After a long bus ride from Beit Shean we finally arrived at the Arab community of Jsir A-Zaria. We pushed our way off of the bus and out into the open air, just a mile from the Mediterranean Sea. We were welcomed with open arms by a group of Arab teenagers along with a group leader named Genevieve.
Genevieve led us into a room along with the Arab teens where we sat down and got the chance to meet each other. We all went around the room and said our name as well as a special talent we have. We learned many interesting things about both our friends and the Arabs. One fact that really caught my attention was when Genevieve mentioned that although Jsir A-Zaria is one of the poorest Arab communities, it is the only one on the coast of the Mediterranean. This allows for an extremely dynamic village with many unique personalities.
After we were more comfortable with each other, we all got onto the bus and made the short drive down to the beach. At the beach we were given time to play games with the Arab teens and learn more about their lives. We were asked to bombard them with questions about their everyday lives. The answers given allowed us to see a brand new perspective about life in Israel as well about the conflict between Israelis and Arabs.
I found it very interesting to see just how normal the lives the Arab teens have and how the media portrays the Arab communities of Israel much worse than deserved. Honestly, if we weren’t told where we were, it would have been almost impossible to distinguish the Arabs from our Israeli friends.
Lastly after playing on the beach, Genevieve led us to an exceptional viewing point where a vast amount of the Mediterranean Sea could be seen for miles. After coming back from the fantastic view, we said goodbye to our new friends and got back onto the bus to drive to Kibbutz Shefayim. In the end, this activity was a very eye opening experience and one that I won’t forget anytime soon.