Bridge Over the Wadi

On a small hill at the edge of the Muslim town of Kfar Kara, a modest one-story building hums with activity; the stammering of first-graders reading Hebrew and Arabic, children at play, and young voices learning a Palestinian folk song in music class spill into the air. Peering in, one sees that the classrooms are built around a courtyard, lending the school a feeling of intimacy like a desert plant that appears overnight on the bare sand after a long dry season, Hand in Hand's Bridge over the Wadi School seemed to spring out of nowhere in a most unlikely place. In fact, this small miracle was the result of the hard work of a dedicated group of Jewish and Arab parents, who, seeking a context for hope in light of local tensions, joined forces with Hand in Hand and pushed the proposed school plan through one obstacle after another until it was realized. The school began its first day in September 2004, with 105 pupils from K-3, and is expected to double in size in 2006.

The teachers at this school, from Jewish and Arab towns in the area, are notably young and enthusiastic; the school also boasts the largest number of male teachers of any Hand in Hand school. An educational resource center brimming with teaching materials gleaned from Hand in Hand's experience over the past years is frequented by faculty and administration alike.

In keeping with the Hand in Hand model, there are two co-principals, one Arab and one Jewish. Given the enthusiasm of Yochanan Eshchar, the Jewish co-principal, it comes as no surprise to learn that he always dreamed about working in a school where Arabs and Jews learn together. When he learned of the Hand in Hand Bridge over the Wadi initiative, he didn't hesitate to give up his past job as a principal of a large regional high school. The Arab co-principal Nuha Khatieb, a charismatic and dynamic educator, brings with her experience she accumulated as one of the founding teachers of the Hand in Hand Galilee school. Under the leadership of this magnificent team, the school is blossoming beyond all expectations. (Hand in Hand)

PM's Illness Clouds Birthright's Festive Event by Jonathan Schneider

Despite the uncertainty created by last week's news of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's worsening health, Taglit-Birthright Israel elected not to cancel that evening's mega-event in which 3,500 young Jewish adults from across the globe packed the Jerusalem Convention Center for a night full of dancing and musical performances from local artists.

Taglit director and philanthropist Charles Bronfman opened the event by telling the capacity crowd that Ehud Olmert had been invited to speak but "had phoned early in the morning to cancel." Bronfman then expressed his sympathy for Sharon, calling him a "friend of Taglit," while a film of the prime minister speaking at a previous event was projected onto a big screen moments before the festivities began.

Cody Aaron, 18, from Australia, said that she and her friends were "very upset" by Sharon's relapse, especially as it was happening during their first experience of Israel, but they were all hoping he pulled through, because "the country really needs him." This winter, over 10,000 young adults from places as diverse as Argentina, India and Russia made their first trip to Israel courtesy of Taglit-Birthright Israel's annual free nationwide tours, which have, since 1999, attracted over 98,000 youngsters to the country. (Jerusalem Post)

View pictures from this months' birthright trips to Israel here.

Student Shares Israeli Experiences with her American High School

Bethie Silversmith is a student at Walt Whitman High School in Bethesda, Md. This year she is studying in Israel and is sending dispatches to Whitman's Black & White Online newspaper. Here are recent excerpts:

Shalom from Israel! School here is great, and I have been taking amazing trips, which we call tiyulim. Every morning we are woken up at 6:45, and our teachers expect us to be in our core class, History of Israel, at eight in the morning. We take history for four hours, which can be very exhausting. Even though the class is long and is followed by our regular classes, it never bores us because we know that whatever place we learn about we will later have the opportunity to visit. This anticipation makes everything we learn interesting. So far, our group has visited the Dead Sea and Masada and has caved in and out of tunnels ancient Jews used to hide from the Romans. I am so excited to have the chance to see such fascinating parts of our history.

Last weekend my friend and I flew to Eilat, the most southern city in Israel. We stayed in a beautiful hotel overlooking the Red Sea. Eilat reminded me a lot of Miami. It was warmer than the rest of the country and the city was thriving with activity. We went shopping up and down the streets and went bungee jumping over the Red Sea. Everyone was really friendly and there were a lot of tourists. The next day, we had a scuba diving lesson and then went scuba diving in the Red Sea. The fish and coral were surreal and the Israeli instructors were really friendly and helpful. (Black & White Online)

A Hebrew-Speaking Hamlet Comes to Washington by Viva Press

American audiences have probably never heard Hamlet's classic "To be or not to be" soliloquy performed in Hebrew. But they'll have that unique chance next year when Israel's prestigious theater company, the Cameri, performs William Shakespeare's classic tragedy as part of the Shakespeare in Washington festival in Washington, D.C.

The legendary Tel Aviv theater company has been going strong for 60 years. "Whether via William Shakespeare or Henrik Ibsen or Hanoch Levin, the theater deals - in Hebrew - with human experience, social issues, and political dilemmas," Omri Nitzan, artistic director of the company said. "The Cameri is a mirror in front of our society."

Its latest production of Hamlet has garnered acclaim around the world on previous excursions overseas.

According to a review in Plays International magazine, "Hamlet at the Cameri Theater is undoubtedly the best thing the Israeli theater has seen in many years. Never has there been such a tight, riveting and invigorating production on our stages, a production that takes a classic, turns it into a meaningful contemporary play without stripping it of its real power and meaning." (Israel 21c)

Actor Bob Hoskins to Arrive in Israel by Hannah Brown

Veteran actor Bob Hoskins will be one of the guests at the 6th Annual British Film Festival, which will take place at the Haifa, Jerusalem, Nazareth and Tel Aviv cinematheques from January 19-28 and is co-sponsored by the British Council and presented with the participation of the British Embassy. Hoskins is probably best known for his role in Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, but has appeared in over 80 films.

He arrives with his latest film, Mrs. Henderson Presents, directed by Stephen Frears, also starring Judi Dench. Producer Norma Heyman will also be a guest of the festival. (Jerusalem Post)

Watching, Waiting, and Worrying by Allison Kaplan Sommer

Left-wing or right-wing, even if you felt like men like Yitzhak Rabin or Ariel Sharon were wonderful - or if you felt that they were completely wrong, completely misled, overly violent or completely corrupt, you never doubted for a minute that their absolute top priority was the security and well-being of the State of Israel and its citizens.

Every success and every mistake they made flowed from his deep determination to see Israel survive, thrive, and succeed. With figures like these as prime minister, we felt that there was someone watching over us. And when they vanish suddenly, whether by the hand of an assassin or the fickle hand of fate, it leaves us devastated, deeply insecure and very worried about the future.

And so we worry, watch and wait, unable to let an hour pass without checking the television, radio and Internet for a medical update. He's still alive, and the experts are telling us that that is something to be thankful for. We're also being told that it is impossible to expect a level of recovery that would allow him to truly function as Prime Minister, as our leader. So on the level that we need Ariel Sharon - as a leader - we've already lost him.

And still we can't help but hope. Those of us who believe in miracles are praying for one. And those of us who don't believe in miracles wish that we did. (Israel 21c)

Where is the Arab Sharon? by Tim Hanes

The dilemma for Israel and the peace process is not that Mr. Sharon cannot continue to serve as prime minister. It is that there is no equivalent to Mr. Sharon in the Arab world. There is no one willing to acknowledge publicly that the Palestinians cannot have all that they might want, just as Israelis cannot have everything they might desire.

There is no one prepared to state what is absolutely obvious, namely that any return to the boundaries of 1967 is a ludicrous notion. There is no one willing to declare openly that not only do those who surround Israel have to recognize its right to exist, but that their societies will thrive only when they begin to emulate the democratic values, economic ingenuity, and cultural diversity that explain why Israel's gross domestic product exceeds that of its vastly more populous neighbors combined.

Theirs is instead a political culture in which ruling elites officially blame the existence of Israel for their national woes and oppositions damn both Israel and the ruling elites for their own difficulties. This is, in effect, the division between Fatah and Hamas that the parliamentary elections in the Palestinian Authority is brutally exposing. (Times-UK)

Forceful Response to Terrorism from Gaza by Raffi Holzer

The biggest issue in Israel over this past summer was the withdrawal from Gaza. Its strategic importance and emotional toll were fiercely debated. Would it make Israelis safer or just cost Israel millions of dollars? Those were the questions of the day. Outside of Israel, the majority of the Jewish population supported the move as an attempt to acquire security through peaceful means. While many bashed the move because it was unilateral, it was generally held to be a move towards peace.

Personally, I was torn. I visited Israel this past summer and listened to settlers who loved their land and their homes deeply, never believing that they would ever have to move from them. I also heard from political analysts who agreed with the withdrawal due to its strategic importance. Ultimately I supported the withdrawal, mainly because I felt it gave Israel added security. Many of my friends made the claim that it couldn't provide security, as all it did was give the terrorists more land from which to fire rockets at Jewish towns. I countered by saying that if this did indeed occur Israel would be able to handle it in a harsher fashion than it had previously because it would have already justified itself through the withdrawal.

Recently, my friends' prediction has come true. The Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades fired rockets from the Gaza Strip and have come dangerously close to the hitting the city of Ashkelon. Israel has indeed responded harshly. The Israeli military fired a barrage of artillery and missiles at the Gaza Strip, hitting two offices of the militant Al Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades and a bridge the army said was used by militants to reach areas where they fire rockets. While we still do not know what effect this will have on security or on how long it will take for peace to return to Israel, harsh response seems to be Israel's best option at this point. In a recent poll, 67% percent of Israelis supported the eye-for-an-eye retaliations that Israel has been carrying out.

While we still cannot be sure who was right in terms of the issue of withdrawal, it is at the very least comforting to know that Israel plans to protect its citizens in a very serious way. It is only with that force that Israel has a chance at security.

Raffi Holzer is a senior at Rambam Mesivta High School on Long Island, NY. He is an Israel HighWay Student Advisor and a Write On For Israel participant. (Special to the Israel HighWay)

As a fully functioning democracy, Israel is well-equipped to deal with the eventuality of the illness of a Prime Minister. According to Israel's Basic Laws (a set of laws with constitution-like standing), if the Prime Minister is ill or incapacitated then the executive powers will be handed over to the Deputy Prime Minister. If the Attorney General, on the advice of doctors, deems the Prime Minister unable to resume his functions then the Deputy Prime Minister will retain control until elections which are scheduled for the end of March.

Sharon's Biography Mirrors Israel's History

Ariel Sharon's public life has been full of achievements, controversies and contradictions. Sharon was born in 1928 in Kfar Malal, an agricultural settlement. Sharon was only 14 when he joined the Haganah (the pre-state Jewish militia) in 1942. During the War of Independence, Sharon rose to the rank of commander of an infantry brigade. He was seriously wounded in the battle for Latrun.

In 1953, he founded and led the "101" special commando unit, which carried out retaliatory operations against Palestinian terrorists. Sharon was appointed commander of a Paratroop Corps in 1956 and fought in the Sinai Campaign. Sharon participated in the 1967 Six Day War as commander of an armored division, and in 1969 he was appointed Head of the Southern Command Staff.

However, it was in 1973 that Sharon really attained prominence. During the Yom Kippur War he rejected the conservative decision-making of the IDF commanders and led an armored division across the Suez Canal into Egyptian territory. The action helped secure an eventual victory against Egypt. Sharon's military campaign is studied in military academies around the world.

This act was one of many that gave Ariel Sharon the reputation of a maverick or rebel. Prime Minister Menachem Begin reportedly stated that if Sharon did not get his way he would surround the Knesset with tanks. Sharon had earned his title, the "bulldozer," because of the demolitions he ordered in his campaign against terrorism in Gaza in the 1970s.

Ariel Sharon was elected to the Knesset in December 1973, but resigned a year later, serving as Security Adviser to Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1975. During the historic 1977 elections it was Sharon who helped form the Likud party by joining his Liberal party with Menachem Begin's Herut. Ariel Sharon received his first ministerial position when he was appointed Minister of Agriculture.

In 1981, Ariel Sharon was appointed Defense Minister, serving in this post during the Lebanon War, for which he was the primary architect. The war brought about the destruction of the PLO terrorist infrastructure in Lebanon and prevented the incessant shelling of northern Israel.

But during the Lebanon War Ariel Sharon became a pariah in much of the world. During sectarian killings between the Christian Maronites and the Palestinians, the Christian forces broke into the Sabra and Shatilla refugee camps in Beirut and killed hundreds of people. An investigation after the war found that Defense Minister Ariel Sharon was "indirectly responsible" for these actions.

Over the years many have misunderstood the facts of those events and have claimed that Ariel Sharon was directly responsible or even present. Sharon successfully sued TIME magazine for making such accusations in 1983. (See Myths & Facts)

During the 1980's Sharon served in various ministerial capacities and was considered instrumental in setting up many settlements over the "Green Line" in Judea, Samaria and Gaza. In Benjamin Netanyahu's 1996–1999 government, Sharon served as Minister of National Infrastructure (1996–1998) and Foreign Minister (1998–1999). Upon the election of the Barak Labor government, Sharon became leader of the Likud party. After the collapse of Barak's government and in the midst of the Palestinian "intifada," Sharon was elected Prime Minister in February 2001. His policies are credited with defeating Yasser Arafat's terrorism war against Israel.

Under Sharon's leadership historic policies were implemented. Sharon came to the conclusion that there was no Palestinian partner for peace negotiations. He implemented his two memorable policies: the Disengagement from Gaza and the building of the security barrier.

Although there are already many voices calling for the continuation of Sharon's legacy, there are few clues as to what that entails. When Sharon left the Likud Party and formed the new centrist party Kadima, he was taking a more centrist path than the one for which he was better known. Sharon, known as the "father of the settlements," also showed last year that he could demolish settlements. Sharon never presented a final map of where he sees final borders between Israel and the Palestinians. What we do know is that Sharon always spoke of a "united Jerusalem" as he did in his last interview with Japanese journalists. Sharon also called for retaining settlement blocs on the West Bank and the Golan Heights. Will the next prime minister follow his path? (The Israel HighWay)

Additional Reading

5 Israelis Who Might Succeed Sharon, Associated Press

Sharon: The Heart of a Nation, Newsweek

Ariel Sharon: A Biography, Jewish Virtual Library

Ariel Sharon Timeline, Camera

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