Author Archives: enterseo

The Peace Camp of Open House was held between July 3rd and July 21st, 2023, the Arab-Jewish camp that has existed for many years with the aim of strengthening ties and coexistence between the two peoples.

This year’s summer camp was between the 3rd to the 21st of July, 2022. The Ramle municipality provided the grounds of the YRF learning center and we could accept 80 participants to full capacity, ages 9 to 12. The participants were from Ramle Lod the neighboring Kibbutzim, Neve Shalom/Wahat as Salaam and even from the North. The … more »

We are delighted to share with you what was happening at our end during 2021. First of all, the Ramle Municipality offered us the YRF grounds (Youth Renewal Fund) for our Summer Camp in Ramle itself. The mayor of Ramle, Michael Videl, considered the summer camp a public statement against the severe violence between Arabs … more »

Now for the 27th year our summer camp this year took place between the 1st of July to the 19th for 98 Arab and Jewish children between the ages of six to thirteen.

Fifty Jewish and Arab High School  students from the Galilee visited Open House as part of an educational tour of the ‘mixed city’ of Ramle on the 22nd of February. Khader Alkalak, our administrative director receives them in the afternoon after the Nursery children are picked up by their working parents at 4 PM. Our long … more »

Our 2018 Summer Camp was held between July 3rd and July 23rd at the Terra Santa High school in Ramle. Our summer camp included day trips to the multi layered archaeological sites of Ramle. One of them is what today we call The Pool of Arches. It was created in the 8th century by Aharun … more »

30th of November to 3rd December 2017, we had our Journey-Masa, Masar, for 22 students from Jewish and Arab High Schools. This  unique project is in cooperation with Neve Shalom/ Wahat asSalam, spiritual center. Accommodations for the first two nights were in the guest house of Neve Shalom. Vivian Rabiah and Dorit Shippin together with Elad Vazana prepared  the younger counselors and … more »

Between the 2nd to 20th July was our 25th Summer camp!   It is 26 years of Open House activity.   We had 94 Jewish and Arab children between the ages of six to twelve, with one from Jaffa and one from Nazareth .   Preparing for the summer camp takes months in advance – registration, creating the program, organization of busing from … more »

It is our 26th year of Nursery School. This year we have 27 children in the Day Care Center with Lamis, Johana and Nadia as the experienced staff members and three younger part time helpers.

The OPEN HOUSE Summer Peace Camp enriches the educational and recreational possibilities for Arab and Jewish children. The Summer Peace Camp enables Jewish and Arab youngsters to break down stereotypes of one another; to better understand each others’ identity, language and culture; and to develop friendships based on shared experiences.

From March 13th – 16th, a group of 30 Israeli teenagers embarked on a Journey to engage with diversity and become closer together. The unique opportunity of this Journey rests in the fact that our teenagers represent Muslim, Jewish, and Christian faiths. Their experiences and identities center around the diverse cultures and environments through which … more »

Applying Virginia Satir’s Model to creating mutual curiosity and developing partnership between Palestinian-Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel.

As in the past 24 years, we held our Summer Peace Camp in July for three weeks (1st to 22nd July). For Jews and Arabs to meet from an early age is absolutely essential if one is not to fall into the socially prevalent stereotypes on both sides which basically lead to the dehumanization of … more »

Here is a group of thirty high school students from two schools, a Jewish and an Arab, participating in Masa-Masar – The Journey. They were together for four days between the 7th and the 11th of May, 2015.   Massa-Masar-Journey Program – May 7-11 / 2015   “This Journey changed me, I will always ask questions. … more »

The purpose of the youth delegation aged 14 to 18 was to experience the multi-faith dimensions of this land and create relationships with people their own age from Open House.

In partnership with Bircat Shalom community in Kibbutz Gezer, led by Rabbi Miri Gold & Neve Shalom Spiritual Center, we have initiated multi-faith gatherings in our respective communities.

I wish to share with you a first time experience–talking to hundreds of Palestinian pupils from a school in Beit Hanina, a Palestinian town near Jerusalem with a wall in its heart.

Senior Fulbright scholar and director of Middle East Center for Peace, Prof. Paula Rayman, conducted at Open House a workshop in nonviolent communication for Arab and Jewish women…

At this time, when rockets are falling all over the country from the south and from the north, and the airplanes are on their way to bomb Gaza, we pray and hope that a lasting ceasefire will come into effect immediately. We at Open House feel for both sides, and we pray for both sides. … more »

In the past 3 years Open House has been doing major work empowering women as individuals and in the community.

The OPEN HOUSE Summer Peace Camp has been running for 22 consecutive years. By now, we have gained a lot of experience about how to melt fear and prejudice, which manifests more strongly the older a person is.

This is the first time that such a thing has happened to our Open House community and I wish to share it with you. Adam Hijazi from Neve Shalom died this summer in a car accident together with his father Ahmad Hijazi, the director of the School for Peace in Neve Shalom.

This was a truly groundbreaking year for Open House Ramle’s Summer Peace Camp. The camp was based at Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salaam for the fifth year in a row and had 103 total campers: 43 Arab campers and, a record high, 60 Jewish campers.

For this coming year, we extend to you blessings of health and joyful creativity! We wish to share with you, our dear friends, a beautiful letter we received from the parents of Yael, who participated in our summer camp this year for the first time.

Here is a clip from our Summer Camp this year from our 6 year olds! The song chosen for this clip is called “Yachad”;–Together – together, heart to heart, we will open new light in the sky..when the heart opens, it embraces the world.. it is not too late, if we believe..