Hinam Fellowes
Audience: It is intended for those who wish to become familiar with Israeli society in all its forms in an experiential and profound manner, in the belief that only a deep acquaintance between different people can advance a common society.
Behavioral Objective related to the problem to be addressed: The guiding principle of the Center's various programs is based on the belief that people with a different identity who are at a significant time together, and during this time working to promote mutual acquaintance, stop seeing the Haredi, the Arab or the " The person behind the tagging. When this happens, the attitude towards the other - even if strongly disagreed - becomes more human and empathetic. In Israeli society, people tend to operate within a group similar to them. The lack of familiarity between the tribes and the groups builds walls of fear and nourishes a hostile, suspicious and generalized attitude. The more people allow themselves to emerge from their familiar world and meet the other, the more we can fight social polarization and promote a tolerant society. Another goal of the program is to strengthen Israeli-US relations. The goal is to better understand the Jewish population in the United States and the diversity of Jewish currents in the United States. In addition, there is recognition of the coping of factors in the United States (such as hospitals) with a multicultural population and co-existence. The importance to the Americans is having meeting a group that represents a wide range of identities from Israeli society (religious, secular, ultra-Orthodox, Ethiopian, Arab, left and right) in a way that allows them a better understanding of the Israeli social fabric.
Content: The program will consist of 20 participants from a variety of identities and sectors who will embark on a joint journey to unique communities in Israel and the US Once every three weeks, the group members will spend a whole day or two in the community outside their world:
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In a Haredi community (two days including accommodation)
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Neighborhood of Ethiopian immigrants (full day)
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In an Arab-Muslim village (two days including accommodation)
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In a religious settlement in Judea and Samaria (full day)
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"The State of Tel Aviv" (full day)
In addition, the group will embark on a ten-day journey to familiarize Jewish communities in the United States (New Jersey and Manhattan).
The stay in the communities is based on the principles of the center's significant acquaintance with the journeys that the center operates into Israeli society. According to these principles, participants do not come as tourists, do not seek to change their hosts or change themselves. They come simply to be, at eye level, with people of a different identity in their natural environment. They know different layers from the world of their hosts - their families, their culture, their outlook, their difficulties, their community, their religion. From this familiarity, a different view emerges from the other; Apart from being an ultra-Orthodox / Arab / settler / Ethiopian immigrant - the group participants see the person facing them, and thus develop more human and empathic together. The differences are more respectful, and the discourse is soft and open.
What's in the program?
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Deep acquaintance without intermediaries with five shades of Israeli society and Diaspora Jewry. The acquaintance is made possible through a personal encounter with members of each community.
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A joint journey that creates a special and close connection between members of the group, who come from a variety of sectors and tribes in Israeli society. The connection between the members of the group (Jews, Arabs, religious, secular, ultra-Orthodox, etc.) opens a window to the world of the other.
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Pleasure reserved for those who are open to experiencing the different aspects of each other's culture - food, landscapes, singing and dancing.
Delivery: During the visit, the group will be exposed to daily life in each community. This is not a tourist tour, and therefore emphasis will not be placed on understanding the historical / geographic / archaeological background of the place, but on a close acquaintance with the people of the place and their world. The group's instructors will not want the group and will not serve as intermediaries between it and the host community. The community will learn about the community from free conversations with its members during the hospitality. The group will recognize the religious heritage of the community and visit the religious institutions (a mosque, an Ethiopian synagogue, an Orthodox synagogue in a settlement, an ultra-Orthodox yeshiva or a synagogue of the liberal streams in the United States) and be exposed to local culture and folklore The community will be held from morning until afternoon, and in two communities - the ultra-Orthodox community in Safed and the Arab village of Deir al-Assad - will stay from Thursday morning until Friday afternoon.
Evaluation: The time of each participants meeting people from different communities. The influence of the participants on their community and the change of the participates of the tolerance to the people who are different from them.
There was already one group of Hinam Fellowes. Details on the participants can be seen in the enclosed file.