Dear friends,

I need to tell you about how we are living these days, and I suppose that on your side you also need to know.

Today is New Year's Eve and in less than an hour we will be in 2009 - yet no one is in a mood to celebrate.

Last Saturday, our young people had invited the entire village to their club to celebrate the holidays of all three religions: Eid el Adha (the Muslim Feast of the Sacrifice), Hanukkah and Christmas. The kids were all prepared for a large and magnificent feast of the whole community of the village. It was the first time that the youth had taken this initiative, and we, the parents, were full of pride in anticipation of what they would do. And then came the news of the massive bombardment of the Gaza Strip and of its many victims. The youth of the village gathered to discuss what could be done in these circumstances. It was clear to everyone that this was not the time to celebrate, and they decided to invite the community for a discussion. So we gathered on Saturday evening at the club to share our feelings and our thoughts. Despite our concern about the upsurge in violence, about the many unnecessary victims in the Gaza Strip; despite the certainty that violence could only generate violence and despite our despair at all of this, there was a very special atmosphere on that night: We were more aware than ever what a meeting like this represented. In the midst of this difficult situation we found ourselves here together, Jews and Palestinians, youth and adults, while across the country nothing was heard from the two sides except words of hatred and incitement to war. We were there together to refuse this and to prove that it is possible to do things differently. [�¢ï¿½�¦]

My thoughts move to Gaza which is being more heavily bombarded than with these rockets. Where will Palestinian girls on that side flee to?

It is so absurd this war. Ultimately we will still need to negotiate and reach an agreement. So why not do it before all this destruction?

If only a tiny fraction of the money that we are investing now in this war was invested in work for peace! We are breaking our heads to find enough money to pay the salaries of our peace workers for the coming month - while others do all this damage with their bombs and missiles!

I wish you all, with all my heart, a good and peaceful New Year,

Shalom, Salam from our Neve Shalom / Wahat al-Salam,

Evi Guggenheim Shbeta

 

Disperazione, rabbia, pena

Scrive Shreen Najjar, seconda generazione del Villaggio

between the breaking news

from this pain

from this internal scream that is raising every day

welcoming the new year- mabrook- congratulation ! mabrook GHAZZA�

i was going to write you a blessings for the holidays` holiday: chanuka (jews), merry christmas, hijri islamic new year and the silvester.. but this attacks were faster than me..

ghazza; saturday 27th of december (the crimes started much earlier)

� stopped my heart from breathing..�

like killling me from inside..

now counting around 400 being killed, 1800 injured.. what seems like the nomber of murdered is going to be a scale of three (thousand..)

oh my GOD ya rab just your mercy!

so huge.. so many.. soo big.. i want to scream for that... khalas stop...

GOD YOUR MERCY [�¢ï¿½�¦]

so in this time am struggling to say that am praying for peace.. am struggling to find the meaning of peace.. or what am demanding..what is the way.. i dont know.. to say peace it felt like to shut the moth with the word peace.. it is instead of declaring the crimes and the criminals we say we demand peace.. its like hiding dignity (it is semilar to what ashraf said)

i would rather say; am praying for GOD for mercy, for the safe of the people in ghazza, for GOD to help them and protect them, am cursing the israeli state,army,attacks and who ever agree to this.. ya Allah..�

yesterday i went to Yaffa to work with the young leaders weekly group, arabs 16 years old � in a mixed city..�

at the time of the meeting they were saying that there is a demonstration, so i decided to take them their- as i didnt feel a can make a meeting while there is a demonstration against ghazza attacks. � so i went with 6 youngs (2 children thier parents didnt allow them as they we afraid from violent reaction), it was not a big one, just like a corner one.. but when we walked back to the center one of the youngs was putting the kufya-arabic palastinan vale on his face, a fancy care stopped then a big man was shouting at him and the kid out the kufya down fast. i asked him what did he say, he told me: "put this (kufya) down emediately or i will put you a parts", i told him :well he doesnt have the right to tell you soo.. he answered: he doesnt have the right but he can.. and he knows is from the police and once they were beeten from this "civil" police and you have now one to turn too.. i tried to hide the tears in my eyes.. i tooked them to the domonstration ... they also told me that there were at the demonstration israeli agents/betraiders (palastinians).. so i dont know..

its my scream till now.. from me

� ii know i was looong.. am sharing with you.. take your time.. i dont think things will change dramaticly soon

.. some how some where..

inshalla for the safe of ghazza people

welcome the new-year

salam�

shireen

 

Siamo con voi

Una lettera di supporto degli amici italiani

Cari amici di Nevè Shalom Wahat as Salam,

vogliamo unire le nostre voci a quelle degli amici inglesi, per dirvi la nostra vicinanza e la nostra solidarietá .

Da settimane attoniti assistiamo quotidianamente alla violenza che non trova sosta, alle parole di troppo, a quelle che andrebbero dette e non se ne trova il coraggio o la forma o la forza.

Cerchiamo di ascoltare chi, con buon senso, compassione e intelligenza, esprime desiderio e speranza di pace non senza richiamare alla giustizia, al diritto, alla reciprocitá delle istanze.

Molti, in Italia, sempre più spesso ci chiedono vostre notizie, perchè vedono in Wahhat asSalam Nevè Shalom motivo di speranza, ragione di futuro, possibilitá di un'alternativa. Noi con loro vediamo nel villaggio, nonostante le fatiche e il dolore, un po' di quella luce che serve a pensare e a credere che ci possa essere fine a questo strazio.

Nella vita condivisa di tutti i giorni, nei volti dei vicini di casa, nei bambini che frequentano la scuola e ancora e ancora studiano, si studiano, si conoscono, noi riconosciamo una possibilitÃ��Ã� di pace ed equitá . Vera, reale, umana.

Oggi quindi anche noi vogliamo dirvi grazie per quello che siete, per la scelta che avete fatto e perseguite, perchála vostra comunitá á segno concreto, á stimolo forte, á testimonianza evidente della volontá di israeliani e palestinesi di vivere in giustizia e pace.

La nostra vicinanza dimora in queste parole e nell�¢ï¿½ï¿½impegno sempre rinnovato da parte degli amici italiani a diffondere il messaggio di WASNS.

Un abbraccio

Rosita Poloni

(portavoce dell'Associazione)