Zooming in and Zooming Out: Jews and Arabs in Israel

Camp Havaya

Overnight

Anna Tal and Dori Sternfeld

This program introduced campers to the experience of Jews and Israeli Arabs living together in Southern Israel. While it is always possible to find and focus on what separates us, this program reflects connections and similarities that support efforts to work on living in proximity to one another.

Jews, Israeli Arabs, coexistence, relationships, perspectives, empathy

Israeli Society

Campers will:

• Explore an angle of Israeli life not always addressed
• Be exposed to life in an often-unexplored area of Israel, the Negev region
• Meet multiple ethnic and religious groups with a particular focus on the relationships between them

7 – 15 years old

Ideally in groups of 12

• Photo of a Jew and a Muslim praying in the same room (find online)
• Bedouin photos (find online)
• Cards from the book “Zoom”
• Map of Israel
• Photos of the Negev region
• Video from Jewish-Arab school
• 3-language cards
• Background on Bedouins

• Quiet room in which a screen and projector can be set up and viewed
• Enough area for participants to be divided into smaller groups

• TV Screen
• Computer

• Introduction – 5 minutes – 0:00–0:05
• Zooming In Card Game – 15 minutes – 0:05–0:20
• Life in the Negev – 25 minutes – 0:20–0:45
• Wrap-Up Card Game – 10 minutes – 0:45–0:55

Introduction   5 minutes

Hold up a photo of a Jew and a Muslim praying in the same room.

Ask campers:

• What they think they are seeing
• Where this might be taking place
• What surprises them, if anything?

Share that this is a photo taken in Israel in which people who are often portrayed as enemies are actually praying in the same place, even though they practice different religions.

Zooming In Card Game   15 minutes

Break campers into 4 groups of 3. Each group gets a set of Zoom cards.

Ask campers to arrange the cards so that each card is a zoom-in on the previous card.

Bring groups back together to share how they arranged the cards.

Discussion:

• What did you notice as you placed each card?
• What did you see in the new card that you didn’t see in the previous card?
• Was there a moment when placing a new card made you realize you had misunderstood the previous card?

Share that in the south of Israel, called the Negev, many different kinds of people live together. Today, we are going to meet some of them.

Living Together in the Negev   25 minutes

• Ask campers to sit on the floor in a circle.
• Lay out a map of Israel and ask campers if they know where the Negev region is and what they know about it.
• Divide campers into four groups of 3 (in the circle) for the True/False game.

Game Rules: Each group goes first. If they get it right, they earn a point. Continue until all groups have at least two turns.

Suggested Questions – True or False?

• ✅ The animals raised by Bedouins, like chickens and sheep, are free-range and not kept in cages (such food usually costs 4 times more).
• ✅ Thanks to Bedouins, there are fewer fires. Before fall, when grass is dry, authorities often ask Bedouin shepherds to graze in areas at risk of wildfires.
• ❌ All Bedouins live in tents in the desert. (Most Bedouins in Israel live in houses. In unrecognized villages, they may use solar panels for electricity and have internet.)
• ✅ There is a tradition where a man may marry up to four wives.
• ✅ The Bedouin tradition strongly values hospitality and generosity.
• ❌ The Bedouin approach to water is based only on digging wells.
• ✅ In many army units there is a Bedouin tracker (because of deep knowledge of nature and tracking skills).
• ✅ The most common name in Israel is Muhammad.

When the game is complete:

• What was different than what they expected about life in Israel?
• What most interested them?
• Describe Bedouin life.

Video of Jewish/Arab School in the Negev

• Give a little background about the school.
• Show the video.
• Answer any questions campers may have.

Ask campers to share impressions:

• What did you notice that was different from your school?
• Where are the kids from different backgrounds alike? Where are they different?
• What do you think it is like to be with kids every day who are different from you?
• What is cool about it?
• What might be challenging?
• Why do you think families choose a school like this?

Wrap Up: Language Game   10 minutes

In a circle, place cards with words in three languages (Hebrew, Arabic, English). Take turns reading the cards and ask campers where they see similarities between the words.

Closing Reflection: When we zoom in and look closely at details — just like with the word cards — we see that even though there are differences between us, we also share links and similarities that we discover when we look more carefully.