Oasis of Peace

Information

(ne-vé shal-om / waah-at i-sal-aam: Hebrew and Arabic for Oasis of Peace [Isaiah 32:18]): A village, jointly established by Jewish and Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, that is engaged in educational work for peace, equality and understanding.

Website: http://www.nswas.org
Peacemakers: 18
Latest Activity: Feb 18

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About Us

Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam was founded in 1970 on land leased (and later given) to it by the adjacent Monastery of Latroun. In 1977 the first family came to reside here. By 2006, about 52 families are settled in the village. The members of Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam are demonstrating the possibility of coexistence between Jews and Palestinians by developing a community based on mutual acceptance, respect and cooperation.

Democratically governed and owned by its members, the community is not affiliated with any political party or movement. Neve Shalom/Wahat al-Salam gives practical expression to its vision through its various branches.

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Comment by Tim Upham on June 24, 2012 at 1:11am: I have been there, and have meet the members who live there. They have been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize, but as of yet have not won. When they do, it will be a good example of how citizens' grassroots action can bring about change. Unfortunately, they just recently got vandalized. So by all means, they need our support. There is a large Conservative synagogue in Portland, Oregon called Neveh Shalom, and when I have told the members about this community, they tell me that they never heard of it before. So they need some notoriety as well.

Comment by Stewart Mills on February 3, 2012 at 4:56pm: I can highly recommend this village. I was a volunteer here over the summer of 2000 and returned again in 2001 after the Second Intifada.

The people of the village are an inspiration and indeed a sign of hope. Palestinian-Israelis and Jewish-Israelis side-by-side working through the many challenges, opportunities and contradictions of the rise of a Jewish State in a region that had not had a Jewish majority for two thousand years.

The primary school is great as half the teachers are Palestinian-Israeli and half are Jewish-Israeli and the curriculum is split 50:50 into Arabic and Hebrew.

The School of Peace (which is different to the primary school) facilitates the bringing together of people not only from within Israel but beyond to work through the challenge of building peace in the world. I was privileged to meet a former fighter who was Turkish Cypriot. He spoke of how in his youth he chose violence, but as a father he now saw the debilitating effect in continuing the armed struggle. And he did not wish his own sons to go through what he had.

The community is always in need of financial support. So please give generously to them if you can. They also have a hotel there where you can spend the night.