Monday, July 31, 2006

Calendar of Events

Last Week 7/25 Raed Habib-Allah “Peace Project in the Middle East”

This Week 7/31 (Monday) Ed Wagner “A Cancer Survivor Shares His Story”

Next Week: 8/8 (Tuesday) Chicken BBQ at the Charlton School with Revisions Barbershop Quartet and Don Kessler Paul Harris Awards

Coming Up: 8/14 (Monday) Peter Aust Southern Saratoga Chamber of Commerce, “Disney Project”

8/21 (Monday) Turnabouts, Roundabouts, and Traffic Circles – DOT

9/7 Gift of Life Golf Tournament

Invocation: George Bailey, Garry Morrow, Dan Stec or Bob Youmans

Suggestions for future programs may be given to Linda LeTendre

- The turn out for this meeting was tremendous with visiting Rotarians from Glenville, Twin Bridges and Mohawk Valley. Spouses also attended.

- A Glenville Rotary Golf Tournament will be held on Aug 3 starting at 8:30am. Cost $75.

- Sandra Kaminski plans on organizing a Garage Sale as a fund raiser to help the Farm Bureau. More information will follow.

- President Linda read a thank you card from DG Cargile. She conveyed her appreciation for the great meeting with the club.

- Bob Youmans led the group in a moving rendition of “Let There Be Peace on Earth.” George Bailey’s grace was beautiful.

- President Linda said she wanted to energize the Rotary Minute Program and made a short motivational presentation.

- Mark calculates he has peddled his bike $2,535 worth for clean water projects.

- Ron Serapilio thanked those supporting the program for this evening, and told how Garry Marrow coordinated the event.

- Garry thanked the U.S. Program Sponsors and visit escorts Glenna and Harry Pearson. Glenna, a Sixth Grade Science Teacher and winner of the Teacher of the Year Award for Mass., met Raed in Israel and has since helped him with five visits to the U.S. for training and to spread the word about his program. Garry lauded the Pearsons for their selfless support and noted that what they were doing was in the true spirit was what Rotary was all about. He then introduced the speaker Raed Habib-Allah.

“The Cry for Peace is Louder Than the Cry for War” - Raed

Raed, and his lovely wife Sameeha, who accompanied him, are Israeli citizens who are Palestinian Arabs. During a most interesting 30 minute presentation Raed gave us information on his background, Palestinian demographics, and the mission, organization and activities of a program called Common Paths which focuses on building mutual understanding and respect between the students of a Jewish Israeli High School and a Muslim-Arabic Israeli High School.

Raed, his wife and four children live in a small village near Nazareth, in northern Israel. His extended family includes over 3,000 people. Raed is a High School Computer Science teacher and is currently completing his Masters Degree in Computer Science Education at Tel Aviv University. Raed told us that the Palestinian nation is currently broken down into three branches. One, and the one he is part of, is the one million Palestinian Arabs who are Israeli citizens. The second is the Palestinians that live in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, which include about three million people. And, the third is the Palestinian refugees who live in other countries. They number about five million people. Raed, who speaks fluent Hebrew, Arabic and English, says Israeli Palestinian Arabs see themselves as a bridge between the Palestinian Nation and Jewish Israeli citizens. He notes such a role has its stresses. While trying to bridge the divergent Palestinian-Jewish entities and interests, they do not fully fit into either camp.

Raed, a creator of the six year old “Common Path,” describes the program as a cooperative effort between the staff and students of two schools, which are located about 400 KM apart, to build on a common wish to better know their neighbors and normalize their life together in Israel. Raed said the heart of the program is the teachers who deeply believe the best chance for normalcy and peace is through building mutual respect and understanding between Arab and Jewish youth. Teachers from each school participate in seminars on topics such as cultural differences, common interests, their complicated history and hopes for the future. They sincerely hope to transfer this type of understanding and the desire to work and live together to their students.

Program activities focus on first getting students to know each other as decent human beings and then deepening their shared experiences through joint projects involving learning about and improving their common environment. They hike, take bicycle trips. They even took part in a soccer league with a mixed team. Their focus on environmental issues involves formal classes and projects. A joint project last year was to renovate a well.

It was wonderful to see pictures of Jewish and Arab children forgetting their differences and playing and working together. This uplifting program of hope was very well received and appreciated. Maybe we can help.