reconciliation initiative, other than a brief prayer, religion wasn't brought up at all.

I make these critiques, and withhold others, in full recognition that they are based on one trip. More frequent trips could change those initial impressions. I am grateful that I got to see an Abrahamic Reunion trip first hand.

Also, I got to look into Gaza for the first time. Gaza is on the other side of the wall in the picture. The city that can be seen in the background is Gaza City.