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Newsletter : 9fax1112.txt
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>JN Nov. 12, 1999, Vol. 7, No. 211
Shalom Sesame
By Susan Sappir (VOA-Jerusalem)
While Israeli and Palestinian leaders toil over negotiations to end their conflict in the Middle East, the real test is whether the next generation will build a better and more peaceful relationship. Susan Sappir reports from Jerusalem on a local production of the children's television program "Sesame Street," which is trying to build bridges between children whose parents have been bitter enemies for generations.
Dafi -- a pink puppet with blue pig tail -- and Hanin, with an orange face and pink hair, have just discovered they have something in common. They both like the same food. Dafi, an Israeli girl, has come to visit her friend Hanin on Shara'a Simsim - the Palestinian version of the children's television show Sesame Street.
In this locally-produced version of the popular television program that teaches youngsters to read, count and learn about themselves, Israeli and Palestinian children are also learning about each other.
Dafi and Hanin just found out they share a fondness for humus -- a beige-colored paste made of mashed chickpeas -- and falafel, fried balls made out of the same ingredients.
Most of the children in the three-to-seven year age group who watch the series were born after the 1993 historic handshake that sealed the peace agreement between Palestinian Chairman Yasir Arafat and the late Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Yet, research by the educators who created Sesame Street found negative images were still being transmitted from Israeli and Palestinian parents to their children.
The idea of an Israeli-Palestinian co-production of Sesame Street was born in the early stages of the peace process, when hopes on both sides were high. The reality of the years of work required to negotiate a permanent peace settlement combined with violence on both sides led to an atmosphere of despair. Yet, the production teams persisted in their work, and the two parallel programs went on the air 18 months ago.
In the course of working together, the teams decided to produce two separate series - one Palestinian, in Arabic, and one Israeli, in Hebrew, and have the characters visit each other.
They felt it was more realistic for Israelis and Palestinians to build a new relationship than act as if they were already best friends. Each series has its own street and the human and muppet characters invite each other over to learn and play.
Now that former Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has been replaced by Ehud Barak political analysts say the prospects for peace have improved. Israelis and Palestinians involved in the Sesame Street production say, after an initial phase of suspicion, the program is now well received by children and parents.
Israeli and Palestinian children may not be best friends yet, but they are learning they have much in common. The children now know they both play jump rope, hide-and-seek and hopscotch, even though they use different names to describe those games.
It is a small start but a positive indication about the direction of the next generation in the Middle East.
Red Cross Seeks to Include Israel's MDA
By IsraelWire
Following decades of discrimination against Israel Magen David Adom (MDA), the International Red Cross has now indicated it was willing to accept Israel as a member.
In the past, the Red Cross has always justified its exclusion of Israel, explaining the red Magen David symbol was not in conformance with the organization's red cross. This, despite the fact that the Red Crescent and other Islamic nation symbols having been accepted by the Red Cross in the past.
Red Cross President Dr. Haley Brandine has now made a call for Israel to join the international organization. Brandine made his comments during an address to the 27th International Red Cross and Federation of National Red Cross and Red Crescent associations in Geneva.
IDF Accommodating Arab Citizens Wishing to Enlist
By IsraelWire
Major-General Yehuda Segev, OC IDF Personnel, has told Galei Tzahal/Army Radio, "Today the armored corps, artillery, infantry, paratroops, police, border police - everything is open to them."
Prior to the implementation of the new policy, only members of the Druze community were inducted and those wishing to volunteer, usually members of the Bedouin community serve as trackers. With the announcement of the change in policy, Israeli Arabs will be permitted to enlist and serve in the combat units as is the case with Israeli Jewish citizens.
Former Tzomet Party leader, government minister and IDF chief of staff Rafael Eitan, called the decision "fundamentally mistaken." Raful explained his comments insisting the decision was one which reflected a basic lack of understanding of the complex fabric of relationships and tensions existing within Israel's Arab minority communities. "I don't see what solutions he gives to a Muslim Israeli soldier who must chase after a Palestinian who is throwing stones."
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