by Antje C. Naujoks
Public Relations Director, Neve Hanna
This year is the 50th anniversary of the Neve Hanna Children’s Home. In the summer of 2023, the management decided that a big celebration somehow does not suit us. Instead, we planned to tell our children more about the unique history of our special home and its remarkable people at every possible opportunity.
On October 7th, Israeli reality changed, and, with it the reality of our children and employees. Reporting what has happened since then would fill entire volumes. I would like to present a brief aspect that is not often noticed by the world. The attack on October 7th was aimed at Jewish Israel resulting in the biggest pogrom of Jews since the Shoah, and yet many non-Jewish citizens were also murdered. The Muslim-Bedouin community, including our immediate partners from Rahat and Neve Hanna who have been working on peaceful coexistence projects for around 40 years, were hit particularly hard.
While the children residing at Neve Hanna were quickly gathered following the attack, Neve Hanna’s daycare centers were unable to meet in the first months after the pogrom. Home front command orders did not allow children from Rahat to travel to our daycare center, Path to Peace until the number of rocket attacks decreased. This project got off to a slow start.
Although all Israelis, Jewish, and non-Jewish citizens came together after October 7th certain concerns and fears had also grown. In predominantly Jewish cities, people were afraid when they heard Arabic or saw women wearing hijabs. It was difficult for Arab citizens to move around the Jewish majority society because they feared rejection or even hostility. Fear dominated the atmosphere. It was an extremely sensitive situation, no matter which point of view you looked at. Fear is not a good companion in everyday life and not in a multicultural society. When the first Muslim-Bedouin children returned to Neve Hanna, with their caretaker, Jewish children living in Neve Hanna shied away from them and Bedouin children themselves felt highly uncomfortable with this situation despite our former solidarity that affected the entire Israeli society for weeks.
For Neve Hanna and its Arab partners, the Muslim Bedouin society, one thing was clear, Neve Hanna maintains its peace projects precisely to master such situations and learn valuable lessons from them. We initiated talks with both sides, gave space to fears, and addressed concerns, but at the same time, we clarified, explained, and brought the sides together in a renewed dialogue that turned out to be even more intense, but fruitful than ever before. Jews and Arabs have long been coming together side by side in Neve Hanna — adults working hand in hand, children learning and playing together. Last year’s events have intensified many “Path to Peace” activities. Our Jewish-Arab youth meetings, which take place alternately in Neve Hanna and Rahat, started again at the beginning of 2024.
Neve Hanna feels it is a privilege to be able to touch the lives of people, to actively live the values of pluralism, which are a lighthouse to the Masorti Movement and at the same time be a shining example that reduces all claims that the State of Israel is an apartheid state to absurdity.
“Neve Hanna in Turbulent Times“ can be found in the AFNH Rosh Hashanah 2024 Newsletter.